While my involvement with the HMDT came about as a result of my work with Survivors Fund, I have found inspiration from the HMDT and the many resources it has made available online. I’d like to share one of the real gems that I discovered on the HMDT website … a poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller, entitled 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 Socialist
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 beauty of Pastor’s Niemöller’s words is their simplicity: we must work to counteract hatred and prejudice against all social groups … or one day we shall find ourselves in the firing line, with no one to defend us.

There is a PDF version of this poem on the HMDT website.

You can now follow the HMDT on Twitter: twitter.com/hmd_uk