First they came for the babies...
Today in 7th grade we read the poem First They Came by Martin Niemoller. If you've never read this poem before it goes like this: FIRST THEY CAME First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out because I was not a Communist Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out because I was not a Jew Then they came for me And there was no one left to speak out for me. The students read an article about Niemoller independently and then we formed a socratic circle and discussed both the author and the poem itself. Niemoller was a German pastor who was initially excited about a strong leader like Hitler rising up and saving the country he loved. After a few years, once the Natzis began controlling the churches and what they could an...