---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Among German historians, there's really…"
description: "\"Among German historians, there's really not much debate about whether or not Hitler was a social Darwinist. He clearly was drawing on Darwinian ideas.\"..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/richard-weikart-84796_atheism_among-german-historians-there-s-really-n_563115.png"
---

#  Among German historians, there's really not much debate…

![“Among German historians, there's really not much debate about whether or not Hitler was a social Darwinist. He clearly was drawing on Darwinian ideas.” quote by Richard Weikart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/richard-weikart-84796_atheism_among-german-historians-there-s-really-n_563115.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/richard-weikart-84796_atheism_among-german-historians-there-s-really-n_563115.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/richard-weikart-84796_atheism_among-german-historians-there-s-really-n_563115.png)

> “Among German historians, there's really not much debate about whether or not Hitler was a social Darwinist. He clearly was drawing on Darwinian ideas.”

Richard Weikart

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Hitler incorporated Darwinian concepts into his ideology, but his motives were political, not scientific, showing misuse of evolutionary theory.

**In simple terms:** Hitler used Darwin ideas for politics.

Key Takeaway

Beware of misapplying science for ideology.

Themes

politics science misuse history

Mood

critical educational

Type

historical philosophical

When to use this quote

- history classes
- political analysis
- ethics discussions

Key Concepts

social Darwinism ideological distortion

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we prevent scientific ideas from being politicized?
- What safeguards exist against ideological misuse?

A Different Perspective

Scientific theories are often twisted for power.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Debate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debate/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/)

## Related quotes

> [“No. I’ve been thinking about this for weeks. I say in my talks it takes two things to make it happen again, a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/no-i-ve-been-thinking-about-this-for-weeks-i-say-in-my-talks-it-takes/)

[Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/)

> [There was no intellectual movement in American history called social Darwinism. The people who were supposedly the leaders of the social Darwinist movement never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/there-was-no-intellectual-movement-in-american-history-called-social/)

[Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/)

> [His cold eyes stared at me. At last, he said wearily: "I have more faith in Hitler than in anyone else. He alone has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/his-cold-eyes-stared-at-me-at-last-he-said-wearily-i-have-more-faith/)

[Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/)

> [ For instance, \[Adolf Hitler\] would never have spent the night at the Widenmayerstraße apartment. He visited it before we moved the furniture in, he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/for-instance-adolf-hitler-would-never-have-spent-the-night-at-the/)

[Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/)

> [To understand Hitler's power as a speaker, we must consider that he was not just the bellowing tavern demagogue we always picture, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/volker-ullrich/to-understand-hitler-s-power-as-a-speaker-we-must-consider-that-he/)

[Volker Ullrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/volker-ullrich/)

> [“I remember seeing one elderly man look at us, and he held his hand out, and most frightening were his eyes, dark as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-remember-seeing-one-elderly-man-look-at-us-and-he-held-his-hand-out/)

[Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/)

> [Superman punched out Hitler. So did Captain America. That's one of the things they're there for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-miller/superman-punched-out-hitler-so-did-captain-america-that-s-one-of-the/)

[Frank Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-miller/)

> [ My father would never have come to visit, he detested Eva's \[Braun\] choice in a man and the fact \[Adolf\] Hitler had set her… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/my-father-would-never-have-come-to-visit-he-detested-eva-s-braun/)

[Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/)

> [“Hitler made only one big mistake when he built his Atlantic Wall,” the paratroopers liked to say. “He forgot to put a roof on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-e-ambrose/hitler-made-only-one-big-mistake-when-he-built-his-atlantic-wall-the/)

[Stephen E. Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-e-ambrose/)

> [ \[Wilhelm\] Bruckner was one of \[Adolf\] Hitler's adjutants, very close to him and he'd been in the party probably since day one. Personally neither… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/wilhelm-bruckner-was-one-of-adolf-hitler-s-adjutants-very-close-to/)

[Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/)

> [I'm not really a practising Jew but I keep a kosher kitchen just to spite Hitler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miriam-margolyes/i-m-not-really-a-practising-jew-but-i-keep-a-kosher-kitchen-just-to/)

[Miriam Margolyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miriam-margolyes/)

> [ Eva \[Braun\] loved \[Adolf\] Hitler and he was the only man in her life. She flirted and danced with other men but never would… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretl-braun/eva-braun-loved-adolf-hitler-and-he-was-the-only-man-in-her-life-she/)

[Gretl Braun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretl-braun/)

> [Anyone who makes the life of Jewish people difficult or grievous, as did the Pharaoh, as did Hitler, will be cursed by God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/anyone-who-makes-the-life-of-jewish-people-difficult-or-grievous-as/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [“I look at my mother, connected by a breath of glimmering hope, her red and shadowed eyes reveal that some element of our whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-nestor/i-look-at-my-mother-connected-by-a-breath-of-glimmering-hope-her-red/)

[Alfred Nestor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-nestor/)

> [ \[Hitler thought\] that Mussolini was no figure of world history, like der Fuehrer or Stalin. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-goebbels/hitler-thought-that-mussolini-was-no-figure-of-world-history-like-der/)

[Joseph Goebbels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-goebbels/)

## More by Richard Weikart

> [“Darwinism by itself did not produce the Holocaust, but without Darwinism... neither Hitler nor his Nazi followers would have had the necessary scientific underpinnings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-weikart/darwinism-by-itself-did-not-produce-the-holocaust-but-without/)

Richard Weikart

> [Darwinism undermined traditional morality and the value of human life. Then, evolutionary progress became the new moral imperative. This aided the advance of eugenics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-weikart/darwinism-undermined-traditional-morality-and-the-value-of-human-life/)

Richard Weikart

Explore all 3 Richard Weikart quotes

## More Atheism quotes

> [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/)

[Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/)

> [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/)

[Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/)

> [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/)

> [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/)

[Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/)

> [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/)

[John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/)

> [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/)

[Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/)

> [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/)

[Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/)

> [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/)

[Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/)

> [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

> [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/)

[Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/)

> [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/)

[Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/)

> [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/)

[Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/)

[Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Among German historians, there's really not much debate about whether or not Hitler was a social Darwinist. He clearly was drawing on Darwinian ideas.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Richard Weikart"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-weikart/among-german-historians-there-s-really-not-much-debate-about-whether/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Atheism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-weikart/among-german-historians-there-s-really-not-much-debate-about-whether/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/richard-weikart-84796_atheism_among-german-historians-there-s-really-n_563115.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/richard-weikart-84796_atheism_among-german-historians-there-s-really-n_563115.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/185/richard-weikart-84796_atheism_among-german-historians-there-s-really-n_563115.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Among German historians, there's really not much debate about whether or not Hitler was a social Darwinist…” — Richard Weikart",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Richard Weikart",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-weikart/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Among German historians, there's really not...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-weikart/among-german-historians-there-s-really-not-much-debate-about-whether/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-weikart/among-german-historians-there-s-really-not-much-debate-about-whether/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
