First they came...

"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 been often 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 organisations 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."

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 well-known 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.


 * 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.

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 a Jan. 6, 1946 speech Niemöller specifically mentioned "the sick, the so-called incurables"; see the translation by Harold Marcuse

“Euthanasia” Centers* Cardinal Clemens von Galen speech Against Euthanasia   Sunday, August 3, 1941

"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."

Influence
The poem influenced the song "Yellow Triangle" by folk singer Christy Moore.

In 1991 the Scottish musical duo Hue and Cry paraphrased the poem in a song recorded at Cirque Royale, Brussels. The relevant portion of the song was:


 * When they came for the Jews and the blacks, I turned away
 * When they came for the writers and the thinkers and the radicals and the protesters, I turned away
 * When they came for the gays, and the minorities, and the utopians, and the dancers, I turned away
 * And when they came for me, I turned around and around, and there was nobody left...

It also influenced the song "Emigre" by Anti-Flag. The song, recorded on the album "For Blood and Empire" relates to "First they came…" in the first stanza:


 * 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!

"Re-gaining Unconsciousness" by punk band NOFX also appears to have been influenced by the poem;


 * First they put away the dealers,
 * keep our kids safe and off the streets.
 * 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.

The poem also influenced the closing lines of the Corrosion of Conformity song 'White Noise':


 * When They Cracked The Whip, Nothing Was Said
 * When The Flames Burned, Nothing Was Said
 * When They Notched The Barrels, Nothing Was Said
 * When The Bays Opened, Nothing Was Said
 * When The Dogs Were Set Loose, Nothing Was Said
 * When The Colors Run Red, Nothing Was Said
 * When Innocents Cried In The Face Of The Guilty
 * No One Said Anything

As has "Madame Guillotine" by the Legendary Pink Dots:


 * First they rounded up the reds
 * But I'm not red so…
 * Then they rounded up the blacks
 * But I'm not black so…
 * Then they rounded up the gypsies
 * And the junkies and the donkeys.
 * Now I'm scared to whistle 'swanee'
 * 'Cause they'll ask me for my spit…

The poem also appears to have influenced a more recent poem, by Niyi Osundare, a Nigerian who was vocal in his criticism of the Nigerian government in the 1990s. The poem 'Not my business' lists the people 'they' come for, by name, and shows the poet turning away. It is no business of his 'so long as they don't take the yam' from his hand. Finally they come for him, and there is silence.

In the X-Factor Investigations comic series, the mutant Quicksilver quotes the poem in reference to the Superhero Registration Act.

Charles Mingus uses a version of the poem on his song "Don't Let It Happen Here," on the album "Music Written for Monterey, 1965 Not Heard...Played Live in Its Entirety at UCLA," which after a small release was out of print for many years until re-released on September 26, 2006. He changes and expands the ending:


 * One day they came and they took the Communists
 * And I said nothing because I was not a Communist
 * Then one day they came and they took the people of the Jewish faith
 * And I said nothing because I had no faith left
 * One day they came and they took the unionists
 * And I said nothing because I was not a unionist
 * One day they burned the Catholic churches
 * And I said nothing because I was born a Protestant
 * Then one day they came and they took me
 * And I could say nothing because I was as guilty as they were
 * For not speaking out and saying that all men have a right to freedom
 * On any land
 * I was as guilty of genocide
 * As you
 * All of you
 * For you know when a man is free
 * And when to set him free from his slavery
 * So I charge you all with genocide
 * The same as I
 * One of the 18 million dead Jews
 * 18 million dead people

Asian Dub Foundation paraphrased the poem in the song "Round Up" on the album "Tank" (2005). Excerpt from the lyrics is:


 * dem come for de rasta and you say nothing
 * dem come from the Muslims you say nothing
 * dem come for the anti-globalist you say nothing
 * dem even come for the liberals and you say nothing
 * dem come for you and will speak for you? who will speak for you, who ?

Sepultura quoted this poem on the sleeve of single "Refuse/Resist" (45RPM)

The Half Man Half Biscuit song "turn a blind eye" is a parody of this poem

Lyrics include:

"They came for the bungee jumpers, but I was not a bungee jumper so I said nothing" "They came for Eamonn Holmes, and I believe I'm right in saying, I applauded" "They came for Danny Behr. I said she's over there, Behind the wardrobe"