They Came First for the Communists - Martin Niemöller

Dear Jack,

My old Program Challenge teacher Ms. Crooks is the first person who shared this quotation with me. She did a special section on the Holocaust, and I have always found myself interested in reading about this time in history where there was so much evil, yet still hidden hope. This poem has many variations because it was based on speeches given by The Rev. Martin Niemöller. He is quoted with not knowing for sure what the exact form was. The form I have below is the one that is commonly used on Holocaust memorials.

They came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I was a trade unionist
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one left to speak up.

--The Rev. Martin Niemöller