First published one year ago today. Still as relevant as ever.
And yes, we did get to Dachau!
Will there be Anyone Left to Speak for You/Me?
(Part 1)
In early August, I plan to revisit the site of the prototype and longest-functioning NAZI concentration camp of World War II, Dachau, used to imprison “enemies of the state.” This time, I’m bringing my kids, Chewbacca, Baby, and the Schmooze, to see a place that was also an SS training ground.
These “enemies of the state” included German and Eastern European dissidents, communists and social democrats, gypsies, homosexuals, clergy, Soviet soldiers, and eventually Jews, all marched through a gate that contained a lie:
“WORK MAKES ONE FREE“
One of those enemies of the state was the Rev. Martin Niemöller, a Lutheran pastor, a former supporter of the Nazi regime, and one of the founders of the Confessing Church (a movement that opposed the Nazification of German Protestants). Niemöller wrote a poem based on his experiences, a shortened version that appears at the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston, Massachusetts.
First 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 unionists.
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 for me.
In my life and ministry over the past two decades, I continue to hold fast to my conviction that extremism on either side of the equation wreaks havoc upon the balance of community, thus creating a “life out of balance.” As I have told you before, the Hopi have a word for this:
“Koyaanisqatsi“
The way things are progressing, I am concerned that the continued divisive behaviors from the left and right could cause chaos beyond repair. If/When that happens…
Will there be anybody left to speak for You/Me?
“I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:20)
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