On this day 71 years ago, Martin Niemöller was tried before a “Special Court” for activities against the State. Although he had initially been a supporter of Hitler, he converted into a staunch opponent as the full extent of Hitler’s policies became evident, and he joined with a small group of other Christians including Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Karl Barth in founding the Confessing Church, an organisation opposed to the Nazification of churches.
Niemöller was found guilty at the trial and sentenced to a fine and seven months’ imprisonment, which had already been served, so he was released. However, the Gestapo re-arrested him, and he spent the following seven years in concentration camps before being liberated by the US Army on 5 May 1945. After the war, he became a prominent anti-war activist. He is said to have been the author of the following poem:
When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews, I did not speak out; I was not a Jew.
When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.