--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On February 2, 1933, for example, a…" description: "\"“On February 2, 1933, for example, a leading newspaper for German Jews published an editorial expressing this mislaid trust: We do not subscribe to the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/timothy-snyder-882_constitutional-right_on-february-2-1933-for-example-a-leading_1876480.jpg" --- # On February 2, 1933, for example, a leading newspaper for… ![“On February 2, 1933, for example, a leading newspaper for German Jews published an editorial expressing this mislaid trust: We do not subscribe to the view that Mr. Hitler and his friends, now finally in possession of the power they have so long desired, will implement the proposals circulating in…” quote by Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/timothy-snyder-882_constitutional-right_on-february-2-1933-for-example-a-leading_1876480.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/timothy-snyder-882_constitutional-right_on-february-2-1933-for-example-a-leading_1876480.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84f/timothy-snyder-882_constitutional-right_on-february-2-1933-for-example-a-leading_1876480.jpg) > ““On February 2, 1933, for example, a leading newspaper for German Jews published an editorial expressing this mislaid trust: We do not subscribe to the view that Mr. Hitler and his friends, now finally in possession of the power they have so long desired, will implement the proposals circulating in \[Nazi newspapers\]; they will not suddenly deprive German Jews of their constitutional rights, nor enclose them in ghettos, nor subject them to the jealous and murderous impulses of the mob. They cannot do this because a number of crucial factors hold powers in check … and they clearly do not want to go down that road. When one acts as a European power, the whole atmosphere tends towards ethical reflection upon one’s better self and away from revisiting one’s earlier oppositional posture.”” [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A warning that complacency and misplaced trust can blind societies to looming threats, leading to catastrophic outcomes. **In simple terms:** Blind trust in dangerous regimes leads to disaster. Key Takeaway Question vigilance and question authority. Themes history politics ethics trust danger Mood cautious reflective Type historical warning When to use this quote - political analysis - education - policy making - community vigilance Key Concepts totalitarianism propaganda collective denial moral responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How can societies maintain critical oversight? - What mechanisms prevent complacency? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can ignore warning signs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [1933 Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/1933-example-2623516/) [Constitutional rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitutional-rights/) [Hitler Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler-friends-2623515/) [Jews Constitutional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jews-constitutional-2623512/) [Jews Published](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jews-published-2623514/) [Judaism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism/) [Leadership](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leadership/) [Nazi Newspapers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nazi-newspapers-2623513/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) ## Related quotes > [ I'm sure that a previous generation of Jews who published radical newspapers and journals would be critical of \[David\] Simon's projects. These were left… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/i-m-sure-that-a-previous-generation-of-jews-who-published-radical/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [“A constitution is not a thing in name only, but in fact. It has not an ideal, but a real existence; and wherever it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/a-constitution-is-not-a-thing-in-name-only-but-in-fact-it-has-not-an/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The Democrats have made no secret of wanting to unilaterally infringe upon the Constitutional rights of the American people to keep and bear arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-donalds/the-democrats-have-made-no-secret-of-wanting-to-unilaterally-infringe/) [Byron Donalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-donalds/) > [People who want to come to this country don't have constitutional rights. Once they get here, they do. But coming here is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/people-who-want-to-come-to-this-country-don-t-have-constitutional/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [When we use the term pig, for example, we are referring to the people who systematically violate the peoples' constitutional rights - whether they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-seale/when-we-use-the-term-pig-for-example-we-are-referring-to-the-people/) [Bobby Seale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-seale/) > [Voting rights are constitutional rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ossoff/voting-rights-are-constitutional-rights/) [Jon Ossoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ossoff/) > [Censorship does not interfere with the constitutional rights of every American to sit alone in a dark room in the nude and cuss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/censorship-does-not-interfere-with-the-constitutional-rights-of-every/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) > [“Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-macgregor-burns/ambition-must-be-made-to-counteract-ambition-the-interest-of-the-man/) [James MacGregor Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-macgregor-burns/) > [ It didn't really change my opinion about \[Edward\] Snowden all that much, but I definitely feel like as a culture, it gave us information… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/it-didn-t-really-change-my-opinion-about-edward-snowden-all-that-much/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [You hear about constitutional rights, free speech and the free press. Every time I hear these words I say to myself, 'That man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-hague/you-hear-about-constitutional-rights-free-speech-and-the-free-press/) [Frank Hague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-hague/) > [To take a single step beyond the boundaries specially drawn around the powers of Congress is to take possession of a boundless field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/to-take-a-single-step-beyond-the-boundaries-specially-drawn-around/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Civil libertarians have raised concerns that some of the Patriot Act's provisions infringe on Constitutional rights. Those concerns are not supported by the facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wicker/civil-libertarians-have-raised-concerns-that-some-of-the-patriot-act/) [Roger Wicker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wicker/) > [President Bush has asserted the right to wiretap and eavesdrop on any American without a warrant in the name of fighting terrorism. He has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-thomas/president-bush-has-asserted-the-right-to-wiretap-and-eavesdrop-on-any/) [Helen Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-thomas/) > [I went to Ferguson and walked with the demonstrators and saw this heavily armed police force, tactical units pointing sniper rifles at my constituents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lacy-clay-jr/i-went-to-ferguson-and-walked-with-the-demonstrators-and-saw-this/) [William Lacy Clay, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lacy-clay-jr/) > [I think that, as Americans, we should never forget that when we tamper with freedom of speech, it is a very sensitive issue that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-b-rangel/i-think-that-as-americans-we-should-never-forget-that-when-we-tamper/) [Charles B. Rangel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-b-rangel/) ## More by Timothy Snyder > [“Nationalism is relativist, since the only truth is the resentment we feel when we contemplate others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/nationalism-is-relativist-since-the-only-truth-is-the-resentment-we/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The time is out of joint. O cursed spite,/That ever I was born to set it right!” Thus Hamlet. Yet he concludes: “Nay, come,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-time-is-out-of-joint-o-cursed-spite-that-ever-i-was-born-to-set/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“the democracies that arose after the First World War (and the Second) often collapsed when a single party seized power in some combination of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-democracies-that-arose-after-the-first-world-war-and-the-second/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“salami tactics—slicing off layers of opposition one by one. Most people were distracted, some were imprisoned, and others were outmatched.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/salami-tactics-slicing-off-layers-of-opposition-one-by-one-most/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“We allowed ourselves to accept the politics of inevitability, the sense that history could move in only one direction: toward liberal democracy...We imbibed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/we-allowed-ourselves-to-accept-the-politics-of-inevitability-the/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The key to this translation of ideology to politics in both cases was an effective appeal to human experience at the crucial time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-key-to-this-translation-of-ideology-to-politics-in-both-cases-was/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Both of these positions, inevitability and eternity, are antihistorical. The only thing that stands between them is history itself. History allows us to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/both-of-these-positions-inevitability-and-eternity-are-antihistorical/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The whole notion of disruption is adolescent: It assumes that after the teenagers make a mess, the adults will come and clean it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-whole-notion-of-disruption-is-adolescent-it-assumes-that-after/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“As she observed, “the first essential step on the road to total domination is to kill the juridical person in man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/as-she-observed-the-first-essential-step-on-the-road-to-total/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“The first mode is the open hostility to verifiable reality, which takes the form of presenting inventions and lies as if they were facts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/the-first-mode-is-the-open-hostility-to-verifiable-reality-which/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Once we subliminally accept that we are watching a reality show rather than thinking about real life, no image can actually hurt the president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/once-we-subliminally-accept-that-we-are-watching-a-reality-show/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Confidence in duration is the antidote to panic and the tonic of demagogy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/confidence-in-duration-is-the-antidote-to-panic-and-the-tonic-of/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Be calm when the unthinkable arrives. Modern tyranny is terror management. When the terrorist attack comes, remember that authoritarians exploit such events in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/be-calm-when-the-unthinkable-arrives-modern-tyranny-is-terror/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Life is political, not because the world cares about how you feel, but because the world reacts to what you do. The minor choices…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/life-is-political-not-because-the-world-cares-about-how-you-feel-but/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Extremism' certainly sounds bad, and governments often try to make it sound worse by using the word 'terrorism' in the same sentence. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/extremism-certainly-sounds-bad-and-governments-often-try-to-make-it/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) [Explore all 339 Timothy Snyder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) ## More Constitutional rights quotes > [I think that, as Americans, we should never forget that when we tamper with freedom of speech, it is a very sensitive issue that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-b-rangel/i-think-that-as-americans-we-should-never-forget-that-when-we-tamper/) [Charles B. Rangel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-b-rangel/) > [I went to Ferguson and walked with the demonstrators and saw this heavily armed police force, tactical units pointing sniper rifles at my constituents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lacy-clay-jr/i-went-to-ferguson-and-walked-with-the-demonstrators-and-saw-this/) [William Lacy Clay, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lacy-clay-jr/) > [President Bush has asserted the right to wiretap and eavesdrop on any American without a warrant in the name of fighting terrorism. He has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-thomas/president-bush-has-asserted-the-right-to-wiretap-and-eavesdrop-on-any/) [Helen Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-thomas/) > [Civil libertarians have raised concerns that some of the Patriot Act's provisions infringe on Constitutional rights. Those concerns are not supported by the facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-wicker/civil-libertarians-have-raised-concerns-that-some-of-the-patriot-act/) [Roger Wicker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-wicker/) > [To take a single step beyond the boundaries specially drawn around the powers of Congress is to take possession of a boundless field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/to-take-a-single-step-beyond-the-boundaries-specially-drawn-around/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [You hear about constitutional rights, free speech and the free press. Every time I hear these words I say to myself, 'That man is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-hague/you-hear-about-constitutional-rights-free-speech-and-the-free-press/) [Frank Hague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-hague/) > [ It didn't really change my opinion about \[Edward\] Snowden all that much, but I definitely feel like as a culture, it gave us information… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-quinto/it-didn-t-really-change-my-opinion-about-edward-snowden-all-that-much/) [Zachary Quinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-quinto/) > [“Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-macgregor-burns/ambition-must-be-made-to-counteract-ambition-the-interest-of-the-man/) [James MacGregor Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-macgregor-burns/) > [Censorship does not interfere with the constitutional rights of every American to sit alone in a dark room in the nude and cuss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-paulsen/censorship-does-not-interfere-with-the-constitutional-rights-of-every/) [Pat Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-paulsen/) > [Voting rights are constitutional rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ossoff/voting-rights-are-constitutional-rights/) [Jon Ossoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ossoff/) > [When we use the term pig, for example, we are referring to the people who systematically violate the peoples' constitutional rights - whether they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-seale/when-we-use-the-term-pig-for-example-we-are-referring-to-the-people/) [Bobby Seale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-seale/) > [People who want to come to this country don't have constitutional rights. Once they get here, they do. But coming here is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/people-who-want-to-come-to-this-country-don-t-have-constitutional/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [The Democrats have made no secret of wanting to unilaterally infringe upon the Constitutional rights of the American people to keep and bear arms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/byron-donalds/the-democrats-have-made-no-secret-of-wanting-to-unilaterally-infringe/) [Byron Donalds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/byron-donalds/) > [“A constitution is not a thing in name only, but in fact. It has not an ideal, but a real existence; and wherever it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/a-constitution-is-not-a-thing-in-name-only-but-in-fact-it-has-not-an/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [What makes America great is peaceful protests and exercising your constitutional rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-dowd/what-makes-america-great-is-peaceful-protests-and-exercising-your/) [Matthew Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-dowd/) [Browse all 139 Constitutional rights quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitutional-rights/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“On February 2, 1933, for example, a leading newspaper for German Jews published an editorial expressing this mislaid trust: We do not subscribe to the view that Mr. Hitler and his friends, now finally in possession of the power they have so long desired, will implement the proposals circulating in [Nazi newspapers]; they will not suddenly deprive German Jews of their constitutional rights, nor enclose them in ghettos, nor subject them to the jealous and murderous impulses of the mob. 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