William Russell > Quotes

“And who'd date tell the lambs in spring, what fate the later seasons bring. Who'd tell the girl in the middle the pair the price she'll be just pay for just being there.”
― William Russell

“I think there is no decent American living who could have worked in our Berlin Immigration section without acquiring a deep hatred for the government which drove these people like cattle from unfriendly consulate to unfriendly consulate, from blocked border to blocked border. Nothing was too petty for the mighty German government so long as it could do some harm to a harried Jew.”
― William Russell, Berlin Embassy

“If the United States goes into this war, there is one thing I do not want to forget. There are millions of people in Germany who do not agree with the policies of their leaders. And there are other millions, simple people, who believe exactly what their leaders tell them — especially when they tell them the same thing day after day. I do not want to go blind with hatred and forget that. You cannot punish a whole nation, as you might punish a single criminal. You can’t get a whole nation to stand in the corner and cry. That was tried once, and it failed miserably. When it is over, try to help them recover from what they have suffered. Try to remove the causes for the rise of such people as Adolf Hitler. There should be enough intelligence kicking around in the world to accomplish that.”
― William Russell, Berlin Embassy