--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In February, 1943, eight months before…" description: "\"“In February, 1943, eight months before she was murdered in Auschwitz, the German painter Charlotte Salomon killed her grandfather. Salomon’s grandpare..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/toni-bentley-37728_auschwitz_in-february-1943-eight-months-before-she_213556.jpg" --- # In February, 1943, eight months before she was murdered in… ![“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, had fled Germany in the mid-nineteen-thirties, with a stash of “morphine, opium, and Veronal” to use “when their money ran…” quote by Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/toni-bentley-37728_auschwitz_in-february-1943-eight-months-before-she_213556.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/toni-bentley-37728_auschwitz_in-february-1943-eight-months-before-she_213556.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a9/toni-bentley-37728_auschwitz_in-february-1943-eight-months-before-she_213556.jpg) > ““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, had fled Germany in the mid-nineteen-thirties, with a stash of “morphine, opium, and Veronal” to use “when their money ran out.” But Salomon’s crime that morning was not a mercy killing to save the old man from the Nazis; this was entirely personal. It was Herr Doktor Lüdwig Grünwald, not “Herr Hitler,” who, Salomon wrote, “symbolized for me the people I had to resist.”” [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A personal act of violence can symbolize broader resistance against oppression, even when it conflicts with moral norms. **In simple terms:** Violence can be a misguided form of protest against tyranny. Key Takeaway Consider the moral complexities of personal resistance. Themes resistance morality personal conflict history Mood somber thoughtful Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - World War II - family dynamics - ethical dilemmas - personal agency Key Concepts ethical paradox historical trauma Questions to Reflect On - Is personal vengeance ever justified in the face of systemic evil? - How do we reconcile personal trauma with collective resistance? A Different Perspective The act may be seen as betrayal of familial duty despite anti‑Nazi intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Auschwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) ## Related quotes > [“These monsters have industrialized murder. Sometimes as many as ten thousand people are murdered in Auschwitz in a single day, people from all across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-vidor/these-monsters-have-industrialized-murder-sometimes-as-many-as-ten/) Lee Vidor > [“It did, but I remembered a hoary old time-travel paradox and pulled it out. “Yeah, but what if you went back and killed your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-did-but-i-remembered-a-hoary-old-time-travel-paradox-and-pulled-it/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The war that killed my grandfather and great-uncles and thousands of other blacks is only a footnote in our history books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-garc-a/the-war-that-killed-my-grandfather-and-great-uncles-and-thousands-of/) [Cristina García](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-garc-a/) > [They killed my Grandfather... That's why I hate sharks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharknado/they-killed-my-grandfather-that-s-why-i-hate-sharks/) Sharknado > [“Dr. Henry Templeton got the drop on me after I killed his grandfather before he was born. Apparently, that wasn’t enough to stop the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/dr-henry-templeton-got-the-drop-on-me-after-i-killed-his-grandfather/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [“Yeah, but what if you went back and killed your own grandfather?" He stared at me, baffled. "Why the fuck would you do that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/yeah-but-what-if-you-went-back-and-killed-your-own-grandfather-he/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“I once conjured up this image of Hitler. 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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/) > [“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/) > [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 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/) ## More by Toni Bentley > [“Afterwards Isabelle often wondered if the moments themselves were greater or the memory of them. At least the memory did not pass, while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/afterwards-isabelle-often-wondered-if-the-moments-themselves-were/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [“A man must have confidence in himself and his cock, to fuck a woman in the ass. If he does not have this control,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/a-man-must-have-confidence-in-himself-and-his-cock-to-fuck-a-woman-in/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [“Women are taught that size doesn't matter, that it's the motion in the ocean. But this is a theory propagated by those bright guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/women-are-taught-that-size-doesn-t-matter-that-it-s-the-motion-in-the/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [To live and to laugh require a reason. But dancing is so close to one's guts that it has no reason and yet it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/to-live-and-to-laugh-require-a-reason-but-dancing-is-so-close-to-one/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [We live only to dance. If living were not an essential prerequisite, we would abstain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/we-live-only-to-dance-if-living-were-not-an-essential-prerequisite-we/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [I recognized it immediately the first time it happened - the cackle of the crone. 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