Radio Blue Heart presents TALES FROM THE PUBLIC DOMAIN!

Episode 67: The Hangman

A short film using limited animation, “The Hangman” is based on a poem written by Maurice Ogden in 1951 and published in 1954. This was a time when the wounds left by the Holocaust were still fresh and time in America when McCarthyism brought a new wave of fascism and tyranny. 

It was inspired by the famous quote by Martin Niemöller:

“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.”

Its about how fascism and tyranny thrive when apathy grows. When good people stand by and do nothing while other good people are robbed of their rights and lives. The Hangman claims victim after victim, his power overshadowing justice, while people do nothing to stop him.