Martin Niemöller
German theologian (1892–1984) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller[lower-alpha 1] (14 January 1892 – 6 March 1984) was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor.[1][3] He is best known for his opposition to the Nazi regime during the late 1930s and for his widely quoted 1946 poem "First they came ...". The poem exists in many versions; the one featured on the United States Holocaust Memorial reads: "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 | |
---|---|
Born | Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller 14 January 1892 |
Died | 6 March 1984(1984-03-06) (aged 92) |
Alma mater | Westphalian Wilhelm University |
Known for | Co-founding the Confessing Church |
Notable work | "First they came ..." |
Spouse |
Else Bruner
(m. 1919; died 1961) |
Ecclesiastical career | |
Religion | Christianity (Lutheran) |
Church | |
Ordained | 1924 |
Congregations served | St. Anne's Church, Dahlem [de; ja] |
Offices held |
|
Military career | |
Service/ | Imperial German Navy |
Years of service | 1910–1919[1][2] |
Battles/wars | First World War |
Awards | Iron Cross |
Niemöller was a national conservative and initially a supporter of Adolf Hitler[4] and a self-identified antisemite.[5] He became one of the founders of the Confessing Church, which opposed the Nazification of German Protestant churches. He opposed the Nazis' Aryan Paragraph.[6] For his opposition to the Nazis' state control of the churches, Niemöller was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1938 to 1945.[7][8] He narrowly escaped execution. After his imprisonment, he expressed his deep regret about not having done enough to help victims of the Nazis.[6] He turned away from his earlier nationalistic beliefs and was one of the initiators of the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt.[6] From the 1950s on, he was a vocal pacifist and anti-war activist, and vice-chair of War Resisters' International from 1966 to 1972.[9] He met with Ho Chi Minh during the Vietnam War and was a committed campaigner for nuclear disarmament.[10]