First they came ...

"First They Came..." is a poem about how people were being treated unfairly because of their religion, race, or beliefs. It was written by German pastor Martin Niemöller and is often used to talk about the Holocaust. In the poem, Niemöller tells the story of how, one by one, different groups of people were taken away, or persecuted, by the Nazis, who controlled Germany during the 1930s and 1940s. The poem is a metaphor for how wrong it is to stay silent when bad things are happening to others. It reminds people that if they stay silent, soon, no one will be left to stand up for them.