FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE JEWS

FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE JEWS

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 not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
IT IS HAPPENING AGAIN.
IN FACT, IT NEVER STOPPED.

v.2000
First they came for the hackers.
But I never did anything illegal with my computer,
so I didn’t speak up.

Then they came for the pornographers.
But I thought there was too much smut on the Internet anyway,
so I didn’t speak up

Then they came for the anonymous remailers.
But a lot of nasty stuff gets sent from anon.penet.fi,
so I didn’t speak up.

Then they came for the encryption users.
But I could never figure out how to work PGP anyway,
so I didn’t speak up.

Then they came for me.

And by that time there was no one left to speak up.

– Alara Rogers http://www.alara.net

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Then They Came for Me (A New Twist)

By Stephen Rohde, a constitutional lawyer and President of the ACLU of Southern California. Adapted from the original by Rev. Martin Niemoller (1937).

First they came for the Muslims, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Muslim.

Then they came to detain immigrants indefinitely solely upon the certification of the Attorney General, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t an immigrant.

Then they came to eavesdrop on suspects consulting with their attorneys, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a suspect.

Then they came to prosecute non-citizens before secret military commissions, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a non-citizen.

Then they came to enter homes and offices for unannounced “sneak and peek” searches, and I didn’t speak up because I had nothing to hide.

Then they came to reinstate Cointelpro and resume the infiltration and surveillance of domestic religious and political groups, and I didn’t speak up because I had stopped participating in any groups.

Then they came for anyone who objected to government policy because it aided the terrorists and gave ammunition to America’s enemies, and I didn’t speak up because…… I didn’t speak up.

Then they came for me……. and by that time no one was left to speak up.

“Upon further reflection, I have decided that I am irked by this. First, some background on the original context. It is worth remembering that this was said by a fellow who barely escaped execution after Hitler had executed about ten million people in his death camps, including about six million Jews. When this pastor talks about “coming for the Jews”, he does not mean a few thousand here or a few hundred there – he means nearly a complete sweep of the Jewish population of Europe. To pretend that what we are seeing with the Bush Administration is somehow comparable to Hitler strikes me as deeply disrespectful to the memory of those who suffered real persecution.
Here is another example of how this poem can be trivialized. [original link refered to this web site from talkleft.com]”

– Tom Maguire on the Talkleft.com web site

Now “They” Are Coming For Us

Repeal the Patriot Act Now!

Trivalized, my eye! Don’t fall victim to the pseudo arguments of the ACLU. Such sentiment provided the very foundation from which the SS proceeded to perpetrate their horrendous crimes against their own people with impunity. The incremental escalation of denial of rights, liberty and the pursuit of happiness progressed from small carefully chosen, seemingly trivial ones, through apparently logical rational ones, all the way to genocide – one small step at a time. If you truly respect Freedom and the souls of the millions who sacrificed their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to purchase and
Published from iblogstr8sicit.WordPress.com
[by Dawna Bowles (C)2014-15] all photography, poetry, and stories are (C) unless posted otherwise.

~The night of the broken glass~

THE “NIGHT OF BROKEN GLASS”

As the synagogue in Oberramstadt burns during Kristallnacht (the “Night of Broken Glass”), firefighters instead save a nearby house. Local residents watch as the synagogue is destroyed. Oberramstadt, Germany, November 9-10, 1938.

On the night of November 9, 1938, violence against Jews broke out across the Reich. It appeared to be unplanned, set off by Germans’ anger over the assassination of a German official in Paris at the hands of a Jewish teenager. In fact, German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and other Nazis carefully organized the pogroms. In two days, over 250 synagogues were burned, over 7,000 Jewish businesses were trashed and looted, dozens of Jewish people were killed, and Jewish cemeteries, hospitals, schools, and homes were looted while police and fire brigades stood by. The pogroms became known as Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass,” for the shattered glass from the store windows that littered the streets.

The morning after the pogroms 30,000 German Jewish men were arrested for the “crime” of being Jewish and sent to concentration camps, where hundreds of them perished. Some Jewish women were also arrested and sent to local jails. Businesses owned by Jews were not allowed to reopen unless they were managed by non-Jews. Curfews were placed on Jews, limiting the hours of the day they could leave their homes.

After the “Night of Broken Glass,” life was even more difficult for German and Austrian Jewish children and teenagers. Already barred from entering museums, public playgrounds, and swimming pools, now they were expelled from the public schools. Jewish youngsters, like their parents, were totally segregated in Germany. In despair, many Jewish adults committed suicide. Most families tried desperately to leave.

About 17,000 Polish Jews are expelled by Germany and forced across the border with Poland. Poland refuses to allow the Jews to enter. Most of the deportees are stranded in the no-man’s-land between Germany and Poland near the town of Zbaszyn. Among the deportees are the parents of Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old Polish Jew living in Paris, France.

NOVEMBER 7, 1938
GERMAN DIPLOMAT SHOT IN PARIS
Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old Polish Jew living in Paris, shoots Ernst vom Rath, a diplomat attached to the German embassy in Paris. Grynszpan apparently acts out of despair over the fate of his parents, who are trapped along with other Polish Jewish deportees in a no-man’s-land between Germany and Poland. The Nazis use the shooting to fan antisemitic fervor, claiming that Grynszpan did not act alone, but was part of a wider Jewish conspiracy against Germany. Vom Rath dies two days later.

NOVEMBER 9, 1938
JOSEPH GOEBBELS DEMANDS RADICAL ACTION
German propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels delivers a passionate antisemitic speech to the Nazi party faithful in Munich. The party members are gathered in commemoration of the abortive Nazi Putsch of 1923 (Adolf Hitler’s first attempt to seize power). After the speech, Nazi officials order the Storm Troopers (SA) and other party formations to attack Jews and to destroy their homes, businesses, and houses of worship. The violence against Jews lasts into the morning hours of November 10th, and becomes known as Kristallnacht—the “Night of Broken Glass.” Several dozen Jews lose their lives and tens of thousands are arrested and sent to concentration camps.

NOVEMBER 12, 1938
NAZIS FINE JEWISH COMMUNITY
The Nazi state imposes a fine of one billion Reichsmarks ($400,000,000) on the Jewish community in Germany. Jews are ordered to clean up and make repairs after the pogrom. They are barred from collecting insurance for the damages. Instead, the state confiscates payments owed by insurers to Jewish property holders. In the aftermath of the pogrom, Jews are systematically excluded from all areas of public life in Germany.

Copyright © United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, DC

Published from iblogstr8sicit.WordPress.com
[by Dawna Bowles (C)2014-15] all photography, poetry, and stories are (C) unless posted otherwise.