Goebbels Quote by Robert Harris
““And people would believe it, thought Hartmann, because people believed what they wanted to believe – that was Goebbels’s great insight. They no longer had any need to bother themselves with inconvenient truths. He had given them an excuse not to think.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Fatherland by Robert Harris, 1992
People accept convenient narratives that align with desires, ignoring truth.
In simple terms: People believe what they want.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions.
Themes
propaganda
psychology
truth
belief
critical thinking
Mood
skeptical
reflective
Type
political
psychological
When to use this quote
- news consumption
- political discourse
- education
- media literacy
Key Concepts
cognitive bias
media influence
political manipulation
Questions to Reflect On
- Why do we resist uncomfortable facts?
- How can we foster critical thinking?
A Different Perspective
Truth can be suppressed by comfort.
![“Perhaps one cannot, what is more one must not, understand what happened, because to understand [the Holocaust] is almost to justify...no normal human being will ever be able to identify with Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, Eichmann, and endless others. This dismays us, and at the same time gives us a…” quote by Primo Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d1f/primo-levi-2751_able_perhaps-one-cannot-what-is-more-one-must_950690.jpg)
![“Hitler's historical hero had always been Frederick the Great. [Later], under Goebbels' prompting ... Napoleon emerged ... as his model. … Frederick the Great was a man who knew when to stop [and] Napoleon did not.” quote by Ernst Hanfstaengl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/387/ernst-hanfstaengl-38129_goebbels_hitler-s-historical-hero-had-always-been_876378.jpg)
