--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sage shakes her head. “Surely there were…" description: "\"“Sage shakes her head. “Surely there were some Germans who were better than others, some who didn’t want to go along with what Hitler said. If you can’..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/jodi-picoult-45_hitler_sage-shakes-her-head-surely-there-were-s_2393331.jpg" --- # Sage shakes her head. “Surely there were some Germans who… ![“Sage shakes her head. “Surely there were some Germans who were better than others, some who didn’t want to go along with what Hitler said. If you can’t see them as individuals—if you can’t forgive the ones who ask for it—doesn’t that make you just as bad as any Nazi?”“No,” I admit. “It makes me…” quote by Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/jodi-picoult-45_hitler_sage-shakes-her-head-surely-there-were-s_2393331.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/jodi-picoult-45_hitler_sage-shakes-her-head-surely-there-were-s_2393331.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3a/jodi-picoult-45_hitler_sage-shakes-her-head-surely-there-were-s_2393331.jpg) > ““Sage shakes her head. “Surely there were some Germans who were better than others, some who didn’t want to go along with what Hitler said. If you can’t see them as individuals—if you can’t forgive the ones who ask for it—doesn’t that make you just as bad as any Nazi?”“No,” I admit. “It makes me human.”” [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She reflects on the difficulty of judging individuals in extreme contexts, acknowledging that recognizing humanity in others is a moral challenge. **In simple terms:** Seeing humanity in all, even bad, is hard. Key Takeaway Accept moral complexity in judgment. Themes ethics humanity history war forgiveness Mood thoughtful somber Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - education - historical analysis - personal reflection - peacebuilding Key Concepts Moral ambiguity historical trauma Questions to Reflect On - Can we forgive without forgetting? - How do we balance accountability with empathy? 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Sharing DNA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/here-s-what-i-hadn-t-realized-the-mother-you-haven-t-seen-for-almost/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [My brother believed in all sorts of mythical creatures: pixies, dragons, werewolves, honest men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/my-brother-believed-in-all-sorts-of-mythical-creatures-pixies-dragons/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) [Explore all 2,062 Jodi Picoult quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) ## More Hitler quotes > [ \[Hitler thought\] that Mussolini was no figure of world history, like der Fuehrer or Stalin. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/hitler-thought-that-mussolini-was-no-figure-of-world-history-like-der/) [Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/) > [“I look at my mother, connected by a breath of glimmering hope, her red and shadowed eyes reveal that some element of our whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-look-at-my-mother-connected-by-a-breath-of-glimmering-hope-her-red/) [Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/) > [Anyone who makes the life of Jewish people difficult or grievous, as did the Pharaoh, as did Hitler, will be cursed by God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/anyone-who-makes-the-life-of-jewish-people-difficult-or-grievous-as/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [ Eva \[Braun\] loved \[Adolf\] Hitler and he was the only man in her life. 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Personally neither… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/wilhelm-bruckner-was-one-of-adolf-hitler-s-adjutants-very-close-to/) [Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/) > [“Hitler made only one big mistake when he built his Atlantic Wall,” the paratroopers liked to say. “He forgot to put a roof on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-e-ambrose/hitler-made-only-one-big-mistake-when-he-built-his-atlantic-wall-the/) [Stephen E. Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-e-ambrose/) > [ My father would never have come to visit, he detested Eva's \[Braun\] choice in a man and the fact \[Adolf\] Hitler had set her… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/my-father-would-never-have-come-to-visit-he-detested-eva-s-braun/) [Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/) > [Superman punched out Hitler. So did Captain America. 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Nor was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-kershaw/hitler-was-no-inexorable-product-of-a-german-special-path-no-logical/) [Ian Kershaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-kershaw/) [Browse all 688 Hitler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Sage shakes her head. “Surely there were some Germans who were better than others, some who didn’t want to go along with what Hitler said. 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