German Lutheran pastor named Martin Niemöller refused to stay silent. In a speech to the representatives of the Confessing Church in Frankfurt on January 6, 1946, he shared his poem “First They Came.” It is about the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis’ rise to power and subsequent purging of their chosen targets, group after group. The poignancy and power of this poem still resonate as we continue to face oppression and hatred. First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was
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