Bertolt Brecht Holocaust Poem: the Parting

Der Abschied (“The Parting”) by Bertolt Brecht loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch We embrace; my fingers trace rich cloth while yours encounter only moth- eaten fabric. A quick hug: you were invited to the gay soiree while the minions of the "law" relentlessly pursue me. We talk about the weather and our eternal friendship's magic. Anything else would be too bitter, too tragic. Bertolt Brecht [1898-1956] was a major German playwright, poet, novelist, humorist, essayist, theater director and songwriter. He was also a highly influential pioneer of modern epic theater, or dialectical theater, with its "alienation effect" (also known as the "distancing effect" or "estrangement effect"). Brecht is highly regarded today for his poetry and for plays such as Antigone, Life of Galileo, Mother Courage and Her Children, The Threepenny Opera and Drums in the Night. He also wrote the lyrics to the song "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer" ("Mack the Knife"), which became a number one hit for Bobby Darin. Brecht fled Germany in 1933, when Hitler assumed power. A number of Brecht's poems were written from the perspective of a man who sees his country becoming increasingly fascist, xenophobic and militaristic. For instance, “Die Bücherverbrennung” (“The Burning of the Books”) was written by Brecht about the Nazi book burnings orchestrated by Hitler's propaganda-meister Joseph Goebbels. The Nazis burned the books of writers they considered to be "decadent," including those of Thomas Mann, Ernest Hemingway and even Helen Keller. Also among the books burned were those of the great German-Jewish poet Heinrich Heine, who in his 1820-1821 play Almansor accurately predicted, “Dort, wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen." ("Where they burn books, they will also ultimately burn people.") Keywords/Tags: Holocaust, poem, German, translation, Bertolt, Brecht, friends, friendship, parting, separation, exile, leaving, law, fugitive, Germany, world, war, World War II, world conflicts Frantisek “Franta” Bass was a Jewish boy murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust. The Garden by Franta Bass translation by Michael R. Burch A small garden, so fragrant and full of roses! The path the little boy takes is guarded by thorns. A small boy, a sweet boy, growing like those budding blossoms! But when the blossoms have bloomed, the boy will be no more. Jewish Forever by Franta Bass translation by Michael R. Burch I am a Jew and always will be, forever! Even if I should starve, I will never submit! But I will always fight for my people, with my honor, to their credit! And I will never be ashamed of them; this is my vow. I am so very proud of my people now! How dignified they are, in their grief! And though I may die, oppressed, still I will always return to life ...