Posted on 06/18/2004 12:59:32 PM PDT by mrustow
Most of us, in this PC age, are familiar with the following sentiments or some variant, supposedly written by prominent German Protestant theologian and pastor Martin Niemöller (1892-1984) about the Nazis.
Two things always bothered me about this passage. The first, of course, is that there are so many varieties of this "quote." Sundry versions include Catholics, homosexuals, socialists, and Social Democrats, while the US Holocaust Museum itself omits the communists. The most historically accurate statement would have it in the order communists, socialists, trade unionists, and Jews. Moreover, "they" never came for Catholics or Protestants per se. Rather, they went after many Christian religious figures who spoke out against the Nazis. Secondly, there is a complete lack of emotional focus, and the conclusion or punch line is at best facile, if not downright dishonest. He starts off confessing that he did not speak out when he should have, perhaps implying a collective guilt of all Germans. Indeed, Niemöller was a principal author of the Stuttgarter Schuldbekenntnis ("Stuttgart Confession of Guilt"). The problem is that many people DID speak out against the Nazis -- although it accomplished little, and even some, like Pope Pius XII, who did more than speak out, and actually helped Jews and other escape death, are now routinely pilloried in the Leftist press, even though Pius was praised after World War II by Golda Meir, and contemporary Jewish leaders. Moreover, when the Gestapo finally came for Martin Niemöller in 1937, his life was spared because George Bell, the Bishop of Chichester, and others spoke up for him. In fact, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels urged Adolf Hitler to have Niemöller executed, but party ideologist, and probably the purest Nazi of them all, Alfred Rosenberg, hardly a humanitarian, argued against the idea as he believed it would provide an opportunity for people like Bishop Bell to attack the German government. Hitler agreed, and Niemöller spent the rest of the war in Dachau. It must be noted that Niemöller was a fervent supporter of Hitler, and even volunteered to serve in the German Army in 1939. He got himself put into the infamous concentration camp merely for opposing Hitler's control of the churches in Germany, and had never opposed Nazi racial theories. Far from it: In 1931 Niemöller made speeches arguing that Germany needed a Führer, and in his sermons he espoused Hitler's views on race and nationality. This all came out in a mea culpa press conference he gave in Naples in June of 1945. Widespread public outcry prevented him from entering England after the war, his mission of reconciliation notwithstanding. It was at this point that he became a committed socialist and peace-freak, campaigning against the formation of NATO, condemning Harry Truman as second only to Hitler as a mass murderer, praising Ho Chi Minh, and winning the coveted Lenin Peace Prize in 1967. Some time after he died in 1984, the poem First They Came For The Communists began to circulate in all of its many forms, and nearly always with attribution to Niemöller. But there is serious doubt whether he wrote it at all, since it is not mentioned by either of his biographers [Dietmar Schmidt (1959) and James Bentley (1984)], and the anecdote most often cited to prove its origin cannot possibly be true. In this fantasy, he is asked, in 1946, by some students how the Holocaust could have happened, and he answers with the poem. The source, though, is his second wife Sybil von Sell, whom he did not marry until 1971, who was a young child when this allegedly occurred, and could have no personal knowledge of the incident. Rather, she enjoyed the celebrity and was only too happy to feed the myth, offering no explanation of how such pearls of wisdom could have been kept from the public for 38 long years. A more realistic assessment is that the poem was written by an anonymous Leftist, perhaps a friend of Niemöller's, who knew that its turgid and vague sentiment would disappear unless credited to a well-known, if ultimately fraudulent "hero." Just one more deception brought to you by the usual suspects. What a surprise.First they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist.
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.
Finally, they came for me and there was no one left to speak out.
Agree 100%.
I seem to recall one of my classmates at the Samuel Goldwyn School of Theology making just that point, and the professor responding, "Same difference." And seeing that the prof was a doctor of divine thinkology, who was I to argue?
First they came for the fish, and I did not speak out because I was not a fish.
Then they came for the chickens, and I did not speak out because I was not a chicken.
Then they came for the cattle, and I did not speak out because I was not a cattle.
Finally, they came for me and there was no one left to speak out.
Graffiti found in a slaughterhouse bathroom.
And I'll be glad to address those contradictions, just as soon as you point them out. You can't just claim that a writer contradicts himself, and then not point out a single one. It looks more like you didn't like the tone of the piece, but have no arguments against it.
Hind sights 20-20
I don't know what a "Bapstist" may be, but as a BAPTIST,
( who normally just prefers to be called a Christian;) I don't believe I am in a position to condemn anyone to "hell." On God has the power to do that. Hopefully you were just being sarcastic.
Well spoken. but one man with one assault rifle has little chance against an army better to unite while there is still time. I pray that we are not already to late in the U.S.A.
Can't catch the clap by naking "war."
naw, "Clown" as in "Bozo"
Oh, I get it ...
"...nein, nein, nein: chust fire vun torpedo; zere's no point in firing two iff ze furst vun hits der tahrget. und iff zey get avay, ve can say ve tried..."
Oh. That's too bad. Well, you can lead a man to print, but you can't make him think.
What a foul, slanderous piece of propaganda! I don't see how anyone gains from such hateful musings, much less Catholics.
Thanks for your answer -- it beat what I was able to find on google, and gave possible explanation for his later pacifist views. Though I still can't fathom how he could align himself with the communists and against the west, considering his up-close-and-personal look at Hitler's regime and the fact that the west liberated Germany.
You are so very correct...my brain must be set to old age today...I offer my most humble apologies for such an egregious error. I am not worthy...bowing deeply
Hey now, I happen to know in the Bapstist religion there's NO DUNCING! So, knock it off!! (/Admin moderator)
First, they came for the verbs, and I said nothing for verbing weirds language.
Then they arrival for the nouns and I speech nothing for I no verbs.
Oh how about the big glaring one first...he was arrested by the Gestapo in 1937 and spent the rest of the war in Dachou and yet the next paragraph says that in 1939 he volunteered for the army...You might want to addres why the title of Father is assigned to this Protestant and frankly to claim that Catholica helped people escape is rather dubious particularly since the "Church" seemed more intent on its compact with the Germans and helping NAZIs elude arrest after the war.
Good post. I googled this topic just now, and came up with a coupla links. There's some debate about his "volunteering " while in custody:
Niemöller remained a German nationalist and on the outbreak of the Second World War he wrote to Admiral Erich Raeder offering to serve in the German Navy. The letter was passed to Joseph Goebbels who dismissed the idea as he believed it was an attempt by Niemöller to save his life. Goebbels now leaked the latter to undermine Niemöller's credibility. Niemöller's supporters retaliated by claiming the letter was a forgery. This version was believed and Niemöller became a symbol in Britain of resistance in Nazi Germany.
There's also this page that seems well researched and verifies that he said and wrote something like the famous quote, several times if not in so many words.
I knew that you knew that. I tend to suffer from the same thing (brain fade) and find that as I advance in years it has become my default mode.
I know more about Bonhoeffer than Niemoeller as I've read several of Bonhoeffer's books. Even though Bonhoeffer was hanged by the Nazi's at Flossenburg days before it was liberated by the Allies his legacy doesn't seem to be questioned as much. I guess it could be a lot of Bonhoeffer's writings remain (from even while he was in prison) which help to clarify his positions.
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