The Song Remains

People of the Warsaw Ghetto merged with a map of the Nazi occupation of Poland

דאָס ליד איז געבליבן

Welcome to our collection of Yiddish poems with English translations from Nazi German occupied Poland. We’ll be publishing one new poem per week into 2027, so be sure to subscribe to get free weekly updates.

  • Mordche (Mordechai) Gebirtig

    One Two Three Four
    unemployed are we
    haven’t heard month’s long
    the factory’s hammering sound
    tools lay cold forgotten
    rust has made them rotten
    and we walk around the streets
    like the wealthy here and there
    like the wealthy here and there

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  • Mordkhe (Mordechai) Gebirtig (1877-1942) was born Markus Bertig in Kraków, and is one of the best known Yiddish poets. He trained as a carpenter, but his true passion was the theater. He published his first book of poetry in 1920, and made many of his poems into songs.

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  • Los Angeles, California and Wellington, New Zealand
    10 May 2024

    The Song Remains, an online anthology of over 160 Yiddish poems by 36 authors with English translations, will be launched on 20 May at 12 noon PDT / 21 May 7am NZST in an online event. 

    You can register to attend the free online event at https://thesongremains.org/register

    The poems were written in Nazi-occupied Poland during the Second World War, compiled by Binem Heller, and published in Warsaw in 1951. The collection holds the treasure of creative poetry written by people who were imprisoned, starved, and ultimately murdered. The poems cover a wide range of themes, from the light-hearted love of nature, to the trials of coming of age in the Ghetto, and ultimately trying to come to terms with hatred, destruction, and death. The English translations are by Dr Sarah Traister Moskovitz, a 96 year old native Yiddish speaker and professor emerita from California State University, Northridge.

    The site will publish one poem per week in both English and Yiddish over the next three years. Visitors can subscribe to receive these poems for free by email at thesongremains.org

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