Martin Niemöller
Lutheran pastor who opposed the Nazi regime and later championed human rights.
Martin Niemöller was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He opposed the Nazi regime during the late 1930s and was sent to a concentration camp for his affiliation with the Confessing Church and his opposition to state involvement in the Church. After the war, he toured the world to condemn the Nazi cause and educate people about the importance of human rights. In 1946 he published the confessional piece "First They Came". Niemöller was a national conservative and initially a supporter of Adolf Hitler and a self-identified antisemite. He became one of the founders of the Confessing Church, which opposed the Nazification of German Protestant churches.
- born
- 14 January 1892
- died
- 6 March 1984
- field
- Theology, Lutheran pastor
- nationality
- German
- known_for
- Opposing Nazi regime, 'First They Came', Confessing Church founder, post-war pac
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Niemöller was born in Lippstadt, Prussia, on 14 January 1892 to Lutheran pastor Heinrich Niemöller and his wife Pauline. He served as a U-boat commander in World War I, earning the Iron Cross First Class. In 1919 he married Else Bremer and studied Protestant theology at the Westphalian Wilhelm University in Münster from 1919 to 1923. He was ordained on 29 June 1924 and in 1931 became pastor of the Jesus Christus Kirche in Dahlem, Berlin. Like most Protestant pastors, he was a national conservative and openly supported conservative opponents of the Weimar Republic. He voted for Nazis in 1924, 1928, and 1933 and welcomed Hitler's accession to power, believing it would bring a national revival. In his autobiography *From U-Boat to Pulpit* (spring 1933), he called the Weimar Republic "years of darkness" and hailed Hitler for beginning a "national revival". However, he decidedly opposed the Nazis' "Aryan Paragraph" to Jewish converts to Lutheranism. In 1933 he founded the Pfarrernotbund to combat rising discrimination against Christians of Jewish background. By autumn 1934 he joined Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer in founding the Confessing Church. In a 1935 sermon he remarked: "What is the reason for [their] obvious punishment, which has lasted for thousands of years? Dear brethren, the reason is easily given: the Jews brought the Christ of God to the cross!" In 1936 he signed a petition sharply criticizing Nazi policies and declaring the Aryan Paragraph incompatible with Christian charity.
Reader's Guide
Martin Niemöller's significance lies in his complex journey from Nazi supporter to concentration camp prisoner and post-war human rights advocate. He was arrested on 1 July 1937 and tried on 2 March 1938, receiving a 2,000 Reichsmark fine and seven months' imprisonment, but was immediately rearrested by the Gestapo and interned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1938 to 1945. While in camp, he wrote to a military commander asking to be released to serve in the Wehrmacht, and in September 1939 volunteered to become a U-boat commander; his offer was rejected. His former cellmate Leo Stein reported Niemöller saying: "Hitler promised me on his word of honor, to protect the Church, and not to issue any anti-Church laws. He also agreed not to allow pogroms against the Jews... I really believed, given the widespread anti-Semitism in Germany, at that time – that Jews should avoid aspiring to Government positions... I am paying for that mistake now." After his imprisonment, he expressed deep regret about not having done enough to help victims of the Nazis. He turned away from his earlier nationalistic beliefs and was one of the initiators of the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt. From the 1950s on, he was a vocal pacifist and anti-war activist, and vice-chair of War Resisters' International from 1966 to 1972. He met with Ho Chi Minh during the Vietnam War and was a committed campaigner for nuclear disarmament.
Did You Know?
- Niemöller served as a U-boat commander in World War I and was awarded the Iron Cross First Class.
- He voted for the Nazis in 1924, 1928, and 1933 and initially welcomed Hitler's rise to power.
- While in concentration camp in September 1939, he volunteered to become a U-boat commander; his offer was rejected.
- He was one of the initiators of the Stuttgart Declaration of Guilt after the war.
- He served as vice-chair of War Resisters' International from 1966 to 1972 and met Ho Chi Minh during the Vietnam War.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Martin Niemöller?
Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) was a German Lutheran pastor and theologian who initially backed Hitler's rise but later broke with the regime and became a vocal opponent of Nazism. After surviving years in concentration camps, he devoted his final decades to pacifism and human-rights advocacy.
What is 'First They Came' and why is it so famous?
'First They Came' is a short confessional poem Niemöller composed after World War II, in which he lists the groups the Nazis silenced one by one until they finally came for him. It has become one of the most widely quoted warnings against indifference to oppression anywhere in the world.
What happened to Niemöller during the Nazi years?
Following his public opposition to the regime, Niemöller was arrested in 1937 and held in several camps, including Sachsenhausen and Dachau, until liberation in 1945. That experience fundamentally reshaped him, turning a former nationalist into a committed advocate for reconciliation and nonviolence.
Why is Martin Niemöller important in Protestant history?
He helped found the Confessing Church, which stood against the state's effort to control Lutheran congregations, and his personal arc from Nazi sympathizer to anti-fascist witness made him a moral landmark for post-war German Christianity. His sermons and writings continue to shape how Protestant communities confront complicity in injustice.
What was Niemöller's specific role in the Confessing Church?
Niemöller was a leading voice within the Confessing Church, a movement of German Lutherans who refused to let the Nazi state dictate doctrine or church governance. He used his pulpit and public writings to challenge the regime's theology of racial supremacy and to defend the independence of the Gospel.
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