Anthems of the Abandoned

Perhaps the bravest souls during the Shoah were not the formidable troops on either 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 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 both out of tenacity, protest, and to save whatever Jewish lives they could. Following are the lyrics to several of the most prominent anthems and folksongs of the resistance movement during the Shoah.


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


 "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

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

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

OUTSIDE LINKS

  • Leonard Cohen Site
  • Zemerl
  • USHMM: Music of the Holocaust

  • 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