# Would You Kill Baby Hitler > Would You Kill Baby Hitler? is a 2006 thought experiment that exploded into memedom circa 2015, asking whether you'd time-travel to murder Adolf Hitler as an infant to prevent the Holocaust and WWII. "Would You Kill Baby Hitler?" is a thought experiment turned internet meme that asks whether you'd travel back in time to kill Adolf Hitler as an infant to prevent the Holocaust and World War II. The question gained traction in online forums as early as 2006[4] and exploded into mainstream meme territory in October 2015 when *The New York Times Magazine* polled readers on the dilemma[9]. It became one of the internet's favorite vehicles for debating ethics, time travel paradoxes, and the limits of consequentialism. ## Origin The idea of time-traveling to stop Hitler predates the internet by decades. Science fiction has played with the concept since at least Ralph Milne Farley's story "I Killed Hitler," published in *Weird Tales*, where a man goes back in time to kill his cousin Adolf, only to become a Hitler-like figure himself[3]. Stephen Fry's 1996 novel *Making History* explored a similar premise: a Cambridge student sends a contraceptive pill back in time to Hitler's father's well, preventing Hitler's birth entirely. The twist? An even worse Nazi leader, Rudolf Gloder, rises in Hitler's place[6]. TV Tropes catalogues the concept under "Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act," noting that fiction almost always finds a way to make killing Hitler backfire or prove impossible[14]. The earliest known online instance of the specific "Would you kill baby Hitler?" framing appeared on the Free Republic Forums on April 18, 2006, when user DaveLoneRanger asked readers, "Would you kill baby Hitler to prevent the extermination of millions?"[4]. The *Twilight Zone* reboot had already dramatized the scenario in its 2002 episode "Cradle of Darkness," where Katherine Heigl plays a woman sent back to 1889 Austria to kill infant Hitler[9]. - **Platform:** Free Republic Forums (earliest online mention), Twitter / NYT Magazine (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown (community-created from long-standing time travel fiction trope) - **Date:** 2006 (online), 2015 (viral peak) ## Overview "Would You Kill Baby Hitler?" frames a deceptively simple moral puzzle: if you had a time machine, would you murder an innocent infant to prevent the deaths of millions? The question sits at the intersection of utilitarian ethics, the trolley problem, and the grandfather paradox[5][8]. What makes it tick as a meme is the sheer range of responses it provokes. Some people answer with an instant "hell yeah," others get tangled in philosophical knots about killing babies, and a vocal contingent points out that removing Hitler might not actually prevent Nazism[12]. The meme usually surfaces as a poll, a tweet, a comic, or a video essay. It doesn't have a fixed visual template like most image macros. Instead, it's a discussion prompt that generates content around it: response videos, editorial hot takes, political soundbites, and webcomics. The question works because it's impossible to answer without revealing something about your moral framework[11]. ## How It Spread The question percolated through YouTube and forums for years before breaking out. YouTuber John Green uploaded a video discussing the thought experiment on May 14, 2007[4]. Philip DeFranco followed with his own take on November 26, 2008[4]. The ModDB Forums ran a "Would You Kill Baby Hitler?" poll on September 10, 2010[1], and David Pakman's YouTube show featured a segment on the dilemma on May 31, 2011[4]. On September 7, 2014, a post about baby Hitler hit Reddit's r/Showerthoughts, pulling in over 4,400 upvotes and 770 comments[4]. But the real explosion came on October 23, 2015, when *The New York Times Magazine* tweeted the results of a reader survey: 42% said yes, they'd kill baby Hitler; 30% said no; 28% weren't sure[9][11]. That tweet turned the question into a full-blown cultural moment. Within weeks, the meme jumped from Twitter discourse to political news. On November 9, 2015, *The Huffington Post* caught Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush on camera answering the question during a campaign bus ride in New Hampshire. His response: "Hell yeah, I would! You gotta step up, man"[2]. Bush acknowledged the potential for unintended consequences but shrugged it off: "It could have a dangerous effect on everything else, but I'd do it. I mean, Hitler"[2]. The next day, fellow candidate Ben Carson offered the opposite take, saying "I'm not in favor of aborting anyone" when asked about aborting baby Hitler[4]. On November 6, 2015, the webcomic *Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal* published a strip tackling the dilemma from a moral relativist angle[13]. Psychologist Kevin Dutton discussed it on Big Think's YouTube channel as a window into utilitarian thinking and psychopathy[10]. Vox produced a video tracing the full history of "killing baby Hitler" in fiction, from H.G. Wells through *The Terminator*[3]. ## How to Use "Would You Kill Baby Hitler?" typically works as a discussion prompt rather than a fixed meme template. Common formats include: 1. **Poll format**: Post the question as a yes/no/maybe poll on Twitter, Reddit, or Instagram Stories and watch the replies pile up 2. **Hot take format**: State your answer confidently and wait for people to argue with you 3. **Comic/illustration format**: Draw the scenario with a punchline that subverts expectations (kidnapping baby Hitler, enrolling him in art school, etc.) 4. **Interview format**: Ask the question to a public figure on camera for a viral soundbite 5. **Philosophical deep dive**: Use it as a jumping-off point for a video essay on consequentialism, the trolley problem, or time travel paradoxes ## Cultural Impact The baby Hitler question crossed from internet curiosity to mainstream political discourse during the 2015 presidential primary season. Jeb Bush's on-camera answer made national news and spawned its own wave of commentary pieces[2]. Ben Carson's response highlighted how the question maps onto the abortion debate, with pro-life commentators arguing that killing any baby is wrong regardless of future actions[4][9]. Major publications weighed in. *Vox* produced a full video history tracing the concept from H.G. Wells to modern pop culture[3]. *Inverse* interviewed a philosopher of ethics to break down the Kantian and utilitarian angles[11]. *Big Think* featured psychologist Kevin Dutton exploring how psychopaths and non-psychopaths respond differently to the scenario[10]. The Ethics Centre in Australia published a detailed ethical analysis[12], and the Foundation for Economic Education connected it to Dostoevsky and Martin Luther King Jr.[9]. TV Tropes maintains an entire page, "Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act," cataloguing dozens of fictional works where characters attempt (and usually fail) to kill or prevent Hitler through time travel[14]. The trope spans anime, novels, video games, and film, making it one of the most durable premises in science fiction. ## Fun Facts - The *New York Times Magazine* poll that started the 2015 viral wave drew responses from 3,000 subscribers before being shared on Twitter[11] - Stephen Fry's novel *Making History* won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History for its portrayal of a world without Hitler that turned out even worse[6] - The *Twilight Zone* episode "Cradle of Darkness" (2002) starred Katherine Heigl as the time-traveling baby Hitler assassin, years before her breakout role in *Grey's Anatomy*[9] - Philosopher John Proios argued that asking "Would you kill baby Hitler?" is essentially unanswerable because "people don't face these kinds of situations in real life"[11] - The grandfather paradox Wikipedia article specifically names the "Hitler paradox" or "Hitler's murder paradox" as a recognized variant of the temporal contradiction[8] ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Where did "Would You Kill Baby Hitler?" come from? The concept has roots in decades of science fiction, but the earliest known online version appeared on the Free Republic Forums on April 18, 2006. It went viral after *The New York Times Magazine* polled readers in October 2015[4][9]. ### What does "Would You Kill Baby Hitler?" mean? It's a test of moral philosophy. Your answer reveals whether you lean toward consequentialism (killing one to save millions is justified) or deontological ethics (killing an innocent baby is always wrong)[11][12]. **How do you use "Would You Kill Baby Hitler?"** Post it as a poll, use it as an interview question, or make a comic about it. The meme works as a discussion prompt that generates debate about ethics, time travel, and historical determinism[4][10]. ### Is "Would You Kill Baby Hitler?" still popular? The question peaked in late 2015 during the U.S. presidential primary season but resurfaces regularly whenever ethics, time travel, or Hitler are in the cultural conversation. It's a classic internet thought experiment[2][9]. ### What did Jeb Bush say about killing baby Hitler? During a November 2015 campaign bus ride in New Hampshire, Bush told *The Huffington Post* "Hell yeah, I would! You gotta step up, man," while acknowledging it could have unpredictable consequences[2]. ### What did Ben Carson say about baby Hitler? When asked if he'd approve of aborting baby Hitler, Carson replied "I'm not in favor of aborting anyone," reframing the question through a pro-life lens[4]. ### How does the baby Hitler question relate to the trolley problem? Both are ethical dilemmas about sacrificing one to save many, but the baby Hitler version requires an explicit act of murder rather than flipping a switch, making it a more extreme test of utilitarian ethics[5][12]. ### What is the grandfather paradox connection? The "Hitler paradox" is a recognized variant of the grandfather paradox: if you kill Hitler before he commits atrocities, you remove the reason you traveled back in time, creating a logical contradiction[8]. ### What happens in Stephen Fry's *Making History*? A Cambridge student prevents Hitler's birth by sending a contraceptive pill back in time. The result is worse: a smarter, more patient Nazi leader named Rudolf Gloder rises instead, develops nuclear weapons, and creates an even more oppressive world[6][7]. ### What was the NYT Magazine poll result? Of the respondents, 42% said they would kill baby Hitler, 30% said they would not, and 28% were unsure[9][11]. ### Why do some people say you shouldn't kill baby Hitler? Arguments include: baby Hitler is innocent and hasn't done anything wrong yet; killing him might not prevent Nazism since it was driven by broader social forces; and there are less violent alternatives like adoption or relocation[11][12]. ## References 1. [Would You Kill Baby Hitler? Thread - ModDB]() 2. [Jeb Bush On Whether He'd Kill Baby Hitler: 'Hell Yeah, I Would!' | HuffPost Latest News]() 3. [This video is a history of people proposing time travel to kill baby Hitler | Vox]() 4. [Would You Kill Baby Hitler - Know Your Meme]() 5. [Adolf Hitler in popular culture]() 6. [Trolley problem]() 7. [Making History (novel)]() 8. [Making History (novel) - Wikipedia]() 9. [Temporal paradox - Wikipedia]() 10. [Why the Ethics of ‘Would You Kill Baby Hitler?’ Are More Important Than You Probably Think]() 11. [Would You Kill Baby Hitler? - Big Think]() 12. [A Philosopher Weighs in on Whether or Not You Should Kill Baby Hitler]() 13. [Would you kill baby Hitler? - The Ethics Centre]() 14. [Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Invisible]() 15. [Hitler's Time Travel Exemption Act - TV Tropes]() 16. [Jeb Bush On Whether He'd Kill Baby Hitler: 'Hell Yeah, I Would!' | HuffPost Latest News]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/would-you-kill-baby-hitler Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library