First They Came . . .

The story of “The Rat Trap” reminds me of a quote/poem attributed to Rev. Martin Niemöller (1892–1984), a Lutheran pastor and anti-Nazi activist who survived imprisonment in Dachau concentration camp during World War II. There are several versions of this poem, but they all make a powerful statement just the same. This is the version used by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.

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.