Knut Hamsun, Norwegian author and Nobel Prize-winner, obituary of Hitler published in the May 7, 1945 evening edition of Aftenposten Gibbs, Walter (27 February 2009), "Norwegian Nobel Laureate, Once Shunned, Is Now Celebrated", The New York Times retrieved: 16 May 2011

Adolf Hitler I'm not worthy to speak up for Adolf Hitler, and to any sentimental rousing his life and deeds do not invite. Hitler was a warrior, a warrior for humankind and a preacher of the gospel of justice for all nations. He was a reforming character of the highest order, and his historical fate was that he functioned in a time of exampleless [i.e., unequalled] brutality, which in the end felled him. Thus may the ordinary Western European look at Adolf Hitler. And we, his close followers, bow our heads at his death.

— Knut Hamsun

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Adolf Hitler I'm not worthy to speak up for Adolf Hitler, and to any sentimental rousing his life and deeds do not invite. Hitler was a warrior, a warrior for humankind and a preacher of the gospel of justice for all nations. He was a reforming character of the highest order, and his historical fate was that he functioned in a time of exampleless [i.e., unequalled] brutality, which in the end felled him. Thus may the ordinary Western European look at Adolf Hitler. And we, his close followers, bow our heads at his death." in the context of "Knut Hamsun, Norwegian author and Nobel Prize-winner, obituary of Hitler published in the May 7, 1945 evening edition of Aftenposten Gibbs, Walter (27 February 2009), "Norwegian Nobel Laureate, Once Shunned, Is Now Celebrated", The New York Times retrieved: 16 May 2011" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Adolf Hitler" (Quotes about Hitler, Quotes before the end of World War II: (Note: many of the worst atrocities of Hitler's regime did not begin to become widely known until the final months of the war) Sorted chronologically) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 05, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Adolf Hitler

About Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler (adɔlf ˈhɪtlɐ; 20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and then taking the title of Führer ("Leader") in 1934. During his dictatorship, he initiated World War II in Europe by invading Poland on 1 September 1939. He was closely involved in military operations throughout the war and was central to the perpetration of the Holocaust: the genocide of about six million Jews and millions of other victims.