false nazi quotations

8/12/2019 False Nazi Quotations

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http://bytwerk.com/gpa/falsenaziquotations.htm 1/3

Background:The Nazis said enough repugnant things to provide all sorts of quotations, but there are some quotations

that people have invented. This page discusses six quotations at the moment that I think are fabricated. More examples

may follow as I discover them.

False Nazi Quotations

1. Truth is the greatest enemy of the state (Goebbels)

This is the most popular forged quotation. The full version:

If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be

maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and or military

consequences ofthe lie. It thus becomes vitally important forthe State to use all of its powers to repress

dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy ofthe State.

Last I checked (December 2011), this shows up on 500,000 web pages and twenty published books (most of which are

vanity press productions, evidence for the value of publishers who still believe in editors). It is attributed to Joseph

Goebbels. No one ever gives a citation to the source. A fair number of web citations are to Joseph M. Goebbels. That

wasn't his middle initial. One book credits it to Joseph Goebbel.

There are several hundred pages in German that cite the statement, but none give a source, and one site (perhaps the

earliest) notes that is retranslated from English.

Goebbels wouldnt have said that in public. He alwaysmaintained that propaganda had to be truthful. That doesn't

mean he didnt lie, but it would be a pretty poor

propagandist who publicly proclaimed that he was going to

lie. I know of no evidence that he actually said it. I havent

read everything Goebbels wrote, but I have been through a

lot of it.

Goebbels actually accused others of using the technique. In a

1941 article titled Churchills Lie Factory, he wrote:

One should not as a rule reveal ones secrets, sinceone does not know if and when one may need them

again. The essential English leadership secret does not

depend on particular intelligence. Rather, it depends

on a remarkably stupid thick-headedness. The English

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v.cl/ofertas/nada-mas-importa/%3Futm_source%3DCONTENT-CON-DSK%26utm_medium%3DCONTENT%26utm_term%3D%26utm_CONTENT%3D47112152775%26utm_campaign%3DExternalhttp://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=Ccj5H58KdU8eGNNTU-QPgs4CgAdex0KEFt_jjvq8Bj67Pw0MQASCc8uMDUIm9u_kBYJnxz4GEBaABh4aB7QPIAQGpAsoIiEfF3R4-qAMByAPDBKoEgAFP0G5uwl-B3Y9rMPAmrosObfdBbwnBMYqQgy1lIzMA2jGSjzGFtol58DvVbDu53fBQ-F-92FONAYddIsfKnnzDobEJW_H-l_WUwsV-eWWvejJK0gf_7RDht4F-wqMTVTl78y2C6-0ExnygeDx2WOFxWlvwb4PCnDNVDoa1FWYwgIgGAYAH4fn-Eg&num=1&cid=5GiAMRKoU4-Rn3b9b9Ec7DZg&sig=AOD64_0lTD6lABCC62ftMHBEM7Z8O9fDmw&client=ca-pub-9038140102167292&adurl=http://www.directv.cl/ofertas/nada-mas-importa/%3Futm_source%3DCONTENT-CON-DSK%26utm_medium%3DCONTENT%26utm_term%3D%26utm_CONTENT%3D47112152775%26utm_campaign%3DExternalhttp://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/goeb29.htmhttp://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/index.htm


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http://bytwerk.com/gpa/falsenaziquotations.htm 2/3

follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie

big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the

risk of looking ridiculous.

He accuses the English of the big lie, and suggests that,

were he to use such a technique, he would not publicly

announce it.

The quotation usually seems to be used by those on thepolitical left and right, who find it helpful in to associating those they don't like with the Nazis. Since this is so common, my

colleague Quentin Schultze and I have begun a blog titled Goebbels Didnt Say Itto follow its spread and, we perhaps

too optimistically hope, to reduce its use.

It is related to the next quotation, which is usually quoted accurately, but taken out of context.

2. Hitler and the Big Lie

The false Goebbels quotation above is actually a take-off on Hitler's familiar statement in Mein Kampf,which is often

misunderstood. Hitler stated:

In this they [the Jews] proceeded on the sound principle that the magnitude of a lie always contains a certain

factor of credibility, since the great masses of the people in the very bottom of their hearts tend to be

corrupted rather than consciously and purposely evil, and that, therefore, in view of the primitive simplicity of

their minds, they more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a little one, since they themselves lie in little things,

but would be ashamed of lies that were too big. Such a falsehood will never enter their heads, and they will

not be able to believe in the possibility of such monstrous effrontery and infamous misrepresentation in

others. (p. 231 of the Manheim translation)

Hitler is accusing the Jews the Vienna press of this strategy. It is often taken as evidence that Hitler advocated the Big

Lie. He is, in fact, accusing his enemies of lying.

Now, Hitler was entirely willing to lie but in public he insisted that he and his propaganda were truthful.

3. Hitler: "What Luck for Rulers that Men Do Not Think"

This alleged quotation by Adolf Hitler is on over 1,700,000 web pages. I think it is a fabrication, but am still investigating.

It is not inMein Kampf,nor in the Domarus edition of Hitlers speeches. None of the pages that cite it gives a reliable

source. Several cite a book that has it, but said book provides no reference to an original source.

4. Hitler and Gun Control

The following quotation shows up about a 665,000 times on the Internet last I checked (21 April 2012):

This year will go down in history! For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration! Our streets

will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future!

However, Hitler never said it, even though fabricated sources are sometimes provided. Guns werent that much of a

problem in the Nazi era (at least within the country...). In fact, the Nazis liked guns, and started training kids early on in

their use.

5. Hitler and Law and Order

The following statement is cited less often today than it was during the 1960s, as news of its falsity has gotten around, but

it still shows up on a number of web sites:

The streets of our cities are in turmoil. The universities are filled with students rebelling and rioting.

Communists are seeking to destroy our country. Russia is threatening us with her might and the Republic is in

danger. Yes, danger from within and without. We need law and order! Yes, without law and order our

nation cannot survive. . . . Elect us and we shall restore law and order. We shall, by law and order, be
http://truthisthegreatestenemyofthestate.blogspot.com/


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Adolf Hitler Quotations Book Saying Quotations Goebbels
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