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[jivemi]

Originally Posted by shahadi

Is my reaction is unfounded, do quotes from Adolf Hitler belong in this game?

No, of course your reaction isn't "unfounded." Hitler is perhaps the twentieth century's most notorious character and if your ancestors were victims of his policies your objection is understandable.

But I'd agree with mkr on this. By most accounts Hitler, like Stalin, was a moral monster--or, if you prefer, a delusional psychotic. That doesn't mean everything he said was wrong.

Of course some would insist that quoting an historical villain constitutes "rehabilitation" or justification for anything he did. But as B.H. Liddell Hart noted, "If you want peace, understand war." And sometimes understanding war means getting into the heads of those who practice(d) it with some success.

One doesn't have to be an uncritical admirer of ruthless conquerors to benefit from a study of their military--as opposed to sociopolitical--theories and practices. The campaigns of Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, and others who created "mountains of skulls" are studied regardless of how they treated conquered or minority peoples.

If we fail to consider subjugators like Hitler, how can we stop rogues like him in future? Besides, some people might complain if his quote is removed; I understand Mein Kampf is a perennial bestseller in the Middle East .