“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 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 for me.”

These words by Martin Niemöller, a pastor in Germany who lived from 1892 to 1984, are part of a permanent display at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

“Martin Niemöller was a prominent Protestant pastor who emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps, despite his ardent nationalism,” the Holocaust museum website states.

Niemöller was particularly critical of Hitler’s interference with Christianity.

“Hitler’s hostility made it clear to Niemöller that the Protestant church and the Nazi state could not be reconciled unless Protestants were willing to compromise their faith. Niemöller was not willing to do this,” the museum website conveys.

Niemöller’s life is what some would consider complicated when studying his actions and beliefs — from voting for the Nazis in both 1924 and 1933 to being arrested by the Gestapo in 1937 for treasonable statements. He invoked a strong juxtaposition between the opposition of Nazism and stout nationalism.

“By the mid-1950s, Niemöller had become a pacifist,” according to the museum.

This month marks the anniversary of Hitler being selected chancellor of the Weimar Republic.

In author Timothy W. Ryback’s piece “How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days” for The Atlantic Jan. 8, he writes, “Ninety-two years ago this month, Jan. 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed the 15th chancellor of the Weimar Republic. In one of the most astonishing political transformations in the history of democracy, Hitler set about destroying a constitutional republic through constitutional means.”

Just a little more than a week ago, Elon Musk, a billionaire businessman and recent political figure, made a hand gesture twice — once to the front of the crowd and a second time to the back — during his speech at the post-inauguration celebration. The hand gesture, placing the right arm up and forward, palm down, has its origins from Roman times; however, it is more widely known as a Nazi or Hitler salute.

In fact, an Instagram user posted, “It stopped being a Roman salute in 1933.”

Columnist Lenz Jacobsen’s recent headline for Die Zeit, a German newspaper, read, “A Hitler Salute is a Hitler Salute is a Hitler Salute.”

It is infuriating to hear and read people defending Musk or suggesting the hand gesture wasn’t what it seemed.

It is exactly what it seemed — a Nazi/Hitler salute — and nothing other.

Making a Nazi/Hitler salute is wrong and always will be wrong. It is reprehensible. It is not acceptable.

When I was in middle and high school, I learned about the Holocaust and its ramifications. I visited the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum with my cousin in college. I’ve watched movies and documentaries on the Holocaust with tears in my eyes. History lessons on this period were never painted as glorious.

The Nazis and Hitler were unethical, the Holocaust shouldn’t have happened, and those who turn a blind eye and don’t condemn the realities of what is currently happening will be on the wrong side of history.

As a child, teen and young adult, I don’t remember noticing individuals fully displaying their hate and prejudice out in the open.

Today, they are on the main stage.

Stacey Koch

editorial assistant

Whitehall-Coplay Press

Northampton Press

Catasauqua Press