First they came ...

File:Martin Niemoeller.jpg

Martin Niemoeller's poem inscribed on a stone in New England Holocaust Memorial

"First they came…" is a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.

History

An early supporter of Hitler, by 1934 Niemöller had come to oppose the Nazis, and it was largely his high connections to influential and wealthy businessmen that saved him until 1937, after which he was imprisoned, eventually at Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps. He survived to be a leading voice of penance and reconciliation for the German people after World War II. His poem is well-known, frequently quoted, and is a popular model for describing the dangers of political apathy, as it often begins with specific and targeted fear and hatred which soon escalates out of control.

Controversy over origin and text

In Spanish-speaking countries the poem has often been erroneously attributed to Bertolt Brecht since the 1970s. The poem's exact origin is unclear, and at least one historian has suggested that the poem arose after Niemöller's death. This is incorrect, as the poem was published in a 1955 book by Milton Mayer, They Thought They Were Free, based on interviews he conducted in Germany several years earlier. The quotation was widely circulated by social activists in the United States in the late 1960s. Recent research has traced the sentiments expressed in the poem to speeches given by Niemöller in 1946. Nonetheless, the poem's wording remains controversial, both in terms of its provenance, and the substance and order of the groups that are mentioned in its many versions. While Niemöller's published 1946 speeches mention Communists, the incurably ill, Jews or Jehovah's Witnesses (depending on which speech), and people in occupied countries; the 1955 text, a paraphrase by a German professor in an interview, lists: Communists, Socialists, "the schools, the press, the Jews, and so on," and ends with "the Church." However, as cited by Richard John Neuhaus in the November 2001 issue of First Things, when "asked in 1971 about the correct version of the quote, Niemöller said he was not quite sure when he had said the famous words but, if people insist upon citing them, he preferred this version:

"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;

And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;

And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;

And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

Poem (1976 version)

Original

Translation

Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Kommunist. Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat. Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten, habe ich nicht protestiert; ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter. Als sie die Juden holten, habe ich geschwiegen; ich war ja kein Jude. Als sie mich holten, gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.

When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist. When they came for the Jews, I remained silent; I wasn't a Jew. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.

Variations

Als sie die Kommunisten geholt haben, habe ich geschwiegen.
- denn ich war ja kein Kommunist.
Als sie die Sozialisten und Gewerkschafter geholt haben, habe ich geschwiegen.
- denn ich war ja keins von beiden.
Als sie die Juden geholt haben, habe ich geschwiegen.
- denn ich war ja kein Jude.
Als sie mich geholt haben, hat es niemanden mehr gegeben, der protestieren konnte.

First they came for the Communists,
- but I was not a communist so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists,
- but I was neither, so I did not speak out.
Then they came for the Jews,
- but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out.
And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.

Variation of first stanza

Ironically, when the poem was recounted in the United States in the 1950s, the first stanza, referring to communists, was often omitted, due to the rise of McCarthyism and the Red Scare.

Variation of second stanza

Most poems omit "the sick, the so-called incurables", (known today as the mentally ill) in Niemöller's original writings, a reference to Action T4. "Dann hat man die Kranken, die sogenannten Unheilbaren beseitigt."

Variation of last stanza

A variant of this poem has the last stanza as "then they came for the Catholics."

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

The version inscribed at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. 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.

New England Holocaust Memorial

The version inscribed at the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston, Massachusetts reads:

They came first for the Communists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics,

and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me,

and by that time no one was left to speak up.

Time

Another variant was printed in Time magazine on August 28, 1989, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the start of World War II. This version read:

First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up,

because I wasn’t a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up,

because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up,

because I was a Protestant. (See above)

Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left

to speak up for me.

Posters

The variant found on most English and American posters reads:

First they came for the Socialists, and I didn’t speak up,

because I wasn’t a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I didn’t speak up,

because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up,

because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me, and there was no one left

to speak up for me.

There is also a version replacing "and I didn't speak up " with "and I did not protest".

variation compounded

This a compound of the above variations.

   First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up,
   because I wasn’t a Communist.
   
   Then they came for the Socialists, and I didn’t speak up,
   because I wasn’t a Socialist.

   Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I didn’t speak up,
   because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist

   Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up,
   because I wasn’t a Jew.

   Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up,
   because I was a Protestant.

   Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left
   to speak up for me. 

Other Variation

In addition to the original version, there is a second one in which the Jews are the first group being mentioned.

Mentally Ill

First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up,

because I wasn’t a Communist.

Then they came for the sick, the so-called incurables, and I didn't speak up,

because I wasn't mentally ill.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up,

because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left

to speak up for me

Note that in the 6 January 1946 speech Niemöller specifically mentioned "the sick, the so-called incurables"; see the translation by Harold Marcuse

“Euthanasia” Centers*map

T-4 Euthanasia Program

Cardinal Clemens von Galen speech Against Euthanasia Sunday, August 3 1941

American Journal of Psychiatry January 2006. "Nazi Euthanasia of the Mentally Ill at Hadamar" by Rael D. Strous, M.D.

"When Hitler Attacked"

This version was attributed in the Congressional Record on October 14, 1968:

When Hitler attacked the Jews I was not a Jew, therefore, I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the Catholics, I was not a Catholic, and therefore, I was not concerned. And when Hitler attacked the unions and the industrialists, I was not a member of the unions and I was not concerned. Then, Hitler attacked me and the Protestant church—there was nobody left to be concerned."

Anti-Flag - Emigre

In 2006 the American punk rock band Anti-Flag referenced the poem in the song "Émigré" off their album For Blood And Empire.

First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out

Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out.

Next they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out.

And then they came for me.

NoFX - Re-gaining Unconsciousness

In 2003, American punk rock band NoFX paraphased the poem in the song "Re-gaining Unconsciousness" on the album War on Errorism

First they put away the dealers,

keep our kids safe and off the street.

Then they put away the prostitutes,

keep married men cloistered at home.

Then they shooed away the bums,

then they beat and bashed the queers,

turned away asylum-seekers,

fed us suspicions and fears.

We didn't raise our voice,

we didn't make a fuss.

It's funny there was no one left to notice

when they came for us.

Niyi Osundare - Not my Business

The poet Niyi Osundare wrote the poem "Not my Business" which has strong overtones of Niemoeller's original poem:

They picked Akanni up one morning
Beat him soft like clay
And stuffed him down the belly
Of a waiting jeep.

What business of mine is it

So long they don't take the yam

From my savouring mouth?

They came one night
Booted the whole house awake
And dragged Danladi out,
Then off to a lengthy absence.

What business of mine is it

So long they don't take the yam

From my savouring mouth?

Chinwe went to work one day
Only to find her job was gone:
No query, no warning, no probe-
Just one neat sack for a stainless record.

What business of mine is it

So long they don't take the yam

From my savouring mouth?

And then one evening
As I sat down to eat my yam
A knock on the door froze my hungry hand.
The jeep was waiting on my bewildered lawn
Waiting, waiting in its usual silence.

External links

• Niemöller, origin of famous quotation Harold Marcuse, UC Santa Barbara (2005)
• Niemöller's famous quotation as posted by Holocaust Survivors' Network