Page 107 - Writes of Passage
P. 107
FIRST THEY CAME . . .
First 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 for me.
Pastor Martin Niem ller
I first discovered this poem on the wall of a children’s acting class, run by the inspirational drama teacher Anna Scher. Pastor Niemöller was one of her heroes. It is a simple message, to speak out for each other when we are not threatened ourselves, but it is not easy to put into practice. Niemöller, a Protestant, not a Jew, survived seven years in a concentration camp for opposing the Nazis.
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