My Shadow in Dachau: Poems by Victims and Survivors of the Concentration Camp (Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture) (Volume 149)

The concentration camp at Dachau was the first established by the Nazis, opened shortly after Hitler came to power in 1933. It first held political prisoners, but later also forced laborers, Soviet POWs, Jews, and other "undesirables." More than 30,000 deaths were documented there, with many more unrecorded. In the midst of the horror, some inmates turned to poetry to provide comfort, to preserve their sense of humanity, or to document their experiences. Some were or would later become established poets; others were prominent politicians or theologians; still others were ordinary men and women. This anthology contains 68 poems by 32 inmates of Dachau, in 10 different original languages and facing-page English translation, along with short biographies. A foreword by Walter Jens and an introduction by Dorothea Heiser from the original German edition are joined here by a foreword by Stuart Taberner of the University of Leeds. All the poems, having arisen in the experience or memory of extreme human suffering, are testimonies to the persistence of the humanity and creativity of the individual. They are also a warning not to forget the darkest chapter of history and a challenge to the future not to allow it to be repeated. Dorothea Heiser holds an MA from the University of Freiburg. Stuart Taberner is Professor of Contemporary German Literature, Culture, and Society at the University of Leeds. Frontcover Contents Acknowledgments A Note on Permissions Foreword to the English-Language Edition Foreword Introduction Part I. Camp Life: The Reality 1933–1945 Karel Parcer, Slovenia, biography Ob vstopu v taborišče smrti On Entering the Death Camp Feliks Rak, Poland, biography Dachau wśród słońca Dachau beneath the Sun Edgar Kupfer-Koberwitz, Germany, biography Kette der Tage Chain of Days Gestreiftes Kleid Striped Clothes Jura Soyfer, Austria, biography Dachau-Lied Dachau Song Maria Johanna Vaders, The Netherlands, biography Bunker Dachau Dachau Bunker František Kadlec, Czech Republic Ve stínu sedmi strážních věží In the Shadow of Seven Watchtowers Neutrální zona No-Man’s-Land Mirco Giuseppe Camia, Italy, biography La conta The Count Il Kapo The Kapo Michel Jacques, France, biography Voyage Journey Jeu d’enfant Child’s Game Eugène Malzac, France, biography Les squelettes vivants Living Skeletons Henri Pouzol, France, biography Aube au Block 30 à Dachau Dawn at Block 30 in Dachau France Černe, Slovenia, biography Smrt v Dachau Death at Dachau Father Karl Schmidt, Germany, biography Und die Tage sind grau . . . And the Days Are Grey . . . László Salamon, Romania (Hungarian mother tongue), biography Kaufering Kaufering Franc Dermastja-Som, Slovenia, biography Skupen Grob Shared Grave Part II. Searching for the Purpose of Suffering: Despair—Accusation—Hope László Salamon, Romania (Hungarian mother tongue) Örök Gyász Endless Mourning Felejteni Forgetting Feliks Rak, Poland Za drutami Behind the Wire Czerwone róże w Dachau Red Roses in Dachau Bojan Ajdič, Slovenia, biography Slutnja Premonition Sylvain Gutmacker, Belgium, biography Tristesse Sadness Regrets Regrets Persécution . . . Persecution . . . Roman Gebler, Germany, biography Leben (Dachau 1933) Life (Dachau 1933) Still über Nacht (Dachau 1938) In the Night-Time Quiet (Dachau 1938) Dachau 1940 Dachau 1940 Fabien Lacombe, France, biography La Semaine The Week Michel Jacques, France Lucidité Lucidity Sur la route On the Road Josef Schneeweiss, Austria, biography Jeder Schritt Every Step Draußen seh ich . . . Outside I Can See . . . Arthur Haulot, Belgium, biography Contraste Contrast Richard Scheid, Germany, biography Vision in Erwartung des Todes Vision in Anticipation of Death Lebenswende Life Transformation Josef Massetkin, Russia, biography Mutti kommt im Sommer Mummy Is Coming in the Summer Christoph Hackethal, Germany, biography Todesahnung Premonition of Death Werner Sylten, Germany, biography Gebet Prayer Mirco Giuseppe Camia, Italy Il martire The Martyr Nevio Vitelli, Italy, biography La mia ombra a Dachau My Shadow in Dachau Stanisław Wygodzki, Poland, biography Ojcu To My Father Żona My Wife List w noc A Letter into the Night Modlitwa A Prayer Part III. The Liberation: Dachau, April 29, 1945 Levi Shalit, Israel, biography To the Redeemer Mirco Giuseppe Camia, Italy Libertà a Dachau Freedom at Dachau László Salamon, Romania (Hungarian mother tongue) Felszabadulàs Liberation Léon Boutbien, France, biography Poème Poem Josef Massetkin, Russia Прими! Take Me In! Fran Albrecht, Slovenia, biography Dachau—Potomcem sveta Dachau—To the World’s descendants Tadeusz Borowski, Poland, biography Do *** To *** Stanisław Wygodzki, Poland Powrót Homecoming Part IV. The Years after 1945 Rupko Godec, Slovenia, biography Krik v noči A Scream at Night Mirco Giuseppe Camia, Italy Ombre Shadows L’esecuzione The Execution László Salamon, Romania (Hungarian mother tongue) Januári hajnal January Dawn Tadeusz Borowski, Poland Obóz pod Monachium Camp Near Munich Sielanka Idyll Stanisław Wygodzki, Poland Listopad November O trudach My Tribulations Do Przyszłego To You in the Future Arthur Haulot, Belgium Exorcisme Exorcism Henri Pouzol, France Prière Prayer Ce visage en moi This Face in Me Epitaphe Epitaph Tatjana Sinkovec-Maver, Canada, biography Forty Years from Hiroshima Biographies of Other Inmates at Dachau Mentioned in the Anthology Glossary Arrivals and Deaths in the Concentration Camp at Dachau Dachau and Its External Camps Bibliography Sources of the Poems Works about the Concentration Camp at Dachau Recommended Further Reading in English Notes on the Translators Index of Authors, Their Biographies, and the Poems Poems by and biographies of inmates of the Dachau Concentration Camp, testimonies to the persistence of the humanity and creativity of the individual in the face of extreme suffering.The concentration camp at Dachau was the first established by the Nazis, opened shortly after Hitler came to power in 1933. It first held political prisoners, but later also forced laborers, Soviet POWs, Jews, and other'undesirables.'More than 30,000 deaths were documented there, with many more unrecorded. In the midst of the horror, some inmates turned to poetry to provide comfort, to preserve their sense of humanity, or to document their experiences. Some were or would later become established poets; others were prominent politicians or theologians; still others were ordinary men and women. This anthology contains 68 poems by 32 inmates of Dachau, in 10 different originallanguages and facing-page English translation, along with short biographies. A foreword by Walter Jens and an introduction by Dorothea Heiser from the original German edition are joined here by a foreword by Stuart Taberner of theUniversity of Leeds. All the poems, having arisen in the experience or memory of extreme human suffering, are testimonies to the persistence of the humanity and creativity of the individual. They are also a warning not to forgetthe darkest chapter of history and a challenge to the future not to allow it to be repeated. Dorothea Heiser holds an MA from the University of Freiburg. Stuart Taberner is Professor of Contemporary German Literature, Culture, and Society at the University of Leeds. The concentration camp at Dachau was the first established by the Nazis, opened shortly after Hitler came to power in 1933. Initially, it held political prisoners, but later also forced laborers, Soviet POWs, Jews, and other "undesirables." More than 30,000 deaths were documented there, with many more unrecorded. In the midst of the horror, some inmates turned to poetry to provide comfort, to preserve their sense of humanity, or to document their experiences. Some were or would later become established poets; others were prominent politicians or theologians; still others were ordinary men and women. This anthology contains 68 poems by 32 inmates of Dachau, in 10 different original languages and facing-page English translation, along with short biographies. A foreword by Walter Jens and an introduction by Dorothea Heiser from the original German edition are joined here by a foreword by Stuart Taberner of the University of Leeds. All the poems, having arisen in the experience or memory of extreme human suffering, are testimonies to the persistence of the humanity and creativity of the individual. They are also a warning not to forget the darkest chapter of history and a challenge to the future not to allow it to be repeated