A response to the Prop 8 ruling: repost of a friend's post
First They Came, Martin Niemöller
Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.
Then they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
I did not protest;
I was not a trade unionist.
Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Jude.
Then they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.
Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out for me.
Edited to add:
Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (14 January 1892 - 6 March 1984) was a prominent German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known as the author of the poem First they came....
For his opposition to the Nazis' 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.
Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.
Then they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
I did not protest;
I was not a trade unionist.
Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Jude.
Then they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.
Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out for me.
Edited to add:
Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (14 January 1892 - 6 March 1984) was a prominent German anti-Nazi theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known as the author of the poem First they came....
For his opposition to the Nazis' 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.