You will recognize this quote, though you may not recognize the one who spoke the words.
The Rev. Martin Niemoller was one of the heroes that stood against the terrors of Nazi Germany. Because his sermons contained sharp criticism of Nazi paganism, he was sent to a concentration camp in 1938 and remained there until the end of World War II. After the war he emerged as a prominent church leader in Germany. Here is a famous statement by Niemoller, taken from an address to the Confessing Church in January, 1946, that sums up his stance on human rights.
“They came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up.”