World War II/Quotes

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Real life

"This is not a peace. It is an armistice for 20 years." —Ferdinand Foch on the Treaty of Versailles, 1919

"The date of the new European catastrophe will be determined by the time necessary for the arming of Germany. It is not a question of months, but neither is it a question of decades. It will be but a few years before Europe is again plunged into a war, unless Hitler is forestalled in time by the inner forces of Germany". —Leon Trotsky, What is National Socialism? (November 2, 1933)

"It is us today. It will be you tomorrow." —Emperor Haile Selassie to the League of Nations after Italy's annexing of Ethiopia, 1936

"Peace in our time." —British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, 1938

"This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note stating that, unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany." —Neville Chamberlain, September 3, 1939

"I have said this before, but I shall say it again and again: your boys are not going to be sent into any foreign wars." —President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1940, during his re-election campaign

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan. [...] I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December seventh, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire." —President Roosevelt, 1941

"The final solution of the Jewish question has fortunately been established by now..." —Reinhard Heydrich, 1942

"Do not count days; do not count miles. Count only the number of Germans you have killed. Kill the German - this is your old mother's prayer. Kill the German - this is what your children beseech you to do. Kill the German - this is the cry of your Russian earth. Do not waver. Do not let up. Kill." —Ilya Ehrenburg, Soviet newspaper writer, 1942

"I ask you: Do you want total war? If necessary, do you want a war more total and radical than anything that we can even imagine today?" —Joseph Goebbels, 1943

"It is difficult to go anywhere in London without having the feeling that Britain is now Occupied Territory." —George Orwell, 1943

"So the bastard's dead? Too bad we didn't capture him alive!" —Joseph Stalin, upon being informed of Hitler's suicide.

The mission of this Allied force was fulfilled at 0241 hours, local time, May 7, 1945. —Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1945 reporting on German surrender

This is your victory! It is the victory of the cause of freedom in every land. In all our long history we have never seen a greater day than this. Everyone, man or woman, has done their best. Everyone has tried. Neither the long years, nor the dangers, nor the fierce attacks of the enemy, have in any way weakened the independent resolve of the British nation. God bless you all. —Winston Churchill, Victory Speech (May 8, 1945)

When I saw a very strong light, a flash, I put my arms over my face unconsciously.... The whole city was destroyed and burning. There was no place to go. —Michiko Yamaoka, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945)

"Would it not be wondrous for this our nation to be destroyed, to be as a shattered jewel?" —Japanese War Minister General Anami, at a meeting of Japan's Supreme Council for the Direction of the War (August 9, 1945)

By now, we have been at war for nearly 4 years. Despite the gallantry of our forces, the diligence and assiduity of our civil servants and the public devotion and service of our entire people, the situation has not developed to Japan's advantage. Indeed, the general trends of the entire world now work against us. Moreover, the enemy now possesses a new and most terrible weapon; the loss of innocent life and sheer devastation its use entails is beyond all comprehension. Continued fighting would not only mean the utter annihilation of our people, but also the destruction of human civilisation itself. [...] The dead, the wounded, the displaced, the impoverished and the aggrieved all are all the subjects of our profoundest solicitude. From henceforth, our Empire must endure excruciating hardships. We are keenly aware of the feelings of our subjects, but in accordance with the dictates of fate We are willing to endure the unendurable and tolerate the intolerable, that this peace may last a thousand generations. [...] Keeping in mind the heavy burden that befalls us, we must focus completely upon the reconstruction of our nation and look to the long road ahead, that the future might be one of yet greater glory and prosperity for this our Imperial State, that we may never again fall behind the evolution of the world. It is our profoundest hope that our subjects may understand our intent and reasoning [in surrendering]. —Emperor Hirohito, the Jewel Voice Broadcast, (August 15, 1945)

Fiction

In front of the barracks,In front of the main gate, Stood a lamppost,It still stands out front, We want to see each other there again, We want to stand by the lamppost, As before, Lili Marleen, As before, Lili Marleen. —Lili Marleen

Abe: I didn't think it would come to this when I fought in the First World War. Lenny: "First World War"? Why do you keep calling it that? Abe: Oh, you'll see! —The Simpsons, "Treehouse of Horror XVII: The Day The Earth Looked Stupid"

"Well, you know, he was a painter and a vegetarian, so I suppose he must've said, 'I can't get the damn tress... OH FUCK IT I'M GOING TO KILL EVERYONE IN THE WORLD!'." —Eddie Izzard, Dress To Kill