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 was a U-boat commander in the First World War and a conservative Protestant minister who initially supported Hitler's rise to power. He was later imprisoned in 1937 for criticizing Hitler and his government. 





1.Who are “they” that Niemöller writes about, as in, “first they came for…”?

2. What does it mean when he says, “came for”?

3. Why does he repeat the phrase, “Then they came for…” several times?

4. What effect does the repetition of this phrase have on the listener?

5. What other groups did the Nazis “come for” before and during the 2nd WW?

6. The narrator of Niemöller’s is obviously himself. But the narrator is also somebody else. Who?

7. What does he mean by, “I didn’t speak up”? What are some ways he could have “spoken up”?

8. Do you think that most everyone in Germany was partly responsible for the Nazi’s rise to power and them keeping power, or that only a few were responsible? Explain your answer.

9. How much responsibility do you feel for what takes place around you: in your family, in your school, in your city, in your country, and in the world? List at least three responsibilities you feel for each level.