First They Came for…
First They Came for…
By D. S. Mitchell
One of the most poignant and powerful pieces of prose ever written about silence, apathy and the end result of such inaction in the face of injustice was written by Luthern pastor, Martin Niemoller. The piece was created from a collection of speeches written by Niemöller (1892–1984). In the 1920s and early 1930s, Niemoller supported many Nazi ideas and the right-wing political movement. But after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, Niemöller became an outspoken critic of Hitler’s interference in the Protestant Church. Niemoller spent the last eight years of Nazi rule, from 1937 to 1945, in a Nazi concentration camp.
The central message is that silence in the face of injustice makes us complicit. The words remind us of the importance of collective responsibility, emphasizing that an attack on any group’s rights is a threat to us all. The quotation expresses Niemöller’s belief that most Germans had been complicit through their silence in the Nazi imprisonment, persecution, and murder of millions of people. He felt this was especially true of the leaders of the Protestant churches.
First They Came
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me
Silence is easy. Speaking out is tough. Do the right thing. Stand up for your neighbors and your community. People are being shot on the streets of America, by ICE. The only thing that will stop Trump and Stephen Miller’s right wing agenda is us.
