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I've seen this quote in various far-right memes. Supposedly, Gen. George S. Patton, upon taking control of Berlin in 1945, said "We defeated the wrong enemy." The Communists, one supposes, were the right enemy. Is it an authentic quotation?

stackexchanger
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    WikiQuote has nothing https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_S._Patton. BTW many right wing sites suggest he was referring to Jews, not communists. –  Nov 25 '16 at 07:43
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    Compare Churchill; "we've slaughtered the wrong pig". He was not so much referring to generic communists as to Soviet Russia in the hands of Stalin. – RedSonja Nov 25 '16 at 08:52
  • Did Patton every even go to Berlin - he definitely was not in control of it - He was military governer of Bohemia – mmmmmm Nov 25 '16 at 12:06
  • @Mark of Bavaria – DavePhD Nov 25 '16 at 15:05
  • In the 1970 movie "Patton" he says "Up until now we've been fighting the wrong people" https://books.google.com/books?id=ivx-BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA63&dq=%22fighting+the+wrong+people%22+patton&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiLhKeNksXQAhXp24MKHXlwCrIQ6AEIITAB#v=onepage&q=%22fighting%20the%20wrong%20people%22%20patton&f=false – DavePhD Nov 26 '16 at 00:23
  • Neonazi videos that pop up when you google for this phrase seem to have a lot of rather... less than pleasant reputed Patton quotes. – user5341 Nov 26 '16 at 01:52
  • I don't have enough reputation to comment, so I'll submit an answer. I don't know whether Patton ever spoke those words, but he certainly didn't say them "upon taking control of Berlin" - the Russians took control of Berlin. They continued west until they met the western allies at what became the border between East Germany and West Germany. The US, UK, and France demanded that Berlin be administered jointly by all four allies; hence West Berlin, subsequently walled in by the Soviets. – user184411 Nov 26 '16 at 22:20
  • Right, but Mark already commented that – DavePhD Nov 26 '16 at 22:31

1 Answers1

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It is at least an accurate paraphrase:

The 1975 Bodyguard of Lies Volume II says:

Patton was relieved of command of the 3rd Army by Eisenhower just after the end of the war for stating publicly that America had been fighting the wrong enemy— Germany instead of Russia

According to the 1987 book Cannon fodder: growing up for Vietnam the exact quote is:

We may have been fighting the wrong enemy (Germany) all along. But while we're here (on the Soviet border), we should go after the bastards now, 'cause we're gonna have to fight 'em eventually.

The 1953 article "We Called Him Uncle Georgie", originally published in The National Guardsman and reprinted in V.F.W. Magazine and Quartermaster Review XXXIII, about Patton by Red Cross worker Betty South, who had direct access to the general at the relavent time, says:

When he went to Berlin to receive the kiss of death from the Russians he remarked shortly, "I think we've been fighting the wrong people all this time, but I've oiled my belly so I can stay with them on the Vodka. My front will be as good as theirs."

Another related exact quote is:

the Germans are the only decent people left in Europe. It's a choice between them and the Russians. I prefer the Germans.

Displaced Persons: The Liberation and Abuse of Holocaust Survivors

DavePhD
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