Martin Niemöller was a prominent Protestant pastor in Germany who was an early Nazi supporter but emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. His postwar words, “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out…” continue to be used in popular culture and public discourse today.
German naval officer Martin Niemöller (top, foreground) commands a U-Boat during World War I. Flensburg, Germany , ca. 1914–17.
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Martin Niemöller, a prominent Protestant pastor who opposed the Nazi regime. He spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps. Germany, 1937.
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Pastor Martin Niemöller at his desk in his home. Berlin, Germany, ca. 1936.
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Martin Niemöller, a German theologian and pastor, on a visit to the United States after the war. A leader of the anti-Nazi Confessing Church, he spent the last seven years of Nazi rule in concentration camps. United States, October 4, 1946.
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A visitor stands in front of the quotation from Martin Niemöller that is on display in the Permanent Exhibition of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Niemöller was a Lutheran minister and early Nazi supporter who was later imprisoned for opposing Hitler's regime.
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Visitors stand in front of the quotation from Martin Niemöller that is on display in the Permanent Exhibition of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Niemöller was a Lutheran minister and early Nazi supporter who was later imprisoned for opposing Hitler's regime.
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Quotation from Martin Niemöller on display in the Permanent Exhibition of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Niemöller was a Lutheran minister and early Nazi supporter who was later imprisoned in the camp system for opposing Hitler's regime.
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.
Martin Niemöller (1892-1984), Lutheran minister and early Nazi supporter who was later imprisoned for opposing Hitler's regime.
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