--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not only should we laugh about Hitler. We…" description: "\"Not only should we laugh about Hitler. We must laugh about him. Especially in Berlin.\" — Mel Brooks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/mel-brooks-2308_berlin_not-only-should-we-laugh-about-hitler-we_1946233.png" --- # Not only should we laugh about Hitler. We must laugh about… ![“Not only should we laugh about Hitler. We must laugh about him. Especially in Berlin.” quote by Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/mel-brooks-2308_berlin_not-only-should-we-laugh-about-hitler-we_1946233.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/mel-brooks-2308_berlin_not-only-should-we-laugh-about-hitler-we_1946233.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/mel-brooks-2308_berlin_not-only-should-we-laugh-about-hitler-we_1946233.png) > “Not only should we laugh about Hitler. We must laugh about him. Especially in Berlin.” [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humor can confront evil, using laughter to diminish terror and reclaim agency. **In simple terms:** Laughing at tyrants reduces their power. Key Takeaway Use satire to challenge oppression. Themes humor resistance satire Mood irreverent defiant Type comic political When to use this quote - stand‑up comedy - political cartoons - theatrical performances - online memes Key Concepts psychology political critique cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - When is it appropriate to joke about tragedy? - How does satire affect public perception? A Different Perspective Laughter may trivialize suffering if not handled sensitively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/berlin/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler/) [Hitler Laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler-laugh-3131471/) [Laugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh/) [Laugh Especially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh-especially-526149/) [Laugh Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laugh-hitler-3131470/) [Laughing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughing/) [Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) ## Related quotes > [I think I'm not uber into the comedy scene, but I love to laugh, especially in our business, where you're always front and center…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cena/i-think-i-m-not-uber-into-the-comedy-scene-but-i-love-to-laugh/) [John Cena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cena/) > [I laugh at myself. I don't take myself completely seriously. I think that's another quality that people have to hold on to... you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-laugh-at-myself-i-don-t-take-myself-completely-seriously-i-think/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Well, I think that it's good to laugh. And especially when we're investigating these really expansive questions of identity, where we come from, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greta-lee/well-i-think-that-it-s-good-to-laugh-and-especially-when-we-re/) [Greta Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greta-lee/) > [It's important to laugh at yourself. Especially if you want people to think you're clinically insane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-important-to-laugh-at-yourself-especially-if-you-want-people-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I do a few jokes about the economy but from an everyday person perspective. People like to laugh, and they especially like to laugh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-regan/i-do-a-few-jokes-about-the-economy-but-from-an-everyday-person/) [Brian Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-regan/) > [“My mom loves to laugh, especially when nothing is funny. It's an important trait to have around here, but I'm afraid I didn't inherit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-sue-hitchcock/my-mom-loves-to-laugh-especially-when-nothing-is-funny-it-s-an/) [Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-sue-hitchcock/) > [Almost anything makes me laugh, especially jokes at my own expense. And I will never, ever admit to being ticklish anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-nelson/almost-anything-makes-me-laugh-especially-jokes-at-my-own-expense-and/) [Judd Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-nelson/) > [When you come to Germany as a Jew you have an uneasy feeling, but I've always felt okay in Berlin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/when-you-come-to-germany-as-a-jew-you-have-an-uneasy-feeling-but-i-ve/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [As far as songwriters, I've always been a fan of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin; those guys mean a lot to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/as-far-as-songwriters-i-ve-always-been-a-fan-of-irving-berlin-cole/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. 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But it all started in the shipyards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall-makes-for-nice-pictures-but-it-all/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I did a concert... in September with the Berlin Philharmonic... They're great musicians, and there's always something to learn from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-bartoli/i-did-a-concert-in-september-with-the-berlin-philharmonic-they-re/) [Cecilia Bartoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-bartoli/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) ## More by Mel Brooks > [Woody Allen is a genius. His films are wonderful. He's poetic, but he's also a critic. He artfully steps back from a social setting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/woody-allen-is-a-genius-his-films-are-wonderful-he-s-poetic-but-he-s/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [ Comedy is lively, comedy is joy, and that's what keeps us \[people\] going, we've got to look forward to little, little happiness's. Little, little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/comedy-is-lively-comedy-is-joy-and-that-s-what-keeps-us-people-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [All right, I am often brash, rude and brutally direct. Someday I'm going to die and I don't have time to toe-dance around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/all-right-i-am-often-brash-rude-and-brutally-direct-someday-i-m-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I don't think in terms of results at all. I think: what next insanity can I shock the world with?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-don-t-think-in-terms-of-results-at-all-i-think-what-next-insanity/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [My mother is very short - four-eleven. She could walk under tables and never hit her head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/my-mother-is-very-short-four-eleven-she-could-walk-under-tables-and/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [The audience. They see the name Mel Brooks, they want something really funny. They don't want to be moved; they don't want to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/the-audience-they-see-the-name-mel-brooks-they-want-something-really/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I realised that all one really had to do was just observe. Observe and slightly exaggerate, and you had comedy. Instead of creating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-realised-that-all-one-really-had-to-do-was-just-observe-observe-and/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Life literally abounds in comedy if you just look around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/life-literally-abounds-in-comedy-if-you-just-look-around-you/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Look, I really don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive, you got to flap your arms and legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/look-i-really-don-t-want-to-wax-philosophic-but-i-will-say-that-if/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I knew it... I'm surrounded by assholes!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-knew-it-i-m-surrounded-by-assholes/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I was in the army, and to me it was like a newsreel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-was-in-the-army-and-to-me-it-was-like-a-newsreel/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [But I have bad taste with a deep fount of intellectuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/but-i-have-bad-taste-with-a-deep-fount-of-intellectuality/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > ['Mad About You' was very fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/mad-about-you-was-very-fun/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Immortality is a by-product of good work. Masterpieces are not for artists, they're for critics. Critics can't even make music by rubbing their back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/immortality-is-a-by-product-of-good-work-masterpieces-are-not-for/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [If Ivan the Terrible had been kissed and loved between zero and three, he probably would have become Ivan Not So Terrible. If you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/if-ivan-the-terrible-had-been-kissed-and-loved-between-zero-and-three/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) [Explore all 173 Mel Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## More Berlin quotes > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I did a concert... in September with the Berlin Philharmonic... They're great musicians, and there's always something to learn from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecilia-bartoli/i-did-a-concert-in-september-with-the-berlin-philharmonic-they-re/) [Cecilia Bartoli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecilia-bartoli/) > [The fall of the Berlin Wall makes for nice pictures. But it all started in the shipyards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall-makes-for-nice-pictures-but-it-all/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [The music changed. We had Irving Berlin and Gershwin and Lerner and Loewe and Cole Porter. Great music. Now we have 'Rent.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyd-charisse/the-music-changed-we-had-irving-berlin-and-gershwin-and-lerner-and/) [Cyd Charisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyd-charisse/) > [My works are dear to me, each in its own way, I shall have to answer for them on the Day off Judgement. God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-chagall/my-works-are-dear-to-me-each-in-its-own-way-i-shall-have-to-answer/) [Marc Chagall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-chagall/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The church of St. Peter at Berlin, notwithstanding the total difference between them in the style of building, appears in some respects to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-philipp-moritz/the-church-of-st-peter-at-berlin-notwithstanding-the-total-difference/) [Karl Philipp Moritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-philipp-moritz/) > [...what happened in New York and Washington is the same thing that England and America did to Berlin every day for three years during…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy-kilmister/what-happened-in-new-york-and-washington-is-the-same-thing-that/) [Lemmy Kilmister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy-kilmister/) > [I am in Paris. Yes ma'am , I made it back. I came up from Berlin, stopped here ten days, fought a losing battle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-am-in-paris-yes-ma-am-i-made-it-back-i-came-up-from-berlin-stopped/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [God bless America, land that I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-berlin/god-bless-america-land-that-i-love/) [Irving Berlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-berlin/) > [I wouldn't want to live in Berlin. It's bombed out and there's a lot of techno.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-wouldn-t-want-to-live-in-berlin-it-s-bombed-out-and-there-s-a-lot/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [Berlin is still a very edgy place, a very cosmopolitan place. 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