“I do not want to see the allies defeated. But I do not consider Hitler to be as bad as he is depicted. He is showing an ability that is amazing and seems to be gaining his victories without much bloodshed. Englishmen are showing the strength that Empire builders must have. I expect them to rise much higher than they seem to be doing.”
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About this quote
Written in 1940, before the full scale of Nazi crimes was known, this reads today as a grave misjudgment. Its lasting use is as a warning: admiring a leader's sheer effectiveness while ignoring the ends he serves can blind even a careful observer to real evil.
When to use it
- Employees dazzled by a manager's results overlook how he gets them, until the damage to people finally surfaces.
- Voters impressed by a candidate's decisiveness stop asking where that decisiveness is actually aimed.
- A club rallies behind its most efficient organizer and only later reckons with the corners she cut.