Hitler quote about children and molding their young brains?

Question

I can't remember where, but I heard a quote that was something like "Give me a child for the first 4 years of their life, and I'll have them for the rest of their life." And I would either like the quote or where it was used. Thank you so much in advance!

Answer 1

I have never seen this quote attributed to Hitler. I did find this quote taken from a transcription of Hitler's "Table Talk" discussions on the night of July 11-12, 1941.

"When one provokes in a child a fear of the dark, one awakens in him a feeling of atavistic dread. Thus this child will be ruled all his life by this dread, whereas another child, who has been intelligently brought up, will be free of it."
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Here's an answer I wrote three months ago about a quote similar to the one you posted.

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I love the life of quotes. I have seen this several dozen different ways, some to praise the Jesuits and others to condemn them. Most authors use the word "alleged" when attributing the quote to the Jesuits or one of their members -- St. Ignatius of Loyola, the found of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) or St. Francis Xavier, first missionary to India who assisted Ignatius in the formation of the Jesuits.

"Give me the child, and I will mould the man."

"Give me the child for seven years,
and I will give you the man."

"Give me the child until he is
seven and I care not who has him thereafter."

"Give me the child till the age of seven
and I will show you the man."

There is a great documentary on the subject with an accompanying book: "7 Up: 'Give Me the Child Until He is Seven, and I Will Show You the Man'" by Michael Apted, Bennett L. Singer who have followed their subjects for nearly forty years with subsequent films and books.

Baltasar Gracian was a Spanish Jesuit scholar who lived from 1601 till 1658.

The French Revolution began in 1789. From all accounts the most influential Jesuit was Henri Gregoire, considered the most educated of the cures because he had traveled further from their small parish which gave him a broader knowledge of the world. An award-winning essayist, he helped draw up the civil constitution of the clergy, considered the single most important passage in his life. However there has never been any evidence to indicate the Jesuits were directly involved in the Revolution.

For more information, see:
A History of the French Revolution
by Henry Morse Stephens

Answer 2

The quote you're talking about is from Ignatius Loyola Founder of the Jesuit order...

"Give me a boy before the age of 7 and he will be mine forever."

He was referring of course to the fact that if he could capture the mind of a boy(or girl) before the age of seven, he could instill religious beliefs in him/her that would last for the rest of his/her life.

Answer 3

“Give me just one generation of youth, and I'll transform the whole world.” ― Vladimir Leni

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/106700-give-me-just-one-generation-of-youth-and-i-ll-transform

or

"Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted."

Vladimir Lenin

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/v/vladimir_lenin.html#QEFgl76o4gH3Mm5A.99

Answer 4

Thank you for the answers EVERYONE xx