First They Came Quote Analysis
WORLDHISTORY PROJECT 1200/ LESSON 7.8OPENER“FIRST THEY CAME” QUOTE ANALYSISUnless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “’First They Came’ Quote Analysis,” OER Project, www.oerproject.com/1PurposeInterpret a short quote as you start to think about the events leading up to the Holocaust.Analyzing this quote and thinking through the questions in this activity will prepare you for theprocess of evaluating the effects of the Holocaust.Process1.Read the following quote, which isfrom an individual who was imprisoned in a concentration camp for his opposition to the Nazi regime:“In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.”Pastor Martin Niemöller, 19452.Who are “they” that Niemöller writes about?3.In your own words, what is Niemöllerdescribing in this quotation? 4.What questionor questionsare left unanswered by this quote?
WORLDHISTORY PROJECT 1200/ LESSON 7.8OPENER“FIRST THEY CAME” QUOTE ANALYSIS25.Reflect more personally on Niemöller’s words. How much responsibility do you feel for what takes place around you? Choose an issue:it could bein your family, in your school, in your city, in your country, orin the world,and writeone way in which you could “speak up,” or act, on theissue.