Adviser Quote by Noam Chomsky
![“In the Munich agreement in late 1938 [Franklin] Roosevelt sent his chief adviser Sumner Welles, who came back with a very supportive statement saying that Hitler was someone we could really do business with and so on.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d10/noam-chomsky-42_adviser_in-the-munich-agreement-in-late-1938-fra_2558896.jpg)
“In the Munich agreement in late 1938 [Franklin] Roosevelt sent his chief adviser Sumner Welles, who came back with a very supportive statement saying that Hitler was someone we could really do business with and so on.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Propaganda and the Public Mind by Noam Chomsky, 2004
The quote reveals how U.S. officials in 1938 sought to legitimize Hitler, showing diplomatic naiveté and moral compromise.
In simple terms: U.S. tried to do business with Hitler, showing poor judgment.
Key Takeaway
Question diplomatic decisions that ignore moral costs.
Themes
politics
history
ethics
diplomacy
propaganda
leadership
Mood
cautionary
historical
analytical
Type
analysis
commentary
When to use this quote
- government negotiations
- international relations
- historical analysis
Key Concepts
Moral compromise
foreign policy
pre‑war diplomacy
Questions to Reflect On
- What lessons apply to modern diplomacy?
- How can moral considerations be balanced with strategic interests?
A Different Perspective
The context of appeasement was complex and driven by fear of war.
![“In terms intellectually, [what] shaped my life was the whole Munich thing [the Munich Agreement] that I knew about all my life, in terms of how large powers make decisions that affect small countries, and the unintended consequences of that. The other part is I knew about the Holocaust. l just…” quote by Madeleine Albright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/288/madeleine-albright-1360_agreement_in-terms-intellectually-what-shaped-my-l_416884.jpg)
![“I wrote an article about the marine landing [in Haiti] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two months later and I assumed by then, "of course, everybody knows." Nobody knew. There was a news report in the Wall Street Journal, in the petroleum journals, and…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/dc5/noam-chomsky-42_articles_i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-land_13341.jpg)
