![]() ![]() “Pastor Niemöller spoke for the thousands and thousands of men like me when he spoke (too modestly of himself) and said that, when the Nazis attacked the Communists, he was a little uneasy, but, after all, he was not a Communist, and so he did nothing and then they attacked the Socialists, and he was a little uneasier, but, still, he was not a Socialist, and he did nothing and then the schools, the press, the Jews, and so on, and he was always uneasier, but still he did nothing. Mayer wrote that a German friend of his told him: ![]() Ī paraphrase of Niemöller’s remarks on this topic was cited in the 1955 book by Milton Mayer, They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45. In 1946, after World War II ended, he began talking in his sermons and speeches about the collective guilt Germans shared for going along with Hitler’s atrocities. He was arrested and put in a Nazi concentration camp for his views, but survived. Pastor Niemöller was one of the brave German church leaders who spoke out publicly against the Nazis’ persecution of Jews and other minority groups while Adolf Hitler was in power. Today, many books and thousands of websites attribute the lines in the Congressional Record to Niemöller. It was soon pointed out that the quote was not created by Samuels, but was actually a version of words spoken by the German theologian and Lutheran pastor, Martin Niemöller (1892-1984). Samuels, a New York businessman who was the Administrator of the Small Business Administration and, according to Reuss, “a leader of the Nation’s Jewish community." Then, Hitler attacked me and the Protestant church – and there was nobody left to be concerned.” And when Hitler attacked the unions and the industrialists, I was not a member of the unions and I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I was not a Catholic, and therefore, I was not concerned. “When Hitler attacked the Jews, I was not a Jew, therefore, I was not concerned. The “quote” Reuss read was recorded in the Congressional Record as follows: Reuss of Wisconsin made some remarks on the floor of Congress that included what became a very famous quotation – or, more accurately, a very famous misquotation. On October 14, 1968, Congressman Henry S. ![]()
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