Member-only story
The guy who wrote that “First they came…” poem started off as a Nazi sympathizer. Let’s learn from him.
On the beauty of repentance and the even brighter beauty of not having to learn everything in the very hardest, worst way. 11.19.24
The now-famous poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller (“First they came…”) has been circulating widely for years now.
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then 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 out for me
He is hailed as a brave hero who defied the Nazis.
But did you know that he was initially a Nazi sympathizer?
As a Lutheran pastor — yes, someone who supposedly understood the Bible, the prophets, and Jesus — he supported Hitler in the 20s-30s.
He was an antisemite — yes, again after reading his Bible every day for decades. He believed that Jews and foreigners and other identified out-groups (gay folks, the disabled, Roma immigrants, artists, etc) were the problem. He believed that Hitler would…
