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Etty: The Letters and Diaries of Etty Hillesum, 1941-1943

Book by Etty Hillesum · 3 quotes · Sometimes, Moments, Feels

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Etty: The Letters and Diaries of Etty Hillesum, 1941-1943 Quotes

“We human beings cause monstrous conditions, but precisely because we cause them we soon learn to adapt ourselves to them. Only if we become such that we can no longer adapt ourselves, only if, deep inside, we rebel against every kind of evil, will we be able to put a stop to it. ... while everything within us does not yet scream out in protest, so long will we find ways of adapting ourselves, and the horrors will continue.”

“And I believe that I will never be able to hate any human being for his so-called 'wickedness,' that I shall only hate the evil that is within me, though hate is perhaps putting it too strongly even then. In any case, we cannot be lax enough in what we demand of others and strict enough in what we demand of ourselves.”