--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: leaders.’ Nebe snorted and went back…" description: "\"“leaders.’ Nebe snorted and went back round his desk. ‘You’re going to have to watch your mouth, Bernie,’ he said, half-amused. ‘Get to the funny bit.’..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/philip-kerr-14488_leadership_leaders-nebe-snorted-and-went-back-round_1250498.jpg" --- # leaders.’ Nebe snorted and went back round his desk… ![“leaders.’ Nebe snorted and went back round his desk. ‘You’re going to have to watch your mouth, Bernie,’ he said, half-amused. ‘Get to the funny bit.’ ‘Well, it’s this. A number of recent reports, complaints if you like, made to Kripo by those related to institutionalized people leads me to…” quote by Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/philip-kerr-14488_leadership_leaders-nebe-snorted-and-went-back-round_1250498.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/philip-kerr-14488_leadership_leaders-nebe-snorted-and-went-back-round_1250498.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03a/philip-kerr-14488_leadership_leaders-nebe-snorted-and-went-back-round_1250498.jpg) > ““leaders.’ Nebe snorted and went back round his desk. ‘You’re going to have to watch your mouth, Bernie,’ he said, half-amused. ‘Get to the funny bit.’ ‘Well, it’s this. A number of recent reports, complaints if you like, made to Kripo by those related to institutionalized people leads me to suspect that some sort of mercy-killing is already being unofficially practised.’ I leant forward and grasped the bridge of my nose. ‘Do you ever get headaches? I get headaches. It’s smell that really sets them off. Paint smells pretty bad. So does formaldehyde in the mortuary. But the worst are those rotten pissing places you get where the dozers and rum-sweats sleep rough. That’s a smell I can recall in my worst nightmares. You know, Arthur, I thought I knew every bad smell there was in this city. But that’s last month’s shit fried with last year’s eggs.’ Nebe pulled open a drawer and took out a bottle and two glasses. He said nothing as he poured a couple of large ones. I threw it back and waited for the fiery spirit to seek out what was left of my heart and stomach. I nodded and let him pour me another. I said: ‘Just when you thought that things couldn’t get any worse, you find out that they’ve always been a lot worse than you thought they were. And then they get worse.’ I drained the second glass and then surveyed its empty shape. ‘Thanks for telling me straight, Arthur.’ I dragged myself to my feet. ‘And thanks for the warmer.’ ‘Please keep me informed about your suspect,’ he said. ‘You might consider letting a couple of your men work a friend-and-foe shift on him. No rough stuff, just a bit of the old-fashioned psychological pressure. You know the sort of thing I mean. Incidentally, how are you getting on with your team? Everything working out there? No resentments, or anything like that?’ I could have sat down again and given him a list of”” [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A dialogue reveals grim realities of institutional cruelty and the coping mechanisms of those entrenched in it. **In simple terms:** Harsh truths about institutional cruelty. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront systemic abuse. Themes institutional cruelty psychology survival Mood dark cynical Type literary dialogue When to use this quote - prison work - law enforcement - mental health Key Concepts moral decay psychological pressure desensitization Questions to Reflect On - What can individuals do to resist systemic cruelty? - How does humor serve as a coping tool? A Different Perspective May glorify bleakness without offering solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) ## Related quotes > [“ROM1.24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:  ROM1.25…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rom1-24-wherefore-god-also-gave-them-up-to-uncleanness-through-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“dramatically, but helium gas was 10 times as expensive. 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Tawney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-h-tawney/) > [Where most men work for degrees after their names, we work for one before our names: Saint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-angelica/where-most-men-work-for-degrees-after-their-names-we-work-for-one/) [Mother Angelica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-angelica/) > [ The thing most worth doing in this modern world \[is to\] create jobs that men can work at, and be proud of, and make… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nevil-shute/the-thing-most-worth-doing-in-this-modern-world-is-to-create-jobs/) [Nevil Shute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nevil-shute/) > [“The foreman carpenter allots his men work according to their ability. 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Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-w-smith/) ## More by Philip Kerr > [“No wonder Van Gogh cut his ear off, I thought; there’s nothing else to do in a place like this but cut your ear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/no-wonder-van-gogh-cut-his-ear-off-i-thought-there-s-nothing-else-to/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“Uki Goni’s excellent book The Real Odessa for much of my information about Nazis in Argentina.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/uki-goni-s-excellent-book-the-real-odessa-for-much-of-my-information/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“Frau Lange, her chins and her dog were waiting for me on the same chaise longue, except that it had been recovered with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/frau-lange-her-chins-and-her-dog-were-waiting-for-me-on-the-same/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“The colonel stood up. “I hope you enjoy your trip to Uruguay. Its government is stable, democratic, and politically mature. There’s even a welfare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/the-colonel-stood-up-i-hope-you-enjoy-your-trip-to-uruguay-its/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“My only choice was between the disastrous and the unpalatable. A very German choice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/my-only-choice-was-between-the-disastrous-and-the-unpalatable-a-very/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“Looking round the room I found there were so many false eyelashes flapping at me that I was beginning to feel a draught.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/looking-round-the-room-i-found-there-were-so-many-false-eyelashes/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“as great a blight on our world as a missionary landing on Tahiti with a boxful of brassieres.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/as-great-a-blight-on-our-world-as-a-missionary-landing-on-tahiti-with/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“When you’re working for people who are mostly thieves and murderers, a little of it comes off on your hands now and then.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/when-you-re-working-for-people-who-are-mostly-thieves-and-murderers-a/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“Well, who knew? When they were elected. That they were crooks, I mean.” “Pretty much everyone who didn’t vote for them, Friedrich. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/well-who-knew-when-they-were-elected-that-they-were-crooks-i-mean/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“the man who succeeds is the man who is able to reduce problems to their simplest terms and who has the courage of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/the-man-who-succeeds-is-the-man-who-is-able-to-reduce-problems-to/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“If he was a member of the human race at all, Neumann was its least attractive specimen. His eyebrows, twitching and curling like two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/if-he-was-a-member-of-the-human-race-at-all-neumann-was-its-least/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“Sometimes I think God is just the devil pretending to be nice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/sometimes-i-think-god-is-just-the-devil-pretending-to-be-nice/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“There are so many ways of escaping from that which one fears, and not the least of these is hatred.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/there-are-so-many-ways-of-escaping-from-that-which-one-fears-and-not/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“I was never one for looking at beautiful scenery, and certainly not since 1933; it distracts from the more important and admittedly metropolitan business…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/i-was-never-one-for-looking-at-beautiful-scenery-and-certainly-not/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) > [“The interesting thing about the rich is that they like being told where to get off. They confuse it with honesty”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kerr/the-interesting-thing-about-the-rich-is-that-they-like-being-told/) [Philip Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) [Explore all 37 Philip Kerr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kerr/) ## More Gaze quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [“Taylor said a prayer for the man, and apologized out loud. Knowing there was nothing left to do, she turned to leave. As she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-ellison/taylor-said-a-prayer-for-the-man-and-apologized-out-loud-knowing/) [J.T. 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A number of recent reports, complaints if you like, made to Kripo by those related to institutionalized people leads me to suspect that some sort of mercy-killing is already being unofficially practised.’ I leant forward and grasped the bridge of my nose. ‘Do you ever get headaches? I get headaches. It’s smell that really sets them off. Paint smells pretty bad. So does formaldehyde in the mortuary. But the worst are those rotten pissing places you get where the dozers and rum-sweats sleep rough. That’s a smell I can recall in my worst nightmares. You know, Arthur, I thought I knew every bad smell there was in this city. But that’s last month’s shit fried with last year’s eggs.’ Nebe pulled open a drawer and took out a bottle and two glasses. He said nothing as he poured a couple of large ones. I threw it back and waited for the fiery spirit to seek out what was left of my heart and stomach. I nodded and let him pour me another. I said: ‘Just when you thought that things couldn’t get any worse, you find out that they’ve always been a lot worse than you thought they were. And then they get worse.’ I drained the second glass and then surveyed its empty shape. ‘Thanks for telling me straight, Arthur.’ I dragged myself to my feet. ‘And thanks for the warmer.’ ‘Please keep me informed about your suspect,’ he said. ‘You might consider letting a couple of your men work a friend-and-foe shift on him. No rough stuff, just a bit of the old-fashioned psychological pressure. You know the sort of thing I mean. Incidentally, how are you getting on with your team? Everything working out there? 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