Talk:Martin Niemöller

Based on the research I've conducted into the early postwar (1945-50) publications of Niemoeller's speeches, we cannot speak of "a" definitive version of this quotation.

The only thing that consistently emerges is that he included the Communists, and said them first. The "incurables" (disabled), Jews, and Jehovah's Witnesses. In no published speech that I found did he mention Catholics, nor the Social Democrats, nor the trade unions. Thus I agree with most assertions made in the analysis by Franklin Littell, who knew Niemoeller personally.

To see my research, including transcriptions and translations of the original publications of Niemoeller's early postwar sermons, see:

http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/niem.htm

H. Marcuse, July 2004

Thank you for this information. I have posted the link on the article page as the first external link, as it seems to be the most informative that we have. Any further statements of Niemöller or others you would like to post here would be very welcome. Thanks again. ~ Kalki 04:06, 11 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Jews

Niemöller never said anything about jews because he allready was prissoned, when the nazis took the jews. --Steschke 14:24, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

Pictures

These pictures do not fit the content of the quotes. There's no direct reference to the quotes. It's associative and construing in an influencing way. Why not just stick to the mere quotes? What do we need this Eye Candy for? -- Reginald 00:21, 10 August 2010 (UTC)

The images included clearly relate to Niemöller's life and the issues to which he spoke, and the vital imperatives of being willing to speak out against censorship and the tyrannical impulses of all those who would seek to reduce permissible human endeavors to those few which they, in their shallow, insipid, or highly misinformed assessments find comfortable, pleasing or of service to such dull, drab, dreary ambitions as they can embrace — involving the diminishment and constraint of human expressivity to levels of abject conformity or a timid whisper. Anyone who can characterize the images indicating consequences and effects of the Nazi oppressions used on this page as mere "eye-candy" rather than as food for thought, quite obviously has not thought with any clear depth upon the matter, and the use of images to enhance the interest and appreciation of people in the ideas presented upon the pages has long been encouraged here. ~ Kalki (talk · contributions) 05:57, 10 August 2010 (UTC)