There are multiple versions of the quote “First they came for….” Some versions include a different list of victims. Why are there multiple versions of Niemöller’s quote? Through his confession, he wanted to show Germans how to accept personal responsibility for complicity in the Nazi regime. According to him, individual Germans were passing the blame onto their neighbors, superiors, or Nazi organizations like the Gestapo. In his lectures, he lamented that individual Germans failed to accept responsibility for Nazism, German atrocities in German-occupied countries, and the Holocaust. Niemöller considered his fellow Germans as the primary audience for his confession. He used phrases such as “I did not speak out…” or “we preferred to keep quiet.” He explained that in the first years of the Nazi regime he had remained silent as the Nazis persecuted other Germans, especially members of leftist political movements with whom he disagreed. In his lectures, Niemöller publicly confessed his own inaction and indifference to the fate of many of the Nazis’ victims.

In 1946, he traveled on a lecture tour in the western zones of Allied-occupied Germany. After the war, Niemöller was well-known for his opposition to the Nazi regime and as a former victim of Nazi persecution. This Martin Niemöller quote originated after the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. They serve as an indictment of passivity and indifference during the Holocaust. Today, they are prominently featured on a wall as the final words of the exhibition. Initially, Niemöller's words were part of a text panel.

The quote “First they came for…” has been part of the permanent exhibition at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum since its opening in 1993. Niemöller’s Quote at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum His powerful words about guilt and responsibility still resonate today. It is sometimes mistakenly referred to as a poem.Īfter World War II, Niemöller openly spoke about his own early complicity in Nazism and his eventual change of heart.

This quote is attributed to the prominent German pastor Martin Niemöller. Then they came for me-and there was no one left to speak for me. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out-because I was not a trade unionist. The Quoteįirst they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out-because I was not a socialist.

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