--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some killed from murderous conviction…" description: "\"“Some killed from murderous conviction. But many others who killed were just afraid to stand out. other forces were at work besides conformism. But wit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/timothy-snyder-882_faith_some-killed-from-murderous-conviction-bu_1378892.jpg" --- # Some killed from murderous conviction. But many others who… ![“Some killed from murderous conviction. But many others who killed were just afraid to stand out. other forces were at work besides conformism. But without conformists, the great atrocities would have been impossible.” quote by Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/timothy-snyder-882_faith_some-killed-from-murderous-conviction-bu_1378892.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/timothy-snyder-882_faith_some-killed-from-murderous-conviction-bu_1378892.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc0/timothy-snyder-882_faith_some-killed-from-murderous-conviction-bu_1378892.jpg) > ““Some killed from murderous conviction. But many others who killed were just afraid to stand out. other forces were at work besides conformism. But without conformists, the great atrocities would have been impossible.”” [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. People commit atrocities either from zeal or out of fear of standing out; conformity enables large-scale horrors. **In simple terms:** Fear and conformity fuel atrocities. Key Takeaway Challenge conformity, speak up. Themes power fear conformity atrocity politics Mood somber critical Type historical political When to use this quote - activism - education - policy reform - community building Key Concepts authoritarianism social pressure mass violence Questions to Reflect On - How does fear silence dissent? - What can break the pressure to conform? A Different Perspective Even without zealots, ordinary people can enable evil through silence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atrocities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrocities/) [Conformism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformism/) [Conformists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conformists/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) ## Related quotes > [“Other forces were at work besides conformism. But without the conformists, the great atrocities would have been impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/other-forces-were-at-work-besides-conformism-but-without-the/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“But without the conformists, the great atrocities would have been impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/but-without-the-conformists-the-great-atrocities-would-have-been/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [“Wild birds will kill exotic ones: the budgies and the lovebirds and the yellow canaries-- escaped from their cages and hoping to get a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/wild-birds-will-kill-exotic-ones-the-budgies-and-the-lovebirds-and/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [“But as Stephen Fry has so eloquently noted, all great atrocities and genocides first begin with marginalizing then dehumanizing a specific group of people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/but-as-stephen-fry-has-so-eloquently-noted-all-great-atrocities-and/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [“If lawyers had followed the norm of no execution without trial, if doctors had accepted the rule of no surgery without consent, if businessmen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/if-lawyers-had-followed-the-norm-of-no-execution-without-trial-if/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [Our Press and our schools cultivate Chauvinism, militarism, dogmatism, conformism and ignorance. The arbitrary power of the Government is unlimited, and unexampled in history;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/our-press-and-our-schools-cultivate-chauvinism-militarism-dogmatism/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [Violence represents the worst kind of conformism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/violence-represents-the-worst-kind-of-conformism/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [The conformist understands that the reason of his desperate look for conformism is that he realises he is different and that he never accepted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernardo-bertolucci/the-conformist-understands-that-the-reason-of-his-desperate-look-for/) [Bernardo Bertolucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernardo-bertolucci/) > [“Human history is the ancient story of the umbilical conflict between a lone individual versus a cabalistic society. A love-hate relationship defines our personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/human-history-is-the-ancient-story-of-the-umbilical-conflict-between/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [Conformism is a potent statement, and as much as we do talk about individuality in fashion, there's a sense that people are fearful of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-o-connor/conformism-is-a-potent-statement-and-as-much-as-we-do-talk-about/) [Erin O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-o-connor/) > [“Cowen detects conformism even in the liveliest Silicon Valley companies. Most of its denizens wear some variation on the casual hipster uniform and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-luce/cowen-detects-conformism-even-in-the-liveliest-silicon-valley/) [Edward Luce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-luce/) > [“Yeah,” Robertson nodded grimly. “It’s the whole problem, isn’t it? People just doing their jobs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krzysztof-pacy-ski/yeah-robertson-nodded-grimly-it-s-the-whole-problem-isn-t-it-people/) [Krzysztof Pacyński](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krzysztof-pacy-ski/) > [In late modernity we grow more and more accustomed to politicians and public figures who are indebted to their appetites for their "values," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/in-late-modernity-we-grow-more-and-more-accustomed-to-politicians-and/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [I make no concessions to conformism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-macron/i-make-no-concessions-to-conformism/) [Emmanuel Macron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-macron/) > [ \[American\] conformism might approximate collectivism, not so much in economic respects, and not too much in political respects, but very much in the pattern… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/american-conformism-might-approximate-collectivism-not-so-much-in/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) ## 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. 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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 Atrocities quotes > [A furious Peeta hammers Haymitch with the atrocity he could become party to, but I can feel Haymitch watching me. This is the moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/a-furious-peeta-hammers-haymitch-with-the-atrocity-he-could-become/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“I do not know where Viktor and Rudolf were taken. I cannot find the records. I never Elisabeth or Iggie. It is possible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/i-do-not-know-where-viktor-and-rudolf-were-taken-i-cannot-find-the/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [I have become convinced, through my studies, that the only way to achieve a safe, just and viable world is to live by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-have-become-convinced-through-my-studies-that-the-only-way-to/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Yet only the atrocities of the conquered are referred to as criminal acts; those of the conqueror are justified as necessary, heroic, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/yet-only-the-atrocities-of-the-conquered-are-referred-to-as-criminal/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“I don't know how to stop the atrocities. I don't know how to make people care. But looking into my sister's eyes, we seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shannon/i-don-t-know-how-to-stop-the-atrocities-i-don-t-know-how-to-make/) [Lisa Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shannon/) > [War is horrible no matter what. There's going to be atrocities, there's going to be horrible things that happen in war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-hoffman/war-is-horrible-no-matter-what-there-s-going-to-be-atrocities-there-s/) Mike Hoffman > [Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities War. 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