First They Came – by Pastor Martin Niemöller
First, they came for the Communists,
And I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Communist;
Then 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 out for me
Thank you, Arina.
A few weeks ago, I heard a talk by someone called David Marquet, who had commanded a submarine in the United States Navy. He had worked hard at school, graduated top of his class from the US Naval Academy, and served as an engineer officer on a nuclear-powered submarine. He was highly regarded and, after nearly 20 years in the submarine service, against stiff competition he was selected to take command of his own submarine, the USS Olympia. Understandably, in his talk he said it was a very proud moment for him.
For the following twelve months, David Marquet studied as hard as he could so that he understood every aspect of how the USS Olympia operated: its technical systems, how it was driven through the water and navigated, how its weapons functioned, and how the crew should respond in every imaginable situation. He wanted to know it all so that he could lead his new crew with confidence.
After a year and just before Christmas, David Marquet received unexpected news. He was to be reassigned. He would no longer command the USS Olympia; instead, he would take command of the USS Santa Fe, which at the time was the worst-performing submarine in the fleet.
Many of us will know the feeling of preparing carefully for an exam, only to discover just before that we have revised the wrong topics. It is the stuff of nightmares, panic sets in, and we wonder how we can possibly catch up so we are ready for the test. In the same way, David Marquet spent all of his Christmas holiday learning as much as he could about the Santa Fe, but a couple of weeks could not compare with a year.
Soon after taking command, he gave an order. The officers on deck attempted to carry it out but eventually reported that it was impossible because the submarine was not built to operate that way – it would have made sense on the Olympia but not the Santa Fe. Frustrated, the new commander asked, “Well, why didn't you just say so?” The reply was simple: “Because you're the captain.”
And this was the important point that Marquet was trying to convey in his talk. The problem was not that he had made a mistake. The problem was that everyone else knew it was a mistake and had still tried to follow the order. He had inherited a culture where people were trained to obey, to do what they were told, rather than to think, to question, and to offer their own judgement. Marquet concluded that the strongest teams are not built on blind obedience but on people who are willing to take responsibility and do what is right.
This week marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Nuremberg Trials, which followed the Second World War. Twenty-two leading Nazis stood trial, charged with crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Before the war, those on trial had been senior politicians, military commanders, diplomats and administrators. They were intelligent, highly educated and, in many cases, respected professionals: lawyers, civil servants and military officers, but they had become leaders in a regime that had done horrendous things.
Later, someone wrote that great evil is not always carried out by obviously evil people. Rather, often it is committed by ordinary people who stop thinking about their actions and simply conform to a system in which they do what they are told.
The most common defence of those who helped carry out some of the worst atrocities Europe has seen in modern times was simple: “I was only following orders.”
A moment ago, Arina read the poem First They Came, written by the German pastor Martin Niemöller. Coincidentally, like David Marquet, Niemöller had once served on a submarine, commanding a German U-boat during the First World War. He later became famous not for his military service but for recognising that he hadn’t spoken out soon enough against the Nazi regime. Niemöller came to believe all of us have a responsibility to exercise our own moral judgement and to defend others, even when doing so is difficult.
Of the twenty-two men on trial at Nuremberg, nineteen were convicted. The court concluded that intelligence, status and position do not remove personal responsibility for our actions. No position is so senior or so junior, and no order so authoritative, that it excuses doing what is wrong.
I was so impressed by David Marquet's talk that I later bought his book, Turn the Ship Around!. I am only about halfway through, but its key message is that the strongest communities are those in which everyone is encouraged to think for themselves, to contribute their ideas, take responsibility for their actions and play their part in preventing mistakes. That, I hope, is the kind of community we continue to build here: one where people have the courage to think independently, to speak up when something is wrong and to do what is right, even when it is difficult.
That might mean saying something when a friend seems unhappy. It might mean refusing to join in with a conversation that is apparently a joke but that we know is inappropriate or offensive. It might mean not liking or sharing a social media post that comes at someone else's expense. It might mean challenging those whose words or actions are causing hurt to others.
It certainly means not doing the wrong thing simply because someone else suggests that we should.
That is a big ask. It is not always easy. But if we join in, we are responsible. And if we see something wrong and choose to say nothing, we bear some responsibility too.
Thinking for ourselves, speaking up for others and having the courage to do what is right are not always comfortable choices. They are, however, the choices upon which strong communities depend. Every one of us will face moments when it is easier to stay silent, follow the crowd or leave someone else to act. In those moments, we show our true character. By choosing to think independently, speak up and do what is right…we help to turn the ship around.