World War II quotes

Explore the courage and sacrifice of individuals during the tumultuous era with powerful quotes from World War II on our site.

Lead me, follow me, or get the hell out of my way.

- George S. Patton

Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.

- George S. Patton

A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.

- George S. Patton

When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened.

- Winston Churchill

The enemy is anybody who's going to get you killed, no matter which side he is on.

- Joseph Heller

He was going to live forever, or die in the attempt.

- Joseph Heller

Anything worth dying for ... is certainly worth living for.

- Joseph Heller

The search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Never waste a minute thinking about people you don't like.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

All generalizations are inaccurate, including this one.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

You do not lead by hitting people over the head – that's assault, not leadership.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

When you are in any contest you should work as if there were - to the very last minute - a chance to lose it.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it's the size of the fight in the dog.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

The world could be fixed of its problems if every child understood the necessity of their existence.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

The history of free men is never written by chance but by choice – their choice.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Pull the string and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

No man is worth your tears, but once you find one that is, he won't make you cry.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Never question another man's motive. His wisdom, yes, but not his motives.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Neither a wise nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Extremes to the right and to the left of any political dispute are always wrong.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Always try to associate yourself with and learn as much as you can from those who know more than you do, who do better than you, who see more clearly than you.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

- George S. Patton

An active mind cannot exist in an inactive body.

- George S. Patton

This paper, by its very length, defends itself from ever being read.

- Winston Churchill

Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.

- Winston Churchill

Good and great are seldom in the same man.

- Winston Churchill