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die Kleinen hängt man, die Großen lässt man laufen

proverb

The small ones are hanged, the big ones are let go

die Kleinen hängt man, die Großen lässt man laufen is a German proverb meaning “The small ones are hanged, the big ones are let go (criminals who have money and influence are unlikely to be punished)”.

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Meanings and forms from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR).