I am quite sure that very few of the so-called Reds in Spain were really Communists. We were badly deceived, for, had I known the real state of affairs, I would never have allowed our aircraft to bombard and destroy a starving population and at the same time re-establish the Spanish clergy in all their horrible privileges. (10th February 1945)
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Hitler claims few Reds in Spain were Communists and regrets bombing a starving population while restoring clergy privileges.
- In plain terms
- He says he was misled about Spanish Communists and regrets bombing civilians to help clergy.
- What can you take from it?
- Military actions may be justified by flawed intelligence.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do leaders justify civilian harm?
- What happens when intelligence fails?
Another view
It shifts blame to deception rather than admitting responsibility.
More from Adolf Hitler
The Whites have carried to these (colonial) people the worst that they could carry: the plagues of the world: materialism, fanaticism, alcoholism, and syphilis…
Permalink to quote #134 There is, then, no danger in the circumstances that anti-semitism will disappear, for it is the Jews themselves who add fuel to its flames and see that it is k…
Permalink to quote #136 It is eastwards, only and always eastwards, that the veins of our race must expand. It is the direction which Nature herself has decreed for the expansion of t…
Permalink to quote #133
Related quotes
But in terms of Saddam Hussein being there, let's remember that his country is divided, in effect. He does not control the northern part of his country. We are…
Condoleezza RiceCondoleezza Rice quote #3 Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms.
Groucho MarxGroucho Marx quote #124 If Paulus's army had capitulated before the end, the Russians would have had the advantage of withdrawing forces against Paulus and against the southern front,…
Erich von MansteinErich von Manstein quote #1