I divide my officers into four classes as follows: The clever, the industrious, the lazy, and the stupid. Each officer always possesses two of these qualities.
Those who are clever and industrious I appoint to the General Staff. Use can under certain circumstances be made of those who are stupid and lazy. The man who is clever and lazy qualifies for the highest leadership posts. He has the requisite nerves and the mental clarity for difficult decisions. But whoever is stupid and industrious must be got rid of, for he is too dangerous.
I've heard this before, but whose wisdom is this? Quote Investigator researches and has found many similar versions attributed to many different German generals. The earliest reference, however, is 1933 and in English, accredited to Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord, Commander-in-Chief of the Weimar Republic's armed forces. "If the 1933 citation was accurate then the expression appeared in German in a Berlin newspaper in 1932 or 1933. QI has not yet located this instance."
I've heard this before, but whose wisdom is this? Quote Investigator researches and has found many similar versions attributed to many different German generals. The earliest reference, however, is 1933 and in English, accredited to Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord, Commander-in-Chief of the Weimar Republic's armed forces. "If the 1933 citation was accurate then the expression appeared in German in a Berlin newspaper in 1932 or 1933. QI has not yet located this instance."