Hitler on disarmament

[snopes]

Comment: I saw a post on Facebook that quoted Adolf Hitler as saying, "To
conquer a nation, you must first disarm its citizens." Did he say that?

[stoolie]

Probably more likely he said "Um eine Nation zu erobern, müssen Sie zunächst entwaffnet seine Bürger"...

[firefighter_raven]

Still looking through some of my sources but haven't found that exact quote yet. Considering the National Socialists only amended existing gun laws from the Weimar Republic once they took power to basically exclude Jews from possessing firearms and not full disarmament of everyone as some have claimed, I'll be surprised to find it.

ETA: I'm poking through my books so might take some time but will post if find anything.

[Mouse]

Let me guess after saying that quote, Hitler proceeded to laugh maniacally and stroke his moustache.*

*I almost said twirl but you can't twirl a Hitler stache.

[Skeptic]

Originally Posted by snopes

Comment: I saw a post on Facebook that quoted Adolf Hitler as saying, "To
conquer a nation, you must first disarm its citizens." Did he say that?

Just last night I was watching a documentary on Hitler's rise to power. One of his main supports was the heavily armed storm trooper group. Yes, I know he was voted in, but only after his thugs had attacked any opposition parties, particularly the communists. The storm troopers were (at least in the early days) self funded, and paid for their own uniforms and used their own guns. Maybe that was the type of disarmament that Hitler had in mind.

As an aside, I'm sick of hearing the extreme pro-gun lobby claim that only for their guns you would all be in concentration camps, and using places like 1920s Germany as an example.
America is a well established, stable democracy, with an enviable record of justice for all. Compare that to post-WW1 Germany, which was a loose grouping of different states each with a degree of autonomy, mob rule, systematic anti-Semitism, massive unemployment, and a people still suffering from the Versailles treaty's restrictions. Power went to who ever could organise the biggest armed group, and ironically, Hitler claimed to be the answer to the very power struggle that was tiring the populace.

[firefighter_raven]

In one of my books "The Coming of the Third Reich", it mentions that under the National Socialists the shooting clubs that were previously restricted to the elite were actually encouraged to open their membership. Hermann Goering also enacted many conservation reforms in regards to hunting to ensure that it would continue.

Which makes perfect sense considering that they were preparing the country to go to war in the near future and the more young men they had familiar with firearms the better.