I
I have examined Goebbels‘ biography
Subjected it to scrutiny
The examination led me to the conclusion
He has always been lying.
Always he could enthrall the German people
With deceit and trickery
And hide his soul‘s ugliness
And wicked deeds.
The truth and Goebbels‘ mouth
Are two opposites
You can see, upon closer examination
Different periods
In his lying activities
They have, throughout the years
Depending on purpose and necessity
Experienced changes.
II.
Initially, before he came to power
It was his constant endeavor
To deliver the fatal blow
To the then-present.
From early morning till late at night
He labored to blacken everything
And stoked dissatisfaction
In many citizens‘ hearts.
Certainly, the times were not very beautiful
Injustice was often enormous,
But if you compare them with the present
They were like paradise.
The bigwigs of that time
Were miniatures
And choirboys in comparison
With swastika figures.
The corruptions that were seen
They were little corruptions
From today‘s giant corruption
No one talks about with any sound.
He exaggerated everything terribly
And went overboard with it,
If a minister messed up something,
He immediately described it.
The Nazi heroes he painted
In dazzling brightness
The other side he defiled
With greatest diligence.
The good reputation was torn apart
In the vulture‘s clutches,
He maligned merrily
And always something remained.
His goal was not
To invent lies
He only knew one goal,
To gain power.
He cut off the honor
Of countless people
The Republic, it has been so weak
And silently endured it.
Because it was weak, fate also
Soon took its course
And so, with the swastika,
Goebbels came to power.
III.
And now Goebbels was in power;
It became more complicated
But in the long run, he learned it,
He lied more and more cunningly.
In his press, the people could
Read anew every day
How well it was going under Hitler,
How bad it had been before.
The Führer gave the German Rhine
Its beauty only recently
Only when Germany is free of Jews,
Will one be able to live well.
It only depends on ideals,
Not on good food,
The community of the people binds us together,
That should not be forgotten.
Whether worker or capitalist,
There are no contradictions
The difference is constructed
Through red class incitement.
For years, the foreign countries
Carry annexation desires,
Against that, there is only one defense,
We must arm ourselves vigorously.
Because whoever desires peace
Must prepare for everything,
This has always been seen
Since time immemorial.
To the foreign countries, Herr Goebbels lied:
There is no chauvinism here
The German people only strengthen themselves
Against Bolshevism.
To the people, they tell: You want happiness?
Such happiness can only be achieved
If we are very strong outwardly,
A nation in defense and arms.
And when the weapons were there,
He continued to lie
The foreign countries denied the German people
The right to life.
The world oppresses us,
We must save ourselves,
German people, go, take up arms,
Liberate yourself! Break the chains!
The German people, they were so foolish,
Let themselves be ensnared by Goebbels,
They believed the filthy liar,
Went into the war.
IV.
In the beginning, the war went quite well,
Successes could be recorded,
They surprised the world,
Life was like a piece of cake.
And Doctor Goebbels cheered happily:
The enemies are losing,
England is just a stone‘s throw away,
We will soon win.
But unfortunately, it didn‘t go so quickly,
The victory was postponed
One should never praise the day of war
Before it is evening.
When Goebbels promises a victory,
Then he owes it to us,
If it takes too long, the people
Become a little impatient.
And as one often holds a tuft
Of hay to a horse
To make it run further,
So was Goebbels‘ action,
To strengthen the German people
In their belief in victory
The victory is close and certain,
No one can rob it from us.
The German people were eager for battle,
They fought bravely, tenaciously,
Because Doctor Goebbels told them,
The victory was near.
V.
The war is now entering its fifth year,
The victory is not achieved
And Adolf‘s intention, one notices,
Has miserably failed.
The German army is being defeated,
Driven back everywhere,
Germany is bombed daily,
It‘s unbearable!
It becomes terribly difficult for Goebbels
To continue deceiving,
Blurry and rather nebulous
Are now his lies.
He tells the people: It‘s not going well
And yet, victory is certain,
The enemies believe us defeated,
I say: That is ridiculous.
We are still so terribly strong
And can never be defeated
If Germany only follows the Führer,
It will surely win.
VI.
A man who never spoke the truth,
Is telling the final lies,
The people notice: the swastika
Breathes its last.
How long will it still endure
The system of deceit and trickery,
When will the people finally
Drive this lying mouth to the devil?
Post-Editing: Sylvia Stawski, Ernst Sittig
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