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Songs of the Partisans

The Music of Resistance

Anthems of the Abandoned Perhaps the bravest souls during the Shoah were not the formidable troops on either Eli, Eli She lo yigamer leolam Hakhol ve hayam Rishrush shel hamayim Berak hashamayim Tfilat ha'adam Translation: O Lord my Lord That will never end The sand and the sea The rush of the waters The glare of the sky The prayer of man Credit: Zemerl Jewish Song Collection side, nor even the rescuers who put their own lives on the line for their friends and strangers, but the ones who against all odds, without armies or arsenals, worked night and day to thwart the Axis Powers war efforts; to fight against the Third Reich in its efforts to commit genocide all over Europe. The Resistance Movement in various countries acted in numerous ways to stop the German onslaught, including active fighting, espionage, derailing trains, detouring food and medical supplies, cutting communication lines and so on. The resistance movement also had members in the killing centers who occasionally helped plan escapes (see Sobibor) or as in Auschwitz, helped to blow up one of the Krema, or crematoriums and The Partisan's Song (We Are Here) Zog nit keynmol (The Partisans Song) Zog nit keyn mol az du geyst dem letstn veg, Khotsh himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg. Kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho— S’vet a poyk ton undzer trot=mir zaynen do! Fun grinem palmenland biz vaysn land fun shney, Mir kumen on mit undzer payn, mit undzer vey, Un vu gefaln s’iz a shprits fun undzer blut, Shprotsn vet dort undzer gvure, undzer mut. English Translation: Never say that you are going your last way, Though lead-filled skies above blot out the blue of day. The hour for which we long will certainly appear, The earth shall thunder 'neath our tread that we are here! From lands of green palm trees to lands all white with snow, We are coming with our pain and with our woe, and where'er a spurt of our blood did drop, Our courage will again sprout from that spot. For us the morning sun will radiate the day, And the enemy and past will fade away, But should the dawn delay or sunrise wait too long, Then let all future generations sing this song. This song was written with our blood and not with lead, This is no song of free birds flying overhead, But a people amid crumbling walls did stand, They stood and sang this song with rifles held in hand. Words by Hirsh Glik, Music by Dmitri Pokrass Translated by Elliot Palevsky Credit: "The Well": Hagadah Service gas chamber to slow down the number of killings. With little to keep of the morale of the embattled resistance movement leaders, folksongs and anthems provided a means of instilling purpose and reminding them of their noble cause; the songs of an expatriated people reminded them of their national identity. The rich heritage of the resistance movement was that an army with no resources, and abandoned, ostracized and banished from the countries of Europe for fear of Nazi Retribution, kept up a noble fight in opposing Nazi troops, deportations,and even staying thousands of deaths within the camps by intelligence operations and even bombing a krema in Auschwitz. The Legacy of Music that the Resistance left behind shows a noble and fighting spirit against odds that were not uncertain---they were very certain: they knew they would not win, but fought "nayn, nayn, nayn, nayn, nayn,nayne, nayn nay nayn nayn, nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn, nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn nayn svet unser fulk nisht unter gayn. Ven dee sonem----- Villen mir do shweren, oz dee velt zol herem, Nayn (etc) svet unser fulk nish untergayn English: No, No, No, our people will not go under . When our enemies------- We swear here, that that the world should hear, No,No, No, our people will not go under. Found on "Zemerl": under Holocaust Songs both out of tenacity, protest, and to save whatever Jewish lives they could. Included here are the lyrics to several of the most prominent anthems and folksongs of the resistance movement during the Shoah. Song of the French Partisan The French Partisan's Song COMPLAINTE DU PARTISAN Les Allemands étaient chez moi On m'a dit résigne toi Mais je n'ai pas pu Et j'ai repris mon arme. Personne ne m'a demandé D'où je viens et où je vais Vous qui le savez Effacez mon passage. J'ai changé cent fois de nom J'ai perdu femme et enfants Mais j'ai tant d'amis Et j'ai la France entière. Un vieil homme dans un grenier Pour la nuit nous a cachés L¹ennemi l'a su (Les Allemands l'ont pris) Il est mort sans surprise. Hier encore nous étions trois Il ne reste plus que moi Et je tourne en rond Dans la prison des frontières. Le vent souffle sur les tombes La liberté reviendra On nous oubliera Nous rentrerons dans l'ombre Paroles : Emmanuel d'Astier de La Vigerie dit "Bernard". Musique : Anna Marly écrit en 1943, à Londres. English Translation by Leonard Cohen is Copyrighted, but may be found on leonardcohensite.com Shoah | Facts & History | Music of the Ghetto | Music in the Shoah | The Resistance OUTSIDE LINKS Leonard Cohen Site | Zemerl | USHMM: Music of the Holocaust | Songs of the Partisans of Vilna Footnotes: 1Folksong footnote,................................. Picture Credits: Resistance Fighters Forced From Warsaw Ghetto:Stroop Report Published in English Translation by Pantheon Books. © 2002 Elizabeth K. Best PhD: Shoah Education (Web) Project