General Patton was right. We did defeat the wrong enemy.

This quote is widely circulated and often cited to suggest that Patton believed the United States should have aligned with Nazi Germany. The user in question posted this under a tweet of a girl making the Nazi salute suggesting Patton would have aligned with this user and the girls beliefs that Nazism wasn't the enemy. This is wrong however, there is no verified public speech or official document where Patton definitively said this phrase verbatim. It is believed to be a paraphrased summary of sentiments he expressed in his private writings and conversations, especially in the months following Germany’s surrender in 1945.

Historical Context:

After the fall of Nazi Germany in May 1945, Patton was appointed as the military governor of Bavaria and was in charge of overseeing post-war occupation. During this time:

• Patton grew increasingly disillusioned with U.S. policy, particularly regarding the treatment of former Nazis and the rise of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe.

• He became vocal about the threat of communism and was highly critical of the Soviet Union, expressing that the U.S. should confront the Soviets sooner rather than later.

• In letters and diaries, Patton criticized the denazification process and expressed sympathy for ordinary Germans, contrasting them with what he saw as a growing communist threat.

In a letter to his wife in May 1945, Patton wrote:

"The German is a strange mixture of the beast and the superman, but there is no doubt he has manners, culture and the ability to fight. It is a pity that we have to destroy such a people. Actually, the Germans are the only decent people left in Europe."

He also stated in another letter:

"I think we have been fighting the wrong enemy all along."

This is the closest known authentic statement matching the "wrong enemy" quote. These views eventually led to Patton being relieved of his command and reassigned. He died shortly after, in a car accident in December 1945.

Bottom Line:

While the phrase "We defeated the wrong enemy" captures the essence of Patton's postwar concerns about Soviet expansionism and U.S. foreign policy, it is not a direct quote but a summarized sentiment found in his private correspondence.