All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing (1). To wit (2):
When they came for the communists,
I did not speak out;
As I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I did not speak out;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
As I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
As I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me,
And there was no one left to speak for me.
Niemöller’s poem comes from another time. Who would be on the list today? The unborn? Christians? Conservatives? Jews? You?
(1) Uncertain attribution.
(2) Martin Niemöller (1892 – 1984). There are several versions of this poem as Niemöller said it different ways at different times (1946 – 1984). He described this version as his favorite.
From the #suchatimeasthis series