William L. Shirer


Quotes by This Author


“German currency had become completely worthless. Purchasing power of salaries and wages was reduced to zero. The life savings of the middle classes and working classes were wiped out. But something even more important was destroyed: the faith of the people in the economic structure of the German society.…the government deliberately let the mark tumble in order to free the State of its public debts, to escape from paying reparations.…All [the people] knew was that a large bank account could not buy a straggly bunch of carrots, and half peck of potatoes, and few ounces of sugar, a pound of flour. They knew that as individuals they were bankrupt. And they knew hunger when it gnawed at them, as it did daily. In their misery and hopelessness, they made the Republic the scapegoat for all that had happened. Such times were heaven-sent for Adolph Hitler.” (William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, p. 61-62. 1960.)

“I myself was to experience how easily on is taken in by a lying and censored press and radio in a totalitarian state… a steady diet over the years of falsifications and distortions made a certain impression on one's mind and often mislet it.” (William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, p. 247-248. 1959.)