“If indeed, as was later alleged, [Hitler] voiced support for the Social Democrats in preference to the Communists, it was presumably viewed as a choice of the lesser of two evils.”

—  Ian Kershaw

Source: Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris (1999), p. 120

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "If indeed, as was later alleged, [Hitler] voiced support for the Social Democrats in preference to the Communists, it w…" by Ian Kershaw?
Ian Kershaw photo
Ian Kershaw9
British historian 1943

Related quotes

Ian Kershaw photo

“Ernst Toller reported that a fellow-prisoner also interned for involvement in the Räterepublik had met Hitler in a Munich barracks during the first months after the revolution, and that the latter had then been calling himself a Social Democrat. Konrad Heiden remarked that, during the time of the Councils Republic, Hitler had, in heated discussions among his comrades, voiced support for the Social Democratic government against the of the Communists.”

Ian Kershaw (1943) British historian

Source: Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris (1999), pp. 118-119

“Hitler in 1919 took a position in the Communist run Bavarian Soviet Republic, wearing in public a red armband, according to a number of historians including Thomas Weber. And a little later after the Bavarian Soviet Republic was defeated, Hitler claimed to be a ‘social democrat.’”

L. K. Samuels (1951) American writer

Source: Killing History: The False Left-Right Political Spectrum and the Battle between the ‘Free Left’ and the ‘Statist Left', (2019), p. 285

Konrad Heiden photo

“At Munich, at the time of the Soviet Republic, he [Hitler] interceded with his comrades on behalf of the Social-Democratic Government and, in heated discussions, espoused the cause of Social Democracy against that of the Communists.”

Konrad Heiden (1901–1966) German journalist and historian

Source: Hitler: A Biography (1936), p. 54

Fritz Sauckel photo

“Only Communists and Social Democrats who acted against the state were incarcerated. Most of the Communists and Social Democrats I had known became Nazis later. Only those who were doing anything against the state were thrown in concentration camps.”

Fritz Sauckel (1894–1946) German general

To Leon Goldensohn, February 9, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004.

Ron English photo

“The lesser of two evils is not the greater good.”

Ron English (1959) American artist

Ron English's Fauxlosophy (2016)

Jerry Garcia photo

“Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.”

Jerry Garcia (1942–1995) American musician and member of the Grateful Dead

“When choosing the lesser of two evils, always remember, it is still an evil.”

Max Lerner (1902–1992) American journalist and educator

Edward Snowden photo

“Politics: the art of convincing decent people to forget the lesser of two evils is also evil.”

Edward Snowden (1983) American whistleblower and former National Security Agency contractor

Twitter June 11, 2016 https://twitter.com/snowden/status/741584993009438720?lang=en

“The presidential debates should offer the American people an opportunity to evaluate the candidates for president and make an informed choice about the future direction of the nation. The debate commission should respect the two-party system, but should not be used as a vehicle for stifling dissent and silencing voices when many voters conclude the two-party system makes them choose the "lesser of two evils."”

Brent Budowsky (1952) American journalist

Why Libertarian Gary Johnson must be included in debates (August 11, 2016)

Fyodor Dan photo

“The Social Democratic movement need have no fear in regard to the political activity of Trotsky. On the contrary, he is more likely to give the death blow to the Communist movement outside Russia and to induce the Communist workers to return to Social Democracy than to strengthen any Communist Party or to weaken the Social Democrats in any way.”

Fyodor Dan (1871–1947) Russian revolutionary

Ibid. p. 621.

Related topics