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First They Came...

First They Came...

Part of a series on Poetry. [View Related Entries]

Updated Feb 12, 2018 at 04:01AM EST by Y F.

Added May 31, 2017 at 03:01PM EDT by Adam.

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About

"First They Came…" is a poem by Martin Niemoller written as a critique of German intellectuals during the Nazi occupation of Germany in the 1930s that remained silent during the Nazi purging of groups they found undesirable. The poem has grown into a snowclone online and has been used more frequently during the rise of President Donald Trump.

Origin

While the exact date the poem was first published is unclear, the earliest times Niemoller used variations of the text are traced back to 1946.[1] The version of the text that appears in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum reads:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Socialist.
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.
Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

Spread

The poem became extremely well known in Jewish circles[3] as a part of Holocaust education. Its popularity led it to be referenced online as a snowclone where the structure of Niemoller's poem remains intact but the objects are changed. For example, one of the earlier online parodies was written by DemocraticUnderground[6] forum poster BehindTheAegis during the 2004 presidential election between George W. Bush and John Kerry (shown below).


First they came for the "liberals," by eliminating the right of dissent through "free-speech" zones that continued to get further and further from the administration and grew smaller and smaller. But I am no liberal! So, I grumble at the TV and on the Internet. Then they came for the media, by allowing the "Fairness Doctrine" to continue to be non-existent and creating a propaganda machine run by the ruling party But I am not a member of the media! So, I grumble at the TV and swear off the "news." Then, they get brazen, and come for the gays, by appointing right-wing judges that reinstate the "crimes against nature" and "sodomy" laws; thereby, turning consenting adult relationships into criminal acts, costing people their jobs, homes, and lives But I am not gay! So, I grumble at the TV and vow to send money to gay rights groups. Then they come for immigrants, by making asylum impossible and closing off our borders through legislation. But, I am no immigrant (at least not a first-generation one)! So, I grumble at the TV and vow to join Amnesty International. Then they come for me and I can't speak up for myself because I am not in a "free speech" zone. I can't get the news to cover my arrest except as a dissident. I find the laws that the right-wing judges have created, now apply to me through vague and unconstitutional language. I can't even flee the country because the borders are closed! Leaving me wondering...how did this happen? I didn't see any "signs!"

A Your eCards was created in August of 2012.[4] On June 3rd, 2012, a parody version was uploaded to Fanfiction.net (shown below).[5]


First They Came... (Twenty-First Century Re-Write.) First they came for the unemployed, and I did nothing because I have a job Then they came for the disabled, and I did nothing because I'm able-bodied Then they came for the children, and I did nothing because I'm childless. Then they came for me, and only then did I do anything. I realised that the Coalition Government is a bunch of liars that are full of rhetoric and hate.

The poem continued to be referenced in news headlines in reference to how rights were being infringed upon. In 2014, OneNewsNetwork[8] referenced the poem in a headline about union workers for McDonald's (shown below, left). On July 27th, 2015, Daily KOS[9] referenced it in a headline about racism (shown below, right).


Warning on union push: First they came for McDonald's Monday, December 22, 20141 Chris Woodward (OneNewsNow.com) Facebook Twitter Select Language ▼ You may not own a McDonald's franchise, but you should be paying attention to the National Labor Relations Board and its complaint against McDonald's and franchisees over worker rights. The "others": First they came for the blacks... By arendt Monday Jul 27, 2015 11:13 PM EDT

Trump-era Resurgence

The political rise of Donald Trump, particularly his exclusionary policies with regards to Muslims, Mexicans, etc. brought the poem back into the public eye as variations began being used in protest to his policies. On June 29th, 2016, Quartz[10] wrote an article with a poem imagining Trump's America. On January 29th, 2017, the poem was used in reference to both his defunding of National Parks and anti-Islam immigration executive order. The former was a Reddit post to /r/politicalhumor[6] that gained 443 points (shown below, left). To the latter point, articles were published by The Atlantic[2] and on Martin O'Malley's personal Medium[7] to use the phrase. The Atlantic's article offered the history of the poem, as it had been a major rallying cry during protests against Trump's Muslim Ban (shown below, right).


FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE SCIENTIST AND THE NATIONAL PARKGERVICE SAID AND WENT RUCUE, AND WE WERE ALL, LIKE, IWAS NOT EXPECTING THE PARK RANGERS TO LEAD THE RESISTANCE. NONE OF THE DYSTOPIAN NOVELS READ PREPARED ME FOR THIS. BUT, COOL." FIRST HEY CAME FOR THE MUsLI AND WE SAD NOT TODAY MOHERFUCKER

Various Examples


FIRST THEY CAME FOR HARAM BE ANDISAID NOTHING FORWAS NOT HARAMBE mer FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE MEXICANS, AND SAID NOTHING BECAUSE IWAS NOT MEXICAN. THEN THEY CAME FOR THE MUSLIMS, AND I SAID NOTHING BECAUSE IWAS NOT MUSLIM. THEN THEY CAME FOR THE AND I SAID NOTHING BECAUSE I WAS NOT THEN THEY CAMEFOR ME AND THERE WAS NO ONE LEFT TO SPEAK FOR ME imgflip .Eo First they came for the aristocracy and I said nothing, because l wasn't an aristocrat. Then they came for the wealthy and I said nothing because I wasn't rich Then they came for the kulaks and I said keep up the good work Then they came for the fascists, and l did not speak out, but punched them. Then they cameforthe capftalists, and 0 did not speak out, because they had it coming. LITT PBIT Then eveything tumea out pretty great actually FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE BANANAS BUTISAID NOTHING BECAUSEIAM NOT A BANANA quickmeme.com HRST THEY CAMEFOR THE UNEMPLOYED, BUTIVOTED TORY-BECAUSE IWAS NOT UNEMPLOYE.THEN THEY CAME FOR THETRADE UNIONISTS, BUTIVOTEDTORY-BECAUSEIWAS NOTA TRADEUNIONIST.THEN THEY CAME FOR THE DISABLED, BUTIVOTEDTORY-BECAUSEIWAS NOT DISABLED THEN THEY CAME FORMY TAX CREDITS AND NOW I KNOW WHAT IT FEELS imgflip.com FIRST-THEY CAME FOR THE WINDOWS BU ANDI DIDNOT SPEAK oUT BECAUSE I WAS NOT A WINDOW

Search Interest

External References

[1] Wikipedia – First They Came…_…

[2] The Atlantic – ‘First They Came’: The Poem of the Protests

[3] Nancy Friedman – “First they came”: Evolution of a meme

[4] Your eCards – No Verbs

[5] Fanfiction.net – First They Came

[6] Reddit – First They Came for Scientists

[7] Medium – Letters from Boston: First they came for the Muslims, and we said, “not in America, you don’t.”

[8] OneNewsNetwork – Warning on union push: First they came for McDonald's

[9] Daily KOS – The others First they came for the blacks…

[10] Quartz – The famous poem by an anti-Nazi pastor, rewritten for Donald Trump’s America

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Top Comments

iotacom
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iotacom


First they came for the terrorists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a terrorist.
Then they came for the illegal immigrants, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not an illegal immigrants.
Then they came for the BLM rioters, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a BLM rioter.
Then they came for me--
And there were still plenty law-abiding Mexicans, Muslims, and black people to speak for me so I got a fair trial.

But no, actually the US is undergoing a massive holocaust and everyone's already being corralled into camps. That's why so many people still want to move here, to get killed in a gas chamber.

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