Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals.
Simon WiesenthalRead
The schools would fail through their silence, the Church through its forgiveness, and the home through the denial and silence of the parents. The new generation has to hear what the older generation refuses to tell it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of communication between generations about uncomfortable truths and histories.
Simon Wiesenthal's quote reflects on the critical role of openness in education, spirituality, and family dynamics. He argues that silence from schools, churches, and parents leads to a failure to impart essential knowledge and moral lessons to the younger generation. This failure, rooted in a reluctance to address uncomfortable truths, ultimately hampers growth and understanding in society. Wiesenthal invites older generations to confront their pasts and share their experiences, asserting that it is essential for the new generation to learn from the insights that are often neglected or hushed.
Themes
CommunicationTruthEducationGenerationsSilence
In practice
Example use cases
During a public seminar on family communication, this quote can emphasize the necessity of discussing difficult topics.
More from Simon Wiesenthal
All quotes →Justice for crimes against humanity must have no limitations.
Simon WiesenthalRead
My cause was justice, not vengeance. My work is for a better tomorrow and a more secure future for our children and grandchildren.
Simon WiesenthalRead
We know that we are not collectively guilty, so how can we accuse any other nation, no matter what some of its people have done, of being collectively guilty?
Simon WiesenthalRead
Human rights is the only ideology that deserves to survive
Simon WiesenthalRead
You're a religious man, ... You believe in God and life after death. I also believe. When we come to the other world and meet the millions of Jews who died in the camps and they ask us, 'What have you done?' there will be many answers. You will say, 'I became a jeweler.' Another will say, 'I smuggled coffee and American cigarettes.' Another will say, 'I built houses.' But I will say, 'I didn't forget you.'
Simon WiesenthalRead
Similar quotes
When a child makes a mistake or fails to accomplish a certain goal, we must avoid any word or action which indicates that we consider him a failure. 'Too bad that didn't work.' 'I'm sorry it didn't work out for you.' We need to separate the deed from the doer.
Rudolf DreikursRead
[I]t's not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.
Judy BlumeRead
Typically, when you read, you have more time to think. Reading gives you a unique pause button for comprehension and insight. By and large, with oral language - when you watch a film or listen to a tape - you don't press pause.
Maryanne WolfRead
It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he'll look for his own answers.
Patrick RothfussRead
Your teacher might be a child who takes you by the hand and asks you a question that you hadn't considered before, and your answer to the child is your answer to yourself.
Wayne DyerRead
The teacher’s first duty is to watch over the environment, and this takes precedence over all the rest. It’s influence is indirect, but unless it be well done there will be no effective and permanent results of any kind, physical, intellectual or spiritual.
Maria MontessoriRead