First They Came for the Communists

Course on Anti-Imperialism, War and Peace, Part 8b

Pastor Martin Niemöller, 1892-1984

First They Came for the Communists

First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist, so I said nothing.

Then they came for the Social Democrats, but I was not a Social Democrat, so I did nothing.

Then came the trade unionists, but I was not a trade unionist.

And then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew, so I did little.

Then when they came for me, there was no one left to stand up for me.

Pastor Niemöller

The third linked document opens up the double question of who backs the communists, and if the communists are not backed, then what happens to the others? Attention has to be paid to the question of self-defence for the political movement.

Pastor Niemöller’s story is extraordinary, because it is unexpected. This Pastor, who survived Dachau, does not seem so extraordinary at first.

For revolutionaries it is very moving to record the solidarity of people such as Pastor Niemöller. The revolutionaries must trust the people. They have no choice.

Please download and read this text:

First They Came For The Communists, Niemoeller (1873 words)

Further reading:

Neo-Colonialism, Last of Imperialism, 1965, Nkrumah (10643 words)

Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Worst Ever Terror Attacks, Dixon (813 words)

Beyond Vietnam, Time to Break Silence, 1967, King (6687 words)