It is written
in the correspondence of the Nazi Joseph Goebbels with one of the German SS
officers who, at the beginning of German totalitarianism, was responsible for
the construction and design of concentration and extermination camps. The
context and content of a brief dialogue are reproduced very succinctly.
The Nazi
officer provided Goebbels with information about the camps, regarding their
structure, layout, and functions. He warned that one of these camps could hold
up to about 10,000 prisoners and asked his superior how many guards he deemed
appropriate for their custody. Goebbels responded succinctly: 50. The SS
officer warned him that controlling a camp of 10,000 prisoners with only 50 men
was impossible, as there was no proportion. Goebbels replied, even more
briefly, and warned: out of every thousand people, only one is capable of
rebelling. It is the guards' job to identify and destroy that person. Only 10
prisoners will resist you. The rest will obey everything without the slightest
resistance, and very complacently, in exchange for survival. You have 40 men to
spare.
And now, ask yourself why you are tolerant towards those who deny you freedom.
