He is paraphrasing: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - George Santayana, The Life of Reason, 1905.
That inspired René Magritte to paint this: https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/those-who-cannot-remember...
Making the connection to events in our lifetime: https://hankeringforhistory.com/those-who-cannot-remember-th...
(edit) Some more reflections on it: https://blog.rtcx.net/remember