First they banned the sale of meat,
and I didn't speak up, because I was a vegetarian.
Then they banned the sale of alcohol,
and I didn't speak up, because I was a teetotaler.
When they shut down movie theatres,
I didn't speak up, because I had a DVD at home.
When they censored television,
I didn't speak up, because I didn't watch T.V.
When they imprisoned Tamils on suspicion of being terrorists,
I didn't speak up, because I was a Burgher.
When they shooed away the beggers and bashed up the gays,
I didn't speak up, because I was neither gay nor a begger.
When they put away the prostitutes,
I didn't speak up, because I was a married man who stayed cloistered at home.
I didn't raise my voice, I didn't make a fuss.
It's funny there was no one left to notice, when they came for me!
For his opposition to the Nazi's state control of the churches, Niemöller was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945. He narrowly escaped execution and survived imprisonment.After his imprisonment, he expressed his deep regret about not having done enough to help the victims of the Nazis.
This is the original poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment