--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think,\" says Professor Carl Hermann…" description: "\"“I think,\" says Professor Carl Hermann, who never left his homeland, \"that even now the outside world does not realize how surprised we non-Nazis were ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/822/milton-mayer-27880_dictatorship_i-think-says-professor-carl-hermann-who_1444013.jpg" --- # I think," says Professor Carl Hermann, who never left his… ![“I think," says Professor Carl Hermann, who never left his homeland, "that even now the outside world does not realize how surprised we non-Nazis were in 1933. When mass dictatorship occurred in Russia, then in Italy, we said to one another, 'That is what happens in backward countries. We are…” quote by Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/822/milton-mayer-27880_dictatorship_i-think-says-professor-carl-hermann-who_1444013.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/822/milton-mayer-27880_dictatorship_i-think-says-professor-carl-hermann-who_1444013.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/822/milton-mayer-27880_dictatorship_i-think-says-professor-carl-hermann-who_1444013.jpg) > ““I think," says Professor Carl Hermann, who never left his homeland, "that even now the outside world does not realize how surprised we non-Nazis were in 1933. When mass dictatorship occurred in Russia, then in Italy, we said to one another, 'That is what happens in backward countries. We are fortunate, for all our troubles, that it cannot happen here.' But it did, worse even than elsewhere, and I think that all the explanations leave some mystery. When I think of it at all, I still say, with unbelief, 'Germany—no, not Germany.”” [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even in seemingly safe societies, complacency blinds people to emerging dictatorships, leading to unexpected tragedy. **In simple terms:** Complacency hides danger in stable societies. Key Takeaway Stay vigilant against authoritarian threats. Themes politics history complacency Mood cautious serious Type political historical When to use this quote - education - policy making - public discourse - media analysis Key Concepts totalitarianism social psychology warning signs Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize early signs of tyranny? - What safeguards can prevent complacency? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can cause denial of warning signs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dictatorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictatorship/) [Germany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/germany/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Nazis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nazis/) [Outside world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outside-world/) ## Related quotes > [Nixon would like to consign us to to the level of the most backward countries in the whole Middle East. Why lower us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-reza-pahlavi/nixon-would-like-to-consign-us-to-to-the-level-of-the-most-backward/) [Mohammed Reza Pahlavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-reza-pahlavi/) > [Today we take it for granted that war happens in smaller, poorer and more backward countries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/today-we-take-it-for-granted-that-war-happens-in-smaller-poorer-and/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [It is only in the backward countries of the world that increased production is still an important object.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/it-is-only-in-the-backward-countries-of-the-world-that-increased/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [There may be some backward countries where the mass of the people are on a subsistence level and where, as an aftermath of wars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-e-wilson/there-may-be-some-backward-countries-where-the-mass-of-the-people-are/) [Charles E. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [“My ten friends had been told, not since 1939 but since 1933, that their nation was fighting for its life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/my-ten-friends-had-been-told-not-since-1939-but-since-1933-that-their/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“National Socialism was a revulsion by my friends against parliamentary politics, parliamentary debate, parliamentary government—against all the higgling and the haggling of the parties…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/national-socialism-was-a-revulsion-by-my-friends-against/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“When I asked Herr Wedekind, the baker, why he had believed in National Socialism, he said, "Because it promised to solve the unemployment problem.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/when-i-asked-herr-wedekind-the-baker-why-he-had-believed-in-national/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“The fact is, I think, that my friends really didn't know. They didn't know because they didn't want to know; but they didn't know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/the-fact-is-i-think-that-my-friends-really-didn-t-know-they-didn-t/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“None of my ten friends, even today, ascribes moral evil to Hitler, although most of them think (after the fact) that he made fatal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/none-of-my-ten-friends-even-today-ascribes-moral-evil-to-hitler/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“How is this to be avoided, among ordinary men, even highly educated ordinary men? Frankly, I do not know. I do not see, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/how-is-this-to-be-avoided-among-ordinary-men-even-highly-educated/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“I fooled myself. I had to. Everybody has to. If the good had been twice as good and the bad only half as bad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/i-fooled-myself-i-had-to-everybody-has-to-if-the-good-had-been-twice/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“In the years of its rise the movement little by little brought the community's attitude toward the teacher around from respect and envy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/in-the-years-of-its-rise-the-movement-little-by-little-brought-the/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“It was not anti-Semitism or socialism or the New Order that first animated the Nazis; their first slogal was, "Break the chains of Versailles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/it-was-not-anti-semitism-or-socialism-or-the-new-order-that-first/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“The Nazis had been one thing. The communists were another. But now there were academics crawling all over the palace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magnus-flyte/the-nazis-had-been-one-thing-the-communists-were-another-but-now/) [Magnus Flyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magnus-flyte/) > [When history looks back, I want people to know the Nazis weren't able to kill millions of people and get away with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to-know-the-nazis-weren-t-able/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) ## More by Milton Mayer > [Once the war began, the government could do anything 'necessary' to win it; so it was with the 'final solution of the Jewish problem,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/once-the-war-began-the-government-could-do-anything-necessary-to-win/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [The marvels - of film, radio, and television - are marvels of one-way communication, which is not communication at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/the-marvels-of-film-radio-and-television-are-marvels-of-one-way/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“It was not anti-Semitism or socialism or the New Order that first animated the Nazis; their first slogal was, "Break the chains of Versailles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/it-was-not-anti-semitism-or-socialism-or-the-new-order-that-first/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [Scott Buchanan . . . taught me that the questions that can be answered are not worth asking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/scott-buchanan-taught-me-that-the-questions-that-can-be-answered-are/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“In the years of its rise the movement little by little brought the community's attitude toward the teacher around from respect and envy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/in-the-years-of-its-rise-the-movement-little-by-little-brought-the/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“I fooled myself. I had to. Everybody has to. If the good had been twice as good and the bad only half as bad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/i-fooled-myself-i-had-to-everybody-has-to-if-the-good-had-been-twice/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [I have never been able to understand why it is that just because I am unintelligible nobody understands me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/i-have-never-been-able-to-understand-why-it-is-that-just-because-i-am/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“The world once purged by flood ends always again in the surer purgative of fire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/the-world-once-purged-by-flood-ends-always-again-in-the-surer/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“Why does a man want his children to be better than himself?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/why-does-a-man-want-his-children-to-be-better-than-himself/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [The American goes to Paris, always has, and comes back and tells his neighbor, always does, how exorbitant and inhospitable it is, how rapacious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/the-american-goes-to-paris-always-has-and-comes-back-and-tells-his/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“How is this to be avoided, among ordinary men, even highly educated ordinary men? Frankly, I do not know. I do not see, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/how-is-this-to-be-avoided-among-ordinary-men-even-highly-educated/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“None of my ten friends, even today, ascribes moral evil to Hitler, although most of them think (after the fact) that he made fatal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/none-of-my-ten-friends-even-today-ascribes-moral-evil-to-hitler/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“In the body politic as in the body personal, nonresistance to the milder indulgences paves the way for nonresistance to the deadlier.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/in-the-body-politic-as-in-the-body-personal-nonresistance-to-the/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“The fact is, I think, that my friends really didn't know. They didn't know because they didn't want to know; but they didn't know.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/the-fact-is-i-think-that-my-friends-really-didn-t-know-they-didn-t/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [“When I asked Herr Wedekind, the baker, why he had believed in National Socialism, he said, "Because it promised to solve the unemployment problem.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/when-i-asked-herr-wedekind-the-baker-why-he-had-believed-in-national/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) [Explore all 20 Milton Mayer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) ## More Dictatorship quotes > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [Dictatorship is rule based directly upon force and unrestricted by any laws. The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is rule won and maintained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/dictatorship-is-rule-based-directly-upon-force-and-unrestricted-by/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [I was born in Cuba. At the age of 14 years of age I was involved in a revolution. We were suffering from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/i-was-born-in-cuba-at-the-age-of-14-years-of-age-i-was-involved-in-a/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [The situation with Tibet has to change. China is one of the last huge dictatorships, holding on to these colonies, provinces. That has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-yauch/the-situation-with-tibet-has-to-change-china-is-one-of-the-last-huge/) [Adam Yauch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-yauch/) > [Motherland is our property and we have right to handle our properties as pleased. The jokes about death for the sake of the motherland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/motherland-is-our-property-and-we-have-right-to-handle-our-properties/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [Your best friends are your principles, if you havent them, dont look for another friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/your-best-friends-are-your-principles-if-you-havent-them-dont-look/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“. Despite the considerable horror they had felt when the SA men were bellowing crude anti-Semitic slogans, in retrospect the joke-tellers were very much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolph-herzog/despite-the-considerable-horror-they-had-felt-when-the-sa-men-were/) [Rudolph Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolph-herzog/) > [A strong saying is not afraid of criticism, because it includes all the answers to criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/a-strong-saying-is-not-afraid-of-criticism-because-it-includes-all/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [The dictatorship of the proletariat and the leadership of the Marxist-Leninist party are indispensable conditions for the triumph of the Socialist revolution and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/the-dictatorship-of-the-proletariat-and-the-leadership-of-the-marxist/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [I never thought about becoming a politician. But during the military dictatorship, my grandfather was put in prison six times and my father twice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-papandreou/i-never-thought-about-becoming-a-politician-but-during-the-military/) [George Papandreou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-papandreou/) > [ “\[...\] dictatorship, the most extreme form of tyranny, can never lead to social liberation.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/dictatorship-the-most-extreme-form-of-tyranny-can-never-lead-to/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [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/) > [In many ways, the media today makes dictatorship impossible. But it also makes democracy intolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/in-many-ways-the-media-today-makes-dictatorship-impossible-but-it/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [“Your law always does more harm than crime, and your morality is a form of violence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bond/your-law-always-does-more-harm-than-crime-and-your-morality-is-a-form/) [Edward Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bond/) > [Something that comes to us, some gym shoe that comes to us as a result of child labor from a brutal dictatorship, where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/something-that-comes-to-us-some-gym-shoe-that-comes-to-us-as-a-result/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) [Browse all 793 Dictatorship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictatorship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I think,\" says Professor Carl Hermann, who never left his homeland, \"that even now the outside world does not realize how surprised we non-Nazis were in 1933. When mass dictatorship occurred in Russia, then in Italy, we said to one another, 'That is what happens in backward countries. We are fortunate, for all our troubles, that it cannot happen here.' But it did, worse even than elsewhere, and I think that all the explanations leave some mystery. 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