QuotesCosmos
On defendants in the Moscow Trials and on innocents betrayed by Communist Party members, as recounted by philosopher Sidney Hook, as quoted in Intellectuals (1990) by Paul Johnson, p. 190; though this might easily be interpreted as implying that anyone who had failed to conspire against Stalin deserved to be shot, Hook implies that he meant that the betrayal of innocents was justified. Henry Pachter is also quoted in Intellectuals as saying that Brecht had made similar remarks in his presence, and had added "Fifty years hence the communists will have forgotten Stalin, but I want to be sure that they will still read Brecht. Therefore I cannot separate myself from the Party."
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The more innocent they are, the more they deserve to be shot.

— Bertolt Brecht

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The more innocent they are, the more they deserve to be shot." in the context of "On defendants in the Moscow Trials and on innocents betrayed by Communist Party members, as recounted by philosopher Sidney Hook, as quoted in Intellectuals (1990) by Paul Johnson, p. 190; though this might easily be interpreted as implying that anyone who had failed to conspire against Stalin deserved to be shot, Hook implies that he meant that the betrayal of innocents was justified. Henry Pachter is also quoted in Intellectuals as saying that Brecht had made similar remarks in his presence, and had added "Fifty years hence the communists will have forgotten Stalin, but I want to be sure that they will still read Brecht. Therefore I cannot separate myself from the Party."" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Bertolt Brecht" (Quotes, 1939–1956) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#Bertolt Brecht#innocent#deserve#shot
Bertolt Brecht

About Bertolt Brecht

Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), commonly known as Bertolt Brecht, was a German Marxist dramatist, stage director and poet. He is remembered for the Distancing effect practice in performing arts (known in German as Verfremdungseffekt or V-Effekt).