How did martin niemöller die
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Martin Niemöller
German theologian (1892–1984)
Friedrich Gustav Emil Martin Niemöller (German:[ˈmaʁtiːnˈniːmœlɐ]ⓘ; 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 1946 quote "First they came ...". Niemöller was sent to a concentration camp for his affiliation with the Confessing Church and his opposition to state involvement in Church. After the war, he went on tour around the world to condemn the Nazi cause and educate people about why it is important to protect human rights.
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 1
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Martin Niemoeller
Martin Niemoeller was a Protestant pastor born January 14, 1892, in Lippstadt, Westphalia. He was a submarine commander in World War I. He was anti-communist and initially supported the Nazis until the church was made subordinate to state authority.
In 1934, he started the Pastors’ Emergency League to defend the church. Hitler became angered by Niemoeller’s rebellious sermons and popularity and had him arrested on July 1, 1937. He was tried the following year and sentenced to seven months in prison and fined.
After Niemoeller's release, Hitler ordered him arrested again and he spent the next seven years in concentration camps in “protective custody.“ He was liberated in 1945 and was elected President of the Protestant church in Hesse and Nassau in 1947. He held the title until 1964. He was also a President of the World Council of Churches in the 1960’s.
Niemoeller was a pacifist who spoke out against nuclear weapons. He is best known for his powerful statement about the failure of Germans to speak out against the Nazis:
“First they came for the C
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Martin Niemöller: "First they came for..."
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The Quote
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
This quote is attributed to the prominent German pastor Martin Niemöller. It is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a poem.
After World War II, Niemöller openly spoke about his own early complicity in Nazismand his eventual change of heart. His powerful words about guilt and responsibility still resonate today.
Niemöller’s Quote at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
The quote “First they came for…” has been part of the permanent exhibition at the United States Holocaust Memori
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