Enjoying the JourneyA Poem to Be Shared During the Political Season
September 27th 2008 21:14
A Poem to Be Shared During the Political Season
I would like to share a poem many of you have probably heard at some point. I am also certain there are many that have never heard it. For all of you, I think it is a great poem to share during this political season in the United States with the election just over a month away.
The poem is by Pastor Martin Niemoller, who was an early supporter of Adolf Hitler. By 1934, he opposed the Nazis and what they stood for. His connections kept him safe until 1937, when he was imprisoned at Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps. He was one of the few to make it out alive, and went on to be a leading voice of the penance and reconciliation for the German people after World War II.
The poem describes the dangers of political apathy, as it often begins with specific and targeted fear and hatred, which soon becomes out of control.
Enjoy.
-----------
First they came. . .
by Pastor Martin Niemoller
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
I would like to share a poem many of you have probably heard at some point. I am also certain there are many that have never heard it. For all of you, I think it is a great poem to share during this political season in the United States with the election just over a month away.
The poem is by Pastor Martin Niemoller, who was an early supporter of Adolf Hitler. By 1934, he opposed the Nazis and what they stood for. His connections kept him safe until 1937, when he was imprisoned at Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps. He was one of the few to make it out alive, and went on to be a leading voice of the penance and reconciliation for the German people after World War II.
The poem describes the dangers of political apathy, as it often begins with specific and targeted fear and hatred, which soon becomes out of control.
Enjoy.
-----------
First they came. . .
by Pastor Martin Niemoller
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
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Sorry, for the sloe response. I somehow missed that this post had a comment on it.
Nice comparison. The poem is certainly very Catch-22 in its nature.
Gene