The Quote (Das Zitat — by Martin Niemöller) Poem by Oilibheir Álain Christie
The Quote (Das Zitat — by Martin Niemöller)
As the Nazis arrested the communists
I have remained silent,
I sure was no communist
As they jailed the Social-Democrats,
I have kept silent,
I sure was no Social-Democrat.
As they arrested the trade-unionists
I have kept silent,
I sure was no trade-unionist.
As they arrested me,
there was no one left
who could protest
[Rendered into English by O. Á. Christie
used as subtitles available under the 'closed captions' menu
for the video 'Martin Niemöller's 'Zitat' read by OÁC']
and here is the original text:
Das Zitat
Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen,
ich war ja kein Kommunist.
Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen,
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.
Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich geschwiegen,
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.
Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr,
der protestieren konnte.
Pastor Emil Gustav Friedrich Martin Niemöller
(14 January 1892 in Lippstadt; † 6. March 1984 in Wiesbaden)
Please create a poet page for Martin Niemöller to keep the original text under the author's name.
This is the true original german version of the famous quote; it has been verified by Niemöller's widow.
As they arrested me, there was no one left who could protest A good quote in poetic form.Well done Col Muhammad Khalid Khan
The other quote found in Wikiquote: «Wir haben nicht zu fragen, wieviel wir uns zutrauen; sondern wir werden gefragt, ob wir Gottes Wort zutrauen, daß es Gottes Wort ist und tut, was es sagt» I translate thus: We do not have to ask how much we trust ourselves; but we are asked if we trust God's Word, what God's Word is and does, what it says!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/18/2024 10:46:24 PM # 1.0.0.1119
A marvelous piece, Oilibheir. I speak some German but thanks for the translation Peace
The idea, my dear Kurt, is to give a flavour of the original text to those that do not have any German whatsoever because the English version in circulation, First they came for the communists has been manipulated in various ways and, as a consequence, is pretty debatable. Also it was a suggestion addressed to the moderators of PoemHunter.com to create a poet's page for Martin Niemöller so that everyone would have access to the original text. But I'm afraid this suggestion has remained unheard. Too bad! But at least I have tried.