Martin Niemöller

Martin Niemöller was a German Lutheran pastor who first supported Hitler’s rise, later resisted Nazi control of the churches, and was imprisoned in concentration camps.

German Empire: A German nation-state established in 1871 and replaced by a republic after its defeat in World War I. Niemöller’s generation inherited its nationalist traditions and military culture.
Pastors’ Emergency League: A Protestant organization founded in 1933 to defend pastors and oppose Nazi interference in church affairs. Niemöller helped organize this early response to the regime’s church policies.
Adolf Hitler: The Nazi leader who ruled Germany as dictator from 1933 until his death in 1945. Niemöller first supported Hitler’s leadership, then publicly opposed his interference in church affairs.
Sachsenhausen concentration camp: A Nazi concentration camp north of Berlin, operating from 1936 until 1945. Niemöller was held there as a special prisoner after his 1938 trial.
World War I: A global conflict from 1914 to 1918 that ended with the defeat of Germany and its allies. Niemöller served as a German submarine officer before entering the ministry.
Confessing Church: A Protestant movement that rejected Nazi domination of church governance and doctrine in Germany. Niemöller became one of its most visible leaders.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A German Lutheran theologian and pastor who joined the Confessing Church and resisted Nazi rule. Bonhoeffer shared the church resistance, though his opposition extended into political conspiracy.
Dachau concentration camp: A Nazi concentration camp near Munich, opened in 1933 and liberated in 1945. Niemöller was transferred there and remained imprisoned until the camp’s liberation.
Weimar Republic: Germany’s parliamentary republic from 1918 to 1933, marked by political conflict and economic crises. Its instability helped shape Niemöller’s early support for authoritarian nationalism.
Aryan Paragraph: A racial rule used by Nazi institutions to exclude people of Jewish ancestry from positions and professions. Its application to church workers helped provoke Protestant opposition.

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Positive ChristianityCompared with: His resistance to state control contrasts with the German Christians’ accommodation.