First they came for the Communists,

And I didn't speak up

Because I wasn't a Communist.

They 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.

Paraphrase of First They Came by

Pastor Martin Niemoller (1892-1984)