Thousand miles Quote by Irwin Shaw
““This time it is not a simple, understandable war, within the same culture. This time it is an assault of the animal world upon the house of the human being. I don’t know what you saw in Africa and Italy, but I know what I saw in Russia and Poland. We made a cemetery a thousand miles long and a thousand miles wide. Men, women, children, Poles, Russians, Jews, it made no difference. It could not be compared to any human action. It could be compared to a weasel in a henhouse. It was as though we felt that if we left anything alive in the East, it would one day bear witness against us and condemn us. And, now, we have made the final mistake. We are losing the war””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Interview, 1945, Irwin Shaw on WWII atrocities
Describes the unprecedented brutality of war in Eastern Europe, likening it to an animal assault that erases humanity and leaves lasting guilt.
In simple terms: War in the East was brutally in and dehumanizing.
Key Takeaway
Recognize the moral cost of war and remember victims.
Themes
war
humanity
guilt
memory
Mood
somber
reflective
Type
historical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- historical analysis
- teaching history
- memorial planning
Key Concepts
genocide
dehumanization
collective trauma
Questions to Reflect On
- How does dehumanizing language affect our understanding of conflict?
- What responsibilities do societies have to remember such atrocities?
A Different Perspective
The quote may overgeneralize experiences and lacks nuance about individual agency.
![“I said, 'I have heard people talk about war as if it was a very fine thing.' Ah!' said [Captain], 'I should think they never saw it. No doubt it is very fine when there is no enemy, when it is just exercise and parade, and sham-fight. Yes, it is very fine then; but when thousands of good brave men…” quote by Anna Sewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5a7/anna-sewell-13394_brave-men_i-said-i-have-heard-people-talk-about-wa_3213135.jpg)
