--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hitler deserves to be placed firmly on…" description: "\"“Hitler deserves to be placed firmly on the left because first first and foremost he was a revolutionary. Broadly speaking, the left is the party of ch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/jonah-goldberg-2339_change_hitler-deserves-to-be-placed-firmly-on-t_2152473.png" --- # Hitler deserves to be placed firmly on the left because… ![“Hitler deserves to be placed firmly on the left because first first and foremost he was a revolutionary. Broadly speaking, the left is the party of change, the right the party of the status quo. On this score, Hitler was in no sense, way, shape, or form a man of the right. There are few things he…” quote by Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/jonah-goldberg-2339_change_hitler-deserves-to-be-placed-firmly-on-t_2152473.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/jonah-goldberg-2339_change_hitler-deserves-to-be-placed-firmly-on-t_2152473.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/jonah-goldberg-2339_change_hitler-deserves-to-be-placed-firmly-on-t_2152473.png) > ““Hitler deserves to be placed firmly on the left because first first and foremost he was a revolutionary. Broadly speaking, the left is the party of change, the right the party of the status quo. On this score, Hitler was in no sense, way, shape, or form a man of the right. There are few things he believed more totally than that he was a revolutionary. And his followers agreed. Yet for more than a generation to call Hitler a revolutionary has been a form of heresy, particularly for Marxist and German historians, since for the left revolution is always good-- the inevitable forward motion of the Hegelian wheel of history. Even if their bloody tactics are (sometimes) to be lamented, revolutionaries move history forward. (For conservatives, in contrast, revolutions are almost always bad--unless, as in the case of the United States, you are trying to conserve the victories and legacy of a previous revolution).”” [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Argues Hitler can be seen as a revolutionary, aligning him with leftist change rather than rightist status quo. **In simple terms:** Hitler was a revolutionary, not a traditional right‑wing figure. Key Takeaway Recognize that political labels can be fluid. Themes political theory history ideology Mood critical analytical Type historical political When to use this quote - academic debates - political analysis - educational curricula - media commentary Key Concepts revolution left‑right spectrum historical interpretation Questions to Reflect On - How do we responsibly classify extremist figures? - Can revolutionary intent justify harmful outcomes? A Different Perspective Labeling Hitler as leftist can obscure moral responsibility of his actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Fascism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fascism/) [Forward motion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forward-motion/) [Hitler Deserves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler-deserves-4531579/) [Hitler Revolutionary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler-revolutionary-4531578/) [Hitler Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler-sense-4531580/) [Left Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-revolution-4531581/) [Revolutionaries History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolutionaries-history-1234061/) [Status quo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/status-quo/) ## Related quotes > [You can see why the Marxist left would resist the idea that Hitler was a revolutionary. Because if he was, then either Hitler was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/you-can-see-why-the-marxist-left-would-resist-the-idea-that-hitler/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [I've always considered Christ to be one of the greatest revolutionaries in the history of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/i-ve-always-considered-christ-to-be-one-of-the-greatest/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [We were the most conservative revolutionaries in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-o-higgins/we-were-the-most-conservative-revolutionaries-in-history/) [Kevin O'Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-o-higgins/) > [Revolutionaries see history as a creation of their own spirit, as being made up of a continuous series of violent tugs at the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/revolutionaries-see-history-as-a-creation-of-their-own-spirit-as/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [Film is so much about that intensity of focus that there always needs to be some tension and some forward motion. 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I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-obama/for-me-becoming-isn-t-about-arriving-somewhere-or-achieving-a-certain/) [Michelle Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-obama/) > [“The best defense is great offense. . .We fight through our mistakes and failures by maximizing our forward motion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayde-goodall/the-best-defense-is-great-offense-we-fight-through-our-mistakes-and/) [Wayde Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayde-goodall/) > [Keep on moving: any motion is forward motion. You can always course-correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-oz/keep-on-moving-any-motion-is-forward-motion-you-can-always-course/) [Daphne Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-oz/) > [“That girl, dead and gone, her spirit trapped forever just inside town limits—she'd come from someplace, was going somewhere. 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If diversity were always and everywhere good we would be clamoring for more midgets in the NBA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/are-you-a-producer-or-a-looter-if-diversity-were-always-and/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [You can make a very good argument that society would be much worse off if you let 10 rapists and murderers free rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/you-can-make-a-very-good-argument-that-society-would-be-much-worse/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [“The nasty racism that infused the progressive eugenics of Margaret Sanger and others has largely melted away. But liberal fascists are still racist in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/the-nasty-racism-that-infused-the-progressive-eugenics-of-margaret/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [Liberals are Nazis, and Nazis are liberals. 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Cowardice is a failing of character. Appeasement is a failure of policy. Stalin appeased Hitler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/i-t-is-simply-wrong-to-confuse-cowardice-with-appeasement-cowardice/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [Social distinctions tend to matter only at your own level and above.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/social-distinctions-tend-to-matter-only-at-your-own-level-and-above/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [The logical upshot of liberalism's hatred of hypocrisy is that it is better for the liar to champion lying, the glutton to advocate gluttony,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/the-logical-upshot-of-liberalism-s-hatred-of-hypocrisy-is-that-it-is/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [“No nation influenced American thinking more profoundly than Germany, W.E.B. 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That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. 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