The name Martin Neimoller may not register immediately. However, you have probably heard his famous poem in school or seen it make the rounds on social media:
“First they came for the Soviets…”
While the poem’s themes are universal, Neimoller spoke about a particular historical moment: the Nazis picking off people, group by group. When civilians saw groups they didn’t belong to—get taken away, they didn’t speak up. Until the Nazis finally came for them . . . and no one was left to speak up for those left behind.
A theologian by training, Neimoller lived in Germany during one of the twentieth century’s darkest periods. His opposition to their policies landed him in a concentration camp.
In today’s article, we’ll uncover his life, bravery, and what we can learn from his example.
Who Was Martin Niemoller?
Martin Niemoller was born in 1892 in Lippstadt, Germany. His father was a minister.
He joined the Navy in 1910 and served on a U-boat during the First World War. His service ended with Germany’s surrender in 1918.
When Neimoller returned to Germany, he pursued a seminary degree and became a protestant minister.
For those unfamiliar with German history, World War I (also known as “the Great War”) severely crippled Germany. Like every nation involved, it lost numerous soldiers (at the time, no conflict had more casualties). After suffering defeat, the Treaty of Versailles resulted in Germany accepting public responsibility for the war and undergoing various financial and political penalties.
Things got worse—particularly since a little after a decade after the war ended, the Great Depression affected many countries. Inflation kicked up through the roof, ruining Germany’s economy. Desperate to feel strong again and recover from all their financial problems, many Germans hoped for new leaders who could solve their national problems.
Adolf Hitler seemed to answer all those concerns with a political campaign based on nationalism and promises of a bright new future. He became chancellor of Germany in 1933.
Like many Germans, Niemoller voted for Hitler, believing the new leader could make his nation strong again. Like many ministers, he was attracted to Hitler’s statements about German society needing Christianity.
Once Hitler achieved power, his policies took a dark turn. Various minorities—primarily Jews but also Romany people, communists, gay people, and Jehovah’s Witnesses—were persecuted.
Any Christians who didn’t follow Hitler’s policies got in trouble—leading ministers like Dietrich Bonhoeffer to start the Confessing Church, which refused to follow German nationalist policies.
Anti-semitism had been a problem in many German churches for years. Under the Nazi regime, churches had to exclude any “Jewish” elements of the Bible (i.e., the entire Old Testament).
Neimoller initially aligned with the regime but shifted his views after meeting Hitler in 1934. He began criticizing the German government for power abuses, though not Hitler’s persecution of ethnic and religious minorities. The Nazis didn’t take kindly to his position, and he was arrested multiple times. In 1937, Niemoller was sent to a concentration camp named Sachsenhausen.
Established just a year before Niemoller entered its walls, Sachsenhausen was a training camp for SS guards and a prototype of the more famous concentration camps that followed. Hitler sent many of his political opponents there.
Neimoller spent seven years in Sachsenhausen. The experience radically changed him—and not just because of the suffering. In the camp, he met many people he would have considered enemies—outsiders that had been blamed for crippling Germany’s national identity.
In other words, Martin Niemoller experienced a great deal of regret.
What Did Martin Niemoller Do After World War II?
Although tens of thousands died at Sachsenhausen, Martin Niemoller survived. He was freed with the other prisoners in the spring of 1945.
Not only did he survive, but he had a major change of heart.
In October 1945, Martin admitted that his church had not done enough to oppose Hitler during Hitler’s initial rule. While he had opposed Hitler for religious overstepping, he had not stood up for the “least of these.”
Until the concentration camp, Martin Niemoller lacked the empathy to understand the plight of those different from himself.
He continued to speak about the victims of the Nazi regime for several years, including his famous poem published in 1947, “First They Came.”
He was among the first to say that Germany should take responsibility for the millions of deaths during World War II.
In the 1960s, he also apologized for his pre-WWII anti-Semitic views.
Niemoller lived a long life and passed away in 1984.
How Do People Remember Martin Niemoller?
Like many German Christians from the World War II period, Niemoller’s legacy is complicated.
After the war, he spoke up for the victims of the Holocaust. Yet critics note he supported the Nazi regime until it no longer supported him.
Many see him as a paragon of speaking up for those different from us. Others criticize him for not standing up soon enough.
To many, his life demonstrates a tragedy that Christians have always dealt with. Jesus encouraged his followers to love those different from themselves—yet, from the start, they struggled to do that. The early church faced division between Jewish believers and Gentiles.
Two thousand years later, the church still wrestles with this problem: do we love the outsider as Jesus commanded we should?
What Can We Learn from Martin Niemoller?
Martin Niemoller reminds me a lot of the cupbearer in the story of Joseph. While in prison, he promises Joseph he’ll commend Joseph to the Pharaoh. The minute the cupbearer leaves jail, though, he forgets about Joseph.
In the same way, Martin—and if we’re honest, us—can forget about other’s troubles if the trouble doesn’t personally affect us. We are called as Christians to provide empathy and compassion. Too often, we find it easier to be callous.
Neimoller’s story also nudges us to consider how dictatorships happen. As many WWII historians have noted, dictators like Hitler rise when we cling to our national or political identity above all else. We hope we will not see much power abuse and persecution again. It’s impossible that it could happen again. Therefore, we must consider what we can learn from Niemoller and his time.
We can take several practical lessons from his life.
1. It’s Never Too Late to Repent
Martin Niemoller didn’t rely on excuses. He refused to justify his behavior under excuses like “Hitler was very persuasive” or claims he couldn’t have done anything else. He experienced a 180-repentance, admitted his mistakes, and changed his course. He started to speak up for the people he should’ve spoken out for years prior.
The Church Needs More Compassion
I feel like I always have to have this caveat because people mishear me, thinking I’ve synonymized compassion with complacency. Hear me correctly that I do not advocate for complacency.
But we must practice more compassion for those with different worldviews than us—God is always urging us to show love. As Scripture reminds us, we should speak out for the cause of the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner. If someone, even a nonbeliever, experiences persecution, that should bother us.
Our Christian Identity Comes First
You probably need a heart check if you put your political label or national identity before being a Christian. This is true no matter which fill-in-the-blank label you put first.
Martin Niemoller put his German nationalist identity before his Christian one. Sadly, it wasn’t until he experienced hard labor in a concentration camp, alongside those he had despised, that he saw the problem with his worldview.
Let’s cling to our identity in Christ in a world so full of division. Let’s speak out against the mistreatment of others—yes, even those different from us in every way.
Further Reading:
How Did the White Rose Resistance Fight the Nazis?
Why Is the Holocaust Being Forgotten?
Corrie ten Boom's Life According to Her Own Words
10 Holocaust Movies for Holocaust Remembrance Day
Photo Credit: Dutch National Archives
Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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