--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who do not remember the past are…" description: "\"“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it. —Santayana”\" — William L. Shirer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0c/william-l-shirer-14635_time_those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-c_1386745.jpg" --- # Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive… ![“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it. —Santayana” quote by William L. Shirer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0c/william-l-shirer-14635_time_those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-c_1386745.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0c/william-l-shirer-14635_time_those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-c_1386745.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0c/william-l-shirer-14635_time_those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-c_1386745.jpg) > ““Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it. —Santayana”” [William L. Shirer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-l-shirer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Forgetting history leads to repeating its mistakes. **In simple terms:** Ignoring the past repeats errors. Key Takeaway Learn from history to avoid repeating it. Themes history memory learning responsibility Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical warning When to use this quote - education curricula - public discourse - political decision‑making Key Concepts historical cycles collective memory Questions to Reflect On - What lessons are we ignoring today? - How can societies preserve accurate histories? A Different Perspective Memory can be selective, and narratives may be contested. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Condemned Relive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condemned-relive-4819752/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Past Condemned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past-condemned-432113/) [Relive Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relive-santayana-4819751/) [Remember Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-past/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-who-do-not-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [You know that old phrase ‘Those who don’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it’? Well, I think those who remember the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/you-know-that-old-phrase-those-who-don-t-remember-the-past-are/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to compute it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-compute-it/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [He who cannot remember the past is condemned to remember the past. Or something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-palin/he-who-cannot-remember-the-past-is-condemned-to-remember-the-past-or/) [Sarah Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-palin/) > [Santayana's aphorism must be reversed: too often it is those who can remember the past who are condemned to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/santayana-s-aphorism-must-be-reversed-too-often-it-is-those-who-can/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it without a sense of ironic futility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errol-morris/those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it-without/) [Errol Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errol-morris/) > [“There's an old saying about those who cannot remember the past being condemned to repeat it. But those of us who refuse to forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-thorne/there-s-an-old-saying-about-those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-being/) [Emily Thorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-thorne/) > [Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat the eleventh grade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-loewen/those-who-don-t-remember-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-the/) [James W. Loewen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-loewen/) > [Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/those-who-forget-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Because supposedly those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/because-supposedly-those-who-forget-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“Prison and the asylums had made me worse, not better. I had truly become a hostage of my past, condemned by my reputation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bronson/prison-and-the-asylums-had-made-me-worse-not-better-i-had-truly/) [Charles Bronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bronson/) > [“Those who do not learn the lessons of the past are condemned to repeat it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/those-who-do-not-learn-the-lessons-of-the-past-are-condemned-to/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Those who cannot remember the past are condemned, it seems, to direct the Middle East policy of the Obama administration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/those-who-cannot-remember-the-past-are-condemned-it-seems-to-direct/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [“Those who do not know the past are condemned to repeat it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-w-wiersbe/those-who-do-not-know-the-past-are-condemned-to-repeat-it/) [Warren W. Wiersbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-w-wiersbe/) ## More by William L. Shirer > [“moment of declaration of war, if there”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-l-shirer/moment-of-declaration-of-war-if-there/) [William L. Shirer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-l-shirer/) > [“This crude, cowardly bargain seems not to have unduly bothered Hitler. If Mussolini was personally attracted to him, as Ciano said, by “something deeply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-l-shirer/this-crude-cowardly-bargain-seems-not-to-have-unduly-bothered-hitler/) [William L. Shirer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-l-shirer/) > [“The confused locksmith Drexler provided the kernel, the drunken poet Eckart some of the “spiritual” foundation, the economic crank Feder what passed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-l-shirer/the-confused-locksmith-drexler-provided-the-kernel-the-drunken-poet/) [William L. 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Shirer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-l-shirer/) > [Adolf Hitler is probably the last of the great adventurer-conquerors in the tradition of Alexander, Caesar and Napoleon, and the Third Reich the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-l-shirer/adolf-hitler-is-probably-the-last-of-the-great-adventurer-conquerors/) [William L. Shirer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-l-shirer/) > [“One of the appalling aberrations of the German officer corps from this point on rose out of this conflict of “honor”—a word which, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-l-shirer/one-of-the-appalling-aberrations-of-the-german-officer-corps-from/) [William L. Shirer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-l-shirer/) > [“The power which has always started the greatest religious and political avalanches in history rolling has from time immemorial been the magic power of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-l-shirer/the-power-which-has-always-started-the-greatest-religious-and/) [William L. Shirer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-l-shirer/) > [No class or group or party in Germany could escape its share of responsibility for the abandonment of the democratic Republic and the advent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-l-shirer/no-class-or-group-or-party-in-germany-could-escape-its-share-of/) [William L. Shirer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-l-shirer/) > [“The consequences of committing high treason, if you were a man of the extreme Right, were not unduly heavy, despite the law, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-l-shirer/the-consequences-of-committing-high-treason-if-you-were-a-man-of-the/) [William L. Shirer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-l-shirer/) [Explore all 44 William L. Shirer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-l-shirer/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it. —Santayana”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William L. 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