Re: Stand up

[Stephanie Smilay <stephani@smart.net>]

At 11:07 PM 01/24/2000 -0800, Sam Hobbs wrote:
>
>The alt.quotations faq has an article on the wording and a citation:
>
>When Hitler attacked the Jews I was not a Jew, therefore, I was not
>concerned. And when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I was not a Catholic, and
>therefore, I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the unions and the
>industrialists, I was not a member of the unions and I was not concerned.
>Then, Hitler attacked me and the Protestant church -- and there was nobody
>left to be concerned.
>--- Martin Niemoller (1892-1984)
>in Congressional Record 14 October 1968, p. 31636
There was a recent article (in the Washington Post, I think) about this
particular quotation, and how common it is to leave off the first sentence
(i.e., first thaey came for the Communists).  It's not surprising it was
left off of the Congressional Record, though it is somewhat depressing.
>A slightly different (and the more usually quoted) form than material cited
>in the Congressional Record is:
>
>In Germany, the Nazis came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because
>I was not a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up
>because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the labour unionists and I
>didn't speak up because I was not a labour unionist. Then they came for the
>Catholics and I was a Protestant so I didn't speak up. Then they came for me
>. . . By that time there was no one to speak up for anyone.
>
>Neimoller was a U-boat skipper during WWI who in 1924 was ordained a
>Lutheran pastor, Niemöller didn't see the nature of the Nazi menace quickly
>enough. He regretted for the rest of his life that he and other clergy
>hadn't denounced the Nazis relentlessly from the pulpit from the first time
>the Sturmabteilung took to the streets. He felt that, had they done so, it
>would have awakened the German people and perhaps saved millions of lives.
>He spent the years 1937-1945 in Dachau, where he narrowly escaped execution
>several times.
>
>Ed C <zendam@snet.net> posted the additional biographical information
>following the quote 1999-03-23.
>
>Regards,
>Sam