---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Europe was not as outraged by Auschwitz…"
description: "\"Europe was not as outraged by Auschwitz as by Guantanamo Bay.\" — Tom Lantos"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/tom-lantos-28936_auschwitz_europe-was-not-as-outraged-by-auschwitz_2930491.png"
---

#  Europe was not as outraged by Auschwitz as by Guantanamo…

![“Europe was not as outraged by Auschwitz as by Guantanamo Bay.” quote by Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/tom-lantos-28936_auschwitz_europe-was-not-as-outraged-by-auschwitz_2930491.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/tom-lantos-28936_auschwitz_europe-was-not-as-outraged-by-auschwitz_2930491.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/tom-lantos-28936_auschwitz_europe-was-not-as-outraged-by-auschwitz_2930491.png)

> “Europe was not as outraged by Auschwitz as by Guantanamo Bay.”

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

## About This Quote

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

Public outrage varies, often focusing on more immediate or politically charged injustices over historical ones.

**In simple terms:** People react more to recent injustices.

Key Takeaway

Raise awareness of all atrocities.

Themes

justice public perception historical memory politics

Mood

critical thought‑provoking

Type

analytical philosophical

When to use this quote

- education curricula
- media coverage
- policy debates
- activism

Key Concepts

ethics media studies

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we balance attention?
- What drives selective outrage?

A Different Perspective

Historical context may be overlooked.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Auschwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) [Auschwitz Guantanamo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz-guantanamo-4317270/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Europe Outraged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe-outraged-4317272/) [Guantanamo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guantanamo/) [Guantanamo bay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guantanamo-bay/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Outraged](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outraged/) [Outraged Auschwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outraged-auschwitz-4317271/)

## Related quotes

> [Closing Guantanamo Bay is not a military solution. The closing of that prison, which I support, I supported it when I was in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-hagel/closing-guantanamo-bay-is-not-a-military-solution-the-closing-of-that/)

[Chuck Hagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-hagel/)

> [We will never win this war until we understand the effect that Guantanamo Bay has had on the overall war effort. And we'll never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/we-will-never-win-this-war-until-we-understand-the-effect-that/)

[Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/)

> [Shouldn't the American leadership be addressing what is happening in America, with its domestic policies on racism, discrimination, illegal monitoring, solitary confinement, torture, Guantanamo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/shouldn-t-the-american-leadership-be-addressing-what-is-happening-in/)

[Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/)

> [If we capture any of these ISIS killers alive, they are going to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and we're going to find out everything they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/if-we-capture-any-of-these-isis-killers-alive-they-are-going-to/)

[Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/)

> [ Anyway, the \[Barack\] Obama administration took four years to say they weren't gonna do anything on George W. Bush. There were all kinds of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/anyway-the-barack-obama-administration-took-four-years-to-say-they/)

[Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/)

> [Guantanamo Bay houses enemy combatants ranging from terrorist trainers and recruiters to bomb makers, would-be suicide bombers, and terrorist financiers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chocola/guantanamo-bay-houses-enemy-combatants-ranging-from-terrorist/)

[Chris Chocola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chocola/)

> [The world is not kind to whistleblowers - a term of art with particular resonance in football, the most hierarchical and repressive of organized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-leavy/the-world-is-not-kind-to-whistleblowers-a-term-of-art-with-particular/)

[Jane Leavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-leavy/)

> [With the NDAA, his failure to close Guantanamo Bay and the ramping use of drones, President Obama looks suspiciously like President Bush, a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-sane/with-the-ndaa-his-failure-to-close-guantanamo-bay-and-the-ramping-use/)

[Justin Sane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-sane/)

> [I'm sure if there is a debate, Guantanamo Bay must be closed. And it should be closed, because it does not belong in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamedou-ould-slahi/i-m-sure-if-there-is-a-debate-guantanamo-bay-must-be-closed-and-it/)

[Mohamedou Ould Slahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamedou-ould-slahi/)

> [Second, the facility at Guantanamo Bay is necessary to national security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-miller/second-the-facility-at-guantanamo-bay-is-necessary-to-national/)

[Jeff Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-miller/)

> [ Closing the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is a promise President \[Barack\] Obama made it but has yet to fulfill. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audie-cornish/closing-the-prison-in-guantanamo-bay-cuba-is-a-promise-president/)

[Audie Cornish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audie-cornish/)

> [...the facility at Guantanamo Bay is necessary to national security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-miller/the-facility-at-guantanamo-bay-is-necessary-to-national-security/)

[Jeff Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-miller/)

> [Prisoners, according to the law, who are non-U.S. citizens and are detained outside the U.S. - including in Guantanamo Bay - are denied 'habeas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-feldman/prisoners-according-to-the-law-who-are-non-u-s-citizens-and-are/)

[Noah Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-feldman/)

> [Many nights I wake up not able to breathe. I think I'm in Guantanamo Bay. I'm crying and shouting and making it very hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamedou-ould-slahi/many-nights-i-wake-up-not-able-to-breathe-i-think-i-m-in-guantanamo/)

[Mohamedou Ould Slahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamedou-ould-slahi/)

> [It wasn't a conscious decision to actually make a movie about Guantanamo Bay. It was a device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hayden-schlossberg/it-wasn-t-a-conscious-decision-to-actually-make-a-movie-about/)

[Hayden Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hayden-schlossberg/)

## More by Tom Lantos

> [So rather than face the bitter truth, China has placed severe restrictions on the Internet and enlisted America's high-tech companies as their Internet police.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/so-rather-than-face-the-bitter-truth-china-has-placed-severe/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [Despite its enormous power and wealth, China's ruling elite remains absolutely petrified that the free flow of information will undermine its political legitimacy, particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/despite-its-enormous-power-and-wealth-china-s-ruling-elite-remains/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [Hezbollah's contempt for human suffering is total, as it showed once again this morning when its rockets murdered two Israeli Arab children in Nazareth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/hezbollah-s-contempt-for-human-suffering-is-total-as-it-showed-once/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [Insurgents have capitalized on popular resentment and anger towards the United States and the Iraqi government to build their own political, financial and military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/insurgents-have-capitalized-on-popular-resentment-and-anger-towards/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [The leader of Iran made one of the most repugnant remarks the international community has heard since Adolf Hitler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/the-leader-of-iran-made-one-of-the-most-repugnant-remarks-the/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [40 percent of North Korean children suffer from stunted growth. 20 percent are underweight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/40-percent-of-north-korean-children-suffer-from-stunted-growth-20/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [The Lord gave us Ten Commandments, but the bill before the House today gives us 39.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/the-lord-gave-us-ten-commandments-but-the-bill-before-the-house-today/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [The patience of the American public with dilatory diplomatic delays will be very limited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/the-patience-of-the-american-public-with-dilatory-diplomatic-delays/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [We are optimistic, but we are optimistic in a cautious fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/we-are-optimistic-but-we-are-optimistic-in-a-cautious-fashion/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [Let me start with Yahoo. As we meet today, a Chinese citizen who had the courage to speak his mind on the Internet is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/let-me-start-with-yahoo-as-we-meet-today-a-chinese-citizen-who-had/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [On July 18, we will mark the 12th anniversary of the senseless loss of 85 lives in the bombing of the Jewish Cultural Center…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/on-july-18-we-will-mark-the-12th-anniversary-of-the-senseless-loss-of/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [The Chinese leadership hoped that the world would soon forget the Tiananmen Square massacre. Our job in Congress is to ensure that we never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/the-chinese-leadership-hoped-that-the-world-would-soon-forget-the/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [A stable Iraq at peace with its neighbors will remain elusive until we improve both the security and the economic environment in Iraq.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/a-stable-iraq-at-peace-with-its-neighbors-will-remain-elusive-until/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [Google, Microsoft and Yahoo should be developing new technologies to bypass government sensors and barriers to the Internet; but instead, they agreed to guard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/google-microsoft-and-yahoo-should-be-developing-new-technologies-to/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

> [Our resolution urges all Latin American and Caribbean countries to designate al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad as terrorist organizations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/our-resolution-urges-all-latin-american-and-caribbean-countries-to/)

[Tom Lantos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

[Explore all 19 Tom Lantos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/)

## More Auschwitz quotes

> [I stated that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are 'among the most unspeakable crimes in history.' I took no position on just where they stand on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-stated-that-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-are-among-the-most-unspeakable/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [We need creativity. We need more poetry after Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/we-need-creativity-we-need-more-poetry-after-auschwitz/)

[Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/)

> [“I remember that one Holy Week, the magazine I got every Thursday, Anteojito , came with a free poster depicting the Stations of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcelo-figueras/i-remember-that-one-holy-week-the-magazine-i-got-every-thursday/)

[Marcelo Figueras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcelo-figueras/)

> [No sane person wants hell to exist. No sane person wants evil to exist. But hell is just evil eternalized. If there is evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/no-sane-person-wants-hell-to-exist-no-sane-person-wants-evil-to-exist/)

[Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/)

> [My own interest in Kafka's letter came about when I was writing an article on Peter Ginz, the boy novelist held in Terezin, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cartwright/my-own-interest-in-kafka-s-letter-came-about-when-i-was-writing-an/)

[Justin Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cartwright/)

> [Eighteen months before I was born, my mother was in Auschwitz. She weighed 49 pounds. She always told me that God saved her so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/eighteen-months-before-i-was-born-my-mother-was-in-auschwitz-she/)

[Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/)

> [“I am keenly aware that the security we enjoy is frail, and could easily be disrupted. Secretly, a nagging fear gnaws at me: what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/i-am-keenly-aware-that-the-security-we-enjoy-is-frail-and-could/)

[Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/)

> [There is more to Jewish history than Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-gary/there-is-more-to-jewish-history-than-auschwitz/)

[Romain Gary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-gary/)

> [“I once conjured up this image of Hitler. I imagined that he didn’t kill himself and that he was kept in a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-haybittle/i-once-conjured-up-this-image-of-hitler-i-imagined-that-he-didn-t/)

[Glenn Haybittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-haybittle/)

> [“In February, 1943, eight months before she was murdered in Auschwitz, the German painter Charlotte Salomon killed her grandfather. Salomon’s grandparents, like many Jews,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/in-february-1943-eight-months-before-she-was-murdered-in-auschwitz/)

[Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/)

> [There is no question in my mind that we live in one of the truly bestial centuries in human history. There are plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-chargaff/there-is-no-question-in-my-mind-that-we-live-in-one-of-the-truly/)

[Erwin Chargaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-chargaff/)

> [I know that elections must be limited only to those who understand that the Arabs are the deadly enemy of the Jewish state, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meir-kahane/i-know-that-elections-must-be-limited-only-to-those-who-understand/)

[Meir Kahane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meir-kahane/)

> [“It was, unbelievably, not the most depressing thing we had ever seen: a bride, ripped from her own wedding, separated from her groom, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-was-unbelievably-not-the-most-depressing-thing-we-had-ever-seen-a/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [“He sounded chilly. “I’m sure she is.” Allegra was trying to back off, but she was annoyed that he had taken her father’s part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/he-sounded-chilly-i-m-sure-she-is-allegra-was-trying-to-back-off-but/)

[Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/)

> [Auschwitz was one of the wealthiest places in the world. Everyone who was deported there had been in such a hurry that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-lasker-wallfisch/auschwitz-was-one-of-the-wealthiest-places-in-the-world-everyone-who/)

[Anita Lasker-Wallfisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-lasker-wallfisch/)

[Browse all 168 Auschwitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Europe was not as outraged by Auschwitz as by Guantanamo Bay.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Tom Lantos"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/europe-was-not-as-outraged-by-auschwitz-as-by-guantanamo-bay/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Auschwitz"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/europe-was-not-as-outraged-by-auschwitz-as-by-guantanamo-bay/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/tom-lantos-28936_auschwitz_europe-was-not-as-outraged-by-auschwitz_2930491.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/tom-lantos-28936_auschwitz_europe-was-not-as-outraged-by-auschwitz_2930491.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b4/tom-lantos-28936_auschwitz_europe-was-not-as-outraged-by-auschwitz_2930491.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Europe was not as outraged by Auschwitz as by Guantanamo Bay.” — Tom Lantos",
                "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": "Tom Lantos",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lantos/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Europe was not as outraged by...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/europe-was-not-as-outraged-by-auschwitz-as-by-guantanamo-bay/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lantos/europe-was-not-as-outraged-by-auschwitz-as-by-guantanamo-bay/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
