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Niemöller

/ ˈniːmœlər /

noun

  1. Martin (ˈmartiːn). 1892–1984, German Protestant theologian, who was imprisoned (1938–45) for his opposition to Hitler

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

While meant to be a warning that brutality, cruelty, and lawlessness extended toward some would not end with those first targeted, there have always been a few problems with the Niemöller poem.

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The first problem with the Niemöller poem is that it only ever works in shaking those who read to the end: You’re meant to understand what it all means the very instant you get to “They came for the Communists.”

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The other problem with the Niemöller poem is that it presents as sequential; you can tell yourself that there will be months, years, eons between their coming for the Comeys and the Haitians and the time they come for you.

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That’s how authoritarians work, how they have always worked, and it’s why it’s useful to read the Niemöller poem backward.

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The persecution of Abrego Garcia and other deported migrants reminds me of another Christian — German theologian Martin Niemöller, who wrote the poem that begins, “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a socialist.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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