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A very well known and circulated idea/quote is: "Those Who Do Not Learn History Are Doomed To Repeat It." Most often attributed to huge massacres and wars, in particular The Holocaust. The idea goes that, individuals/societies/groups (it is not clear) that are ignorant of history, are more likely to do bad things that are directly relatable with things that have been done in the past.
But I am skeptical of its validity. From my limited knowledge of history, that phrase does not make any sense. Isn't it well understood that Hitler was inspired by his knowledge of history to try and exterminate the Jews? Did he not give historical evidence to his peers to convince them that it was a good idea. I sort of think I remember that he used the argument that the Mongolians successfully wiped out an entire sub-group of Chinese and were not reviled for it, to convince his party members that the Holocaust was a good idea.
Am I misremembering/misunderstanding this history? Would it be fair to say that knowledge of history was a significant contributing factor to the Holocaust and other brutal programs of the Nazi regime? DO you think that this saying is more generally true?