First they came for…


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

There are a number of versions of the quote “First they came for….” Some include different lists of victims. This is because Niemöller presented his lectures off the cuff and often changed the list of victims. He would sometimes include people with mental or physical disabilities and other religions.

This Martin Niemöller quote came after Nazi Germany was defeated. After the war, he traveled on a lecture tour in Allied-occupied Germany. He publicly confessed his own inaction and indifference to what was happening at the time to many of the Nazis’ victims. He said “I did not speak out…” and “we preferred to keep quiet.” He said that in the earlier years of the Nazi regime he remained quiet as the Nazis persecuted other Germans, especially when it came to members of leftist political movements with whom he disagreed. Remaining silent (and looking the other way) was his mistake, and the mistake of others.