A cautionary tale..Found this in a North Florida red area newspaper.

[mfcorey1]

Martin Niemöller (1892-1984) was a German Lutheran pastor who was a national conservative in Germany during the Weimar Republic. He at first welcomed Hitler’s accession to power in 1933, believing that it would bring a national revival of a Germany that was in the throes of soaring inflation and unemployment following World War I. But he gradually abandoned his views.

After the war, he wrote a poem about the cowardice of Germans following the Nazis’ rise to power and their subsequent elimination of opposition groups. There are several variations of the poem, but this one is on display at the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.:

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.

Make no mistake in thinking Niemöller was a hero. He was not a Schindler or a Wallenberg who tried to rescue Jews from the Holocaust. He did try to protect Jews who had converted to Christianity, and for his opposition to the Nazi’s state control of churches he was arrested by the Gestapo and interned in two concentration camps for “protective custody” from 1938-1945. Niemöller was liberated by advancing units of the U.S. Seventh Army.

While he received harsh criticism because of his early support for Hitler and his attitude toward Jews, he never denied his own guilt, allowing that it wasn’t until his 8-year imprisonment by the Nazis that he reached a turning point.

***snip***
In these difficult days of 2018 that often challenge our notions of decency, tolerance and humanity, the story of Martin Niemöller may be viewed as a cautionary tale. We Americans, who enjoy the freedoms bestowed upon us by the United States Constitution, need to understand that what we take for granted today can disappear tomorrow unless we constantly renew and enforce those freedoms by practicing good citizenship and showing tolerance toward all faiths, political beliefs, races and lifestyles. Hatred or fear of “The Other” can lead us down paths that are destructive to our nation, our communities and our very selves.

https://fernandinaobserver.com/uncategorized/a-cautionary-tale/#comments

[matt819]

1. Regardless of Niemoller's personal history. . .

the sentiment exposed in his poem are spot on in 2018 as they were in the 1930s.