Martin Niemoeller, a
German U-Boat commander in World War I who later became a Protestant pastor and
pacifist. The Nazis threw him into a concentration camp. After miraculously
surviving, wrote:
"When
the Nazis took the communists away, I was silent; after all, I was no communist.
"When
they put the social-democrats in prison, I was silent; after all, I was no
social-democrat.
"When
they took the trade-unionists away, I did not protest; after all, I was no
trade-unionist.
"When
they took me away, there was nobody left to protest."