Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler

a whole must be taught in the light of this principle. An inventor must appear great not only
as an inventor but also, and even more so, as a member of the nation. The admiration
aroused by the contemplation of a great achievement must be transformed into a feeling of
pride and satisfaction that a man of one's own race has been chosen to accomplish it. But
out of the abundance of great names in German history the greatest will have to be selected
and presented to our young generation in such a way as to become solid pillars of strength to
support the national spirit.
The subject matter ought to be systematically organized from the standpoint of this principle.
And the teaching should be so orientated that the boy or girl, after leaving school, will not be
a semi-pacifist, a democrat or of something else of that kind, but a whole-hearted German.
So that this national feeling be sincere from the very beginning, and not a mere pretence, the
following fundamental and inflexible principle should be impressed on the young brain while
it is yet malleable: The man who loves his nation can prove the sincerity of this sentiment
only by being ready to make sacrifices for the nation's welfare. There is no such thing as a
national sentiment which is directed towards personal interests. And there is no such thing
as a nationalism that embraces only certain classes. Hurrahing proves nothing and does not
confer the right to call oneself national if behind that shout there is no sincere preoccupation
for the conservation of the nation's well-being. One can be proud of one's people only if there
is no class left of which one need to be ashamed. When one half of a nation is sunk in misery
and worn out by hard distress, or even depraved or degenerate, that nation presents such an
unattractive picture that nobody can feel proud to belong to it. It is only when a nation is
sound in all its members, physically and morally, that the joy of belonging to it can properly
be intensified to the supreme feeling which we call national pride. But this pride, in its
highest form, can be felt only by those who know the greatness of their nation.
The spirit of nationalism and a feeling for social justice must be fused into one sentiment in
the hearts of the youth. Then a day will come when a nation of citizens will arise which will
be welded together through a common love and a common pride that shall be invincible and
indestructible for ever.
The dread of chauvinism, which is a symptom of our time, is a sign of its impotence. Since
our epoch not only lacks everything in the nature of exuberant energy but even finds such a
manifestation disagreeable, fate will never elect it for the accomplishment of any great deeds.
For the greatest changes that have taken place on this earth would have been inconceivable
if they had not been inspired by ardent and even hysterical passions, but only by the
bourgeois virtues of peacefulness and order.
One thing is certain: our world is facing a great revolution. The only question is whether the
outcome will be propitious for the Aryan portion of mankind or whether the everlasting Jew
will profit by it.
By educating the young generation along the right lines, the People's State will have to see to
it that a generation of mankind is formed which will be adequate to this supreme combat
that will decide the destinies of the world.
That nation will conquer which will be the first to take this road.
The whole organization of education and training which the People's State is to build up
must take as its crowning task the work of instilling into the hearts and brains of the youth
entrusted to it the racial instinct and understanding of the racial idea. No boy or girl must
leave school without having attained a clear insight into the meaning of racial purity and the
importance of maintaining the racial blood unadulterated. Thus the first indispensable
condition for the preservation of our race will have been established and thus the future
cultural progress of our people will be assured.
For in the last analysis all physical and mental training would be in vain unless it served an
entity which is ready and determined to carry on its own existence and maintain its own
characteristic qualities.