World War II Era
Political
Letter to Adolf Hitler
From: Mahatma Gandhi
To: Adolf Hitler
July 23, 1939
India
Letter Content
Dear Friend,
Friends have been urging me to write to you for the sake of humanity. But I have resisted their request, because of the feeling that any letter from me would be an impertinence. Something tells me that I must not calculate and that I must make my appeal for whatever it may be worth.
It is quite clear that you are today the one person in the world who can prevent a war which may reduce humanity to the savage state. Must you pay that price for an object however worthy it may appear to you to be? Will you listen to the appeal of one who has deliberately shunned the method of war not without considerable success?
I anticipate your forgiveness, if I have erred in writing to you. I remain,
Your sincere friend,
M. K. Gandhi
Historical Context
Written on the eve of World War II as Gandhi made a last-ditch appeal to Hitler to avoid war. The letter never reached Hitler as it was intercepted by the British government. Gandhi wrote a second letter in December 1940.
Significance
A remarkable document showing Gandhi's commitment to non-violence even in the face of totalitarianism. The letter's naive idealism contrasts sharply with the brutal reality of Nazi Germany, highlighting both the nobility and limitations of pure pacifism.