When I was a little boy, I was reading Dante and I was saying to myself 'Bravo, Dante, Bravo.' It's so beautiful, the music, the sound, the meaning. I felt like calling him by phone, like a friend.
Roberto BenigniRead
In Italy, the country where fascism was born, we have a particular relation with the Holocaust, but as a turning point in history it belongs to everybody in the world. It is a part of humanity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The Holocaust is a shared human tragedy that transcends national boundaries.
Roberto Benigni emphasizes that while Italy has its unique connection to the history of fascism, the Holocaust is a significant event that touches all of humanity. It serves as a reminder of the collective responsibility to remember and learn from the past, highlighting that such horrors belong to global history and must not be forgotten by anyone, regardless of nationality.
Themes
HolocaustHumanityHistoryMemoryFascism
In practice
Example use cases
During a talk on human rights, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of collective memory.
More from Roberto Benigni
All quotes →Only comedians can talk about death, life, God and Virgin Mary. If I was a tragic actor, I couldn't allow myself. But with this accent I can do it. I can talk with death in person because I am a clown. Yes. And I am proud to be a clown - very much.
Roberto BenigniRead
I'm a storyteller: the crux of the matter is to reach beauty, poetry; it doesn't matter if that is comedy or tragedy. They're the same if you reach the beauty.
Roberto BenigniRead
When we talk to somebody and we want to be nice or polite or show our more beautiful side, we try to use the best words that we know. This is what poets are doing. They are cleaning the words, they are inventing the sentiments, they are giving us a way to communicate.
Roberto BenigniRead
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