First They Came...

Whether “First they came…” can be properly categorized a poem is a matter of debate. Records of speeches and sermons prove that these are Niemöller’s original words and sentiments, but there are no extant copies of the quote written by Niemöller himself. Because of this, there is no official written version; it’s impossible to know where Niemöller would have used line breaks or stanza breaks, if at all. Niemöller never spoke on the issue, and he never publicly referred to himself as a poet. These words appear in a variety of contexts: printed on memorials, posters, and protest signs; posted on websites dedicated to poetry, famous quotes, philosophy, and theology; performed as dramatic monologues and sincere public pleas. Regardless of this piece’s accepted genre, analyzing it through the lens of poetic craft can yield useful insights into the power of these words and the meaning of this piece.

The version of “First they came…” displayed at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum displays a number of poetic qualities. The form of the composition most closely resembles a prose poem with its unmetered lines and limited use of enjambment. Two refrains echo through the poem, progressing the narrative through repeated actions. These repeated phrases create a steady sonic rhythm and a visual framework:

…they came for the ___, and I did not speak out—

because I was not a ___.

The consistent configuration draws the reader’s attention to the lone variation in each line, placing the experiences of the “socialists” (Line 1), “trade unionists” (Line 2), “Jews” (Line 3), and the speaker. The last sentence breaks this convention in a couple of ways. The switch in diction from proper nouns to personal pronouns represents a turning point in the poem as the abstract violence becomes suddenly intimate. The speaker’s change in fate is demonstrated by the new response to violence. In the first three sentences, the speaker had a choice to speak out and chose not to. By the last sentence, the speaker has lost both their autonomy and their chance at salvation. The word “because” does not appear in the last sentence. An explanation is unnecessary; having read the entire poem, the reader knows that the speaker is alone through their own fault.

Told through one bystander’s point of view, “First they came…” is a cautionary tale. The speaker repeatedly fails to intervene on behalf of other communities because they are not personally impacted. The speaker’s reasoning is straightforward: This is not their concern, so they won’t get involved. This approach works for the speaker until they become the targeted group. At this point, the speaker is doomed. Contrary to what the speaker initially thought, speaking out would have been the ultimate act of self-preservation in the long run.

The poem provides minimal historical context for the reader, although the specific groups collected together imply a certain time period. Communism and trade unions were developments of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. With this in mind, when the reader reaches the Jewish people in the third sentence, the poem is evoking a particular moment in a long history of persecution. Although the quote has become a standalone piece of writing, it is worth noting that whenever Niemöller used this quote, it was part of a longer speech, sermon, or interview, and more exposition and historical detail would have been superfluous.