---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When history looks back, I want people to…"
description: "\"When history looks back, I want people to know that the Nazis could not kill millions of people with impunity.\" — Simon Wiesenthal"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/simon-wiesenthal-15990_back_when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to_2444038.jpg"
---

#  When history looks back, I want people to know that the…

![“When history looks back, I want people to know that the Nazis could not kill millions of people with impunity.” quote by Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/simon-wiesenthal-15990_back_when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to_2444038.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/simon-wiesenthal-15990_back_when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to_2444038.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/simon-wiesenthal-15990_back_when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to_2444038.jpg)

> “When history looks back, I want people to know that the Nazis could not kill millions of people with impunity.”

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

## About This Quote

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

Future generations should remember that the Nazis were held accountable for their crimes.

**In simple terms:** Nazis must not act with impunity.

Key Takeaway

Ensure accountability for atrocities.

Themes

justice memory history

Mood

somber determined

Type

historical ethical

When to use this quote

- education curricula
- memorials
- legal trials

Key Concepts

war crimes moral responsibility

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies keep historical accountability alive?
- What role do individuals play in preventing impunity?

A Different Perspective

Denial and revisionism challenge this memory.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Impunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impunity/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Nazis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nazis/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

## Related quotes

> [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/)

> [When history looks back, I waI'm more aware of time. The element of time. nt people to know that the Nazis could not kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/when-history-looks-back-i-wai-m-more-aware-of-time-the-element-of/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [How the hell do I know why there were Nazis? I don't know how the can-opener works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/how-the-hell-do-i-know-why-there-were-nazis-i-don-t-know-how-the-can/)

[Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/)

> [The end was surely near. The Nazis killed you only when you were naked, because they knew, psychologically, that naked people never resist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/the-end-was-surely-near-the-nazis-killed-you-only-when-you-were-naked/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [You're a religious man, ... You believe in God and life after death. I also believe. When we come to the other world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/you-re-a-religious-man-you-believe-in-god-and-life-after-death-i-also/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [In the Goldstone Report, Israeli perpetrators of possible crimes against humanity were made subject to prosecution and punishment, although the geopolitical leverage of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-a-falk/in-the-goldstone-report-israeli-perpetrators-of-possible-crimes/)

[Richard A. Falk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-a-falk/)

> [If you go back in time you'll find tribes that were essentially only concerned with their own tribal members. If you were a member…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/if-you-go-back-in-time-you-ll-find-tribes-that-were-essentially-only/)

[Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/)

> [We frequently do good in order to enable us to do evil later with impunity exemption of punishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/we-frequently-do-good-in-order-to-enable-us-to-do-evil-later-with/)

[Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/)

> [The Liberty of the press consists in the right to publish with impunity truth with good motives for justifiable ends, though reflecting on government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-liberty-of-the-press-consists-in-the-right-to-publish-with/)

[Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/)

> [We have been the most prodigal of people with land, and for years we wasted it with impunity. There was so much of it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-whyte/we-have-been-the-most-prodigal-of-people-with-land-and-for-years-we/)

[William H. Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-whyte/)

> [For states' rights advocates, the Constitution is like a contract that is openly violated by one party with impunity. On paper, the states remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-turley/for-states-rights-advocates-the-constitution-is-like-a-contract-that/)

[Jonathan Turley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-turley/)

> [Men frequently do good only to give themselves opportunity of doing ill with impunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/men-frequently-do-good-only-to-give-themselves-opportunity-of-doing/)

[Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/)

> [With a congressional mandate to run the deficit up as high as need be, there is no reason to raise taxes now and risk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-morris/with-a-congressional-mandate-to-run-the-deficit-up-as-high-as-need-be/)

[Dick Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-morris/)

> [The north of the Central African Republic is now a war zone, with rival armed bands burning villages, kidnapping children, robbing travelers and killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-d-kristof/the-north-of-the-central-african-republic-is-now-a-war-zone-with/)

[Nicholas D. Kristof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-d-kristof/)

> [“Don't let cycles of violent crimes, uncontrollable, rising cases of bloody impunity, evil puppets in a crippled judiciary, marionettes in a corrupted legislative system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelica-hopes/don-t-let-cycles-of-violent-crimes-uncontrollable-rising-cases-of/)

[Angelica Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelica-hopes/)

## More by Simon Wiesenthal

> [There is no freedom without justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/there-is-no-freedom-without-justice/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [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/)

> [Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/discovering-witnesses-is-just-as-important-as-catching-criminals/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [We know that we are not collectively guilty, so how can we accuse any other nation, no matter what some of its people have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/we-know-that-we-are-not-collectively-guilty-so-how-can-we-accuse-any/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [You're a religious man, ... You believe in God and life after death. I also believe. When we come to the other world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/you-re-a-religious-man-you-believe-in-god-and-life-after-death-i-also/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [But I am not a hater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/but-i-am-not-a-hater/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [Even before I had had time to really think things through, I realized we must not forget. If all of us forgot, the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/even-before-i-had-had-time-to-really-think-things-through-i-realized/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [The end was surely near. The Nazis killed you only when you were naked, because they knew, psychologically, that naked people never resist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/the-end-was-surely-near-the-nazis-killed-you-only-when-you-were-naked/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [For your benefit, learn from our tragedy. It is not a written law that the next victims must be Jews. It can also be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/for-your-benefit-learn-from-our-tragedy-it-is-not-a-written-law-that/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [The schools would fail through their silence, the Church through its forgiveness, and the home through the denial and silence of the parents. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/the-schools-would-fail-through-their-silence-the-church-through-its/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [Human rights is the only ideology that deserves to survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/human-rights-is-the-only-ideology-that-deserves-to-survive/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [No gassing took place in any camp on Germany soil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/no-gassing-took-place-in-any-camp-on-germany-soil/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [There were millions of such families anxious only for peace and quiet in their own little nests. These were the mounting blocks by which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/there-were-millions-of-such-families-anxious-only-for-peace-and-quiet/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [The history of man is the history of crimes, and history can repeat. So information is a defence. Through this we can build, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/the-history-of-man-is-the-history-of-crimes-and-history-can-repeat-so/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

> [For me the Holocaust was not only a Jewish tragedy, but also a human tragedy. After the war, when I saw that the Jews…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/for-me-the-holocaust-was-not-only-a-jewish-tragedy-but-also-a-human/)

[Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

[Explore all 41 Simon Wiesenthal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/)

## More Back quotes

> [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/)

[Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/)

> [I honestly would like to get that Frankie fight back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-mendes/i-honestly-would-like-to-get-that-frankie-fight-back/)

[Chad Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-mendes/)

> [Drumming's pretty physical. We sit at the back of the stage getting beat up like a workhorse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lee/drumming-s-pretty-physical-we-sit-at-the-back-of-the-stage-getting/)

[Tommy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lee/)

> [I never want to look back on any moment and say I could have done more. So I go all in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-haze/i-never-want-to-look-back-on-any-moment-and-say-i-could-have-done/)

[Scott Haze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-haze/)

> [I wish that I had known back then that a mastery of process would lead to a product. Then I probably wouldn't have found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/i-wish-that-i-had-known-back-then-that-a-mastery-of-process-would/)

[Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/)

> [It's what the people wanted at the time, but the country could not be half-segregated and half-integrated, just as it could not be half-slave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wallace/it-s-what-the-people-wanted-at-the-time-but-the-country-could-not-be/)

[George Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wallace/)

> [I've always stuck my arms behind my back anyway when trying to block a shot in the penalty area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millie-bright/i-ve-always-stuck-my-arms-behind-my-back-anyway-when-trying-to-block/)

[Millie Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millie-bright/)

> [I'm sure at some point I will get back into coaching, but right now I need to focus completely on my kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-ewing/i-m-sure-at-some-point-i-will-get-back-into-coaching-but-right-now-i/)

[Patrick Ewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-ewing/)

> [Any time someone achieves success before they've earned it, it always comes back to haunt them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-white/any-time-someone-achieves-success-before-they-ve-earned-it-it-always/)

[Ron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-white/)

> [In Congress, Florida Republicans worked with the Trump administration to secure funding for coastal restoration projects following the devastating impacts of Hurricanes Irma and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-waltz/in-congress-florida-republicans-worked-with-the-trump-administration/)

[Michael Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-waltz/)

> [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/)

[Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/)

> [We're all painfully aware of how suddenly violence can occur, how crippling it is, and how survivors have to find a way back from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dini/we-re-all-painfully-aware-of-how-suddenly-violence-can-occur-how/)

[Paul Dini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dini/)

> [Ronaldo is just an athlete. He works so hard and back to back; he is always there. But if you work hard, can you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-davids/ronaldo-is-just-an-athlete-he-works-so-hard-and-back-to-back-he-is/)

[Edgar Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-davids/)

> [I do spend a lot of weekends on the road. I have to pace myself. It can be pretty busy, but I'm not out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sinise/i-do-spend-a-lot-of-weekends-on-the-road-i-have-to-pace-myself-it-can/)

[Gary Sinise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sinise/)

> [British Forces should be in a position to give back in a ten fold measure any attack that the Germans may attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-banting/british-forces-should-be-in-a-position-to-give-back-in-a-ten-fold/)

[Frederick Banting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-banting/)

Browse all 9,709 Back quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "When history looks back, I want people to know that the Nazis could not kill millions of people with impunity.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Simon Wiesenthal"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to-know-that-the-nazis-could/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Back"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to-know-that-the-nazis-could/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/simon-wiesenthal-15990_back_when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to_2444038.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/simon-wiesenthal-15990_back_when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to_2444038.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e3/simon-wiesenthal-15990_back_when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to_2444038.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When history looks back, I want people to know that the Nazis could not kill millions of people with impunity.” — Simon Wiesenthal",
                "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": "Simon Wiesenthal",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "When history looks back, I want...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to-know-that-the-nazis-could/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/when-history-looks-back-i-want-people-to-know-that-the-nazis-could/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
