Martin Niemoeller

(Image from: http://uboat.net/wwi/men/photos/niemoller_martin.jpg)

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First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a communist;

Then 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 out for me.

by Martin Niemoeller, found at: http://www.christianethicstoday.com/Issue/009/First%20They%20Came%20for%20the%20Jews%20By%20Franklin%20H%20Littell_009_29_.htm ,accessed 28/2/10.

Martin Niemoeller was a decorated U-boat Captain in World War 1. By the time Hitler came to power he was a staunch Protestant and opponent of Hitler. Hitler ordered his incarceration in a concentration camp, but Niemoeller survived the war.

I really like the quote at the top of the post. I feel there are too many people resembling ostriches nowadays. Common things I hear are; 'What can I do?', 'What difference can I make?', 'What's it got to do with us?'

If all Hitler's opponents had stood up and done something, would there have been a World War 2?