A quote from an unlikely source

[unixronin]

With regard to Homeland Security, the Bush administration, and its current assertion that criticism of the government is sedition and that protesting the war in Iraq is at best unpatriotic, if not actual terrorism, I offer the following quotation from Hermann Goering, from his testimony during the Nuremberg war trials in 1945:

Naturally the common people don't want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany.  That is understood.  But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship.  Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.  That is easy.  All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.  It works the same in any country.

Comments

[batchfile.livejournal.com]

not to pick nits as it were: but i believe the quote in question was not from the trial itself but from interviews for the book called nuremberg diaries?

still, it's very telling of what has happened in this country recently. hopefully we'll get to see things get back on track before it all goes further.

i know, i'm foolishly being too optimistic.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

The attribution that I have says it was from the Nuremberg trials, so, absent any better verification, that's what I'm going with. :) If anyone can verify the correction, I'll gladly take it.

[mazianni.livejournal.com]

Check snopes. There's an entry there on it. I've seen that quote fairly frequently since 9/11.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

Snopes confirms the Nuremberg Diary attribution, but also states that the conversation was recorded by the author, Gustave Gilbert, on April 18 1946 during a three-recess in the war trials. So, in a sense, both attributions are correct.

The Snopes entry also cites a slightly more complete version of the quote:

"Why, of course, the people don't want war.  Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece?  Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany.  That is understood.  But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship."
"[...] Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.  That is easy.  All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger.  It works the same way in any country."