Using extensive research, Hockenos...writes a nuanced, well-rounded analysis of Niemöller's transformation from fervent nationalist and supporter of the Nazi regime to opponent of Hitler's attempts to control the Lutheran Church in Germany ... Best suited for researchers, especially those interested in the history of the Lutheran Church or the history of Germany around the time of World War II.
... a gripping biography ... In Mr. Hockenos’s telling, Niemöller is neither a hero nor an idol; he is a person to be admired because he expressed genuine contrition and proved able to change ... Then They Came for Me invites readers to question the meaning of heroism but more urgently to ponder the possibilities of solidarity.
History professor Hockenos...provides a 'revisionist' biography ... Hockenos’s impressively nuanced study captures a major 20th-century religious leader and his contradictions.
...[a] sometimes-plodding but useful biography ... As Hockenos...chronicles in the serviceable narrative, Niemöller was a man of contradictions ... The writing lacks flair, but Niemöller’s story is a valuable study in individual resistance to tyranny.
