10,941 Quotes About War

The biggest enemies of the state are those politicians who look to win a war, instead of organizing the peace, and the citizens who allow them to do so.

Whoever who prepares and wishes to win a war must make books his first and closest ally.

They told me that I won't make war if I don’t talk politics. I’m wondering then where all this war came from.

Le problème des hommes , c'est qu'ils ne savent pas s'entendre entre eux que ligués contre d'autres. C'est l'ennemi qui les unit.

Thermopylae; Gettysburg; Passchendaele; there is always, it seems, some magnificent bastard prepared to stand his ground.

Wanfried, 29 March 1945We have the compelling feeling that we are entering our final hours of captivity. They must have doubled our dose of bromide, as despite all our excitement we keep dozing off, heads on the table. Nobody tells us anything; they just warn us to keep quiet. There's no question of work any more, and we please ourselves how we spend our time. From the dormitory window we can see endless columns of refugees, both civilians and military ...

Wanfried, 31 March 1945There certainly don't seem to be any food shortages in town. All day long, we see women parading beneath our windows bearing aloft enormous tarts to cook in the baker's oven. Easter cakes, no doubt. We wonder whether we might be given a little extra to eat tomorrow, as our hunger is intolerable.

There has been - and remains - a discussion whether or not the war formed Hitler most, but there can be no doubt that without it, and the decorations he received in it and which gave him - the Austrian - as Joachim Fest remarked, a claim to front-line credibility, respect and authority in Bavaria, his political career, at least in Germany - a country whose citizenship he would not acquire until 1932 - was simply inconceivable. In this sense only the war made Hitler possible.

All wars are fought over nothing, and nothing wins.