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cover / introduction

The Song is Over ...

The fatherland must be larger,
Many cities were taken,
And each place was a milestone
Toward the great German goal.

The German war machine moves
Infallibly on its path,
Victories in battles were won,
But it was never enough.

New names were heard constantly,
Never heard before,
One thought to oneself: Someday
Stalin‘s empire will be destroyed.

That Russia is already on the ground,
Hitler has ascertained,
And what the Führer says suffices,
It is not discussed.

And according to Minister Doktor Frick,
We have also succeeded,
The Red Soviet Republic‘s
Entire offensive strength

Is now completely exhausted
And will never arise again,
For Stalin, this wretched scoundrel,
The end is coming soon.

Regarding the war in the East, Frick stated that it is certain that the offensive striking power of the Bolsheviks has disappeared once and for all and cannot be restored. The results of the German victories already herald the reformation of Europe, a Europe in which, under German leadership, the countries willing to engage in constructive work will receive their share according to their capacities. – 31-10-41

We will take, if the Führer desires,
Leningrad quickly as well,
Whether January, March, April,
One day it will be ours.

We pursued the offensive against Leningrad – as the Führer mentioned as an example – for as long as necessary to encircle it. Now we are on the defensive, and the other side must try to break out, but they will starve in Leningrad. However, I will certainly not sacrifice more men than absolutely necessary. If there was someone now able to relieve Leningrad, I would give the order to storm it, and we would take it. Whoever has advanced from the border of East Prussia to ten kilometers before Leningrad can also cover the ten kilometers from there to the city, but that is not necessary. The city is surrounded, no one will liberate it, and it falls into our hands. – 10-11-41

The Soviets are certainly checkmated,
Goebbels wrote in „Das Reich“,
When you‘ve lost so much,
Then you‘re beaten black and blue!

“Inevitable Checkmate”
The D.N.B. reports from Berlin:
Under the headline “Onvermijdelijk mat” (Inevitable mate), the weekly magazine “Das Reich” deals with the position of the Soviet Union. The magazine recalls once again the recent statement of the German leadership that the Eastern campaign has already been decided and points out that the opponents of the Reich and their allies still dispute this. “Das Reich”“ writes, among other things: Just like in a game of chess, the decisive move is before the checkmate, and nobody thinks of giving a player, who has fallen two rooks behind, another chance, no matter how desperately he may resist. – 1-11-41

The Soviet armaments industry
Far back in the Ural,
It never covers the shortage of weapons,
It is too minimal.

“These are the three reasons for the inevitable Bolshevik collapse,” the newspaper continues. We cannot attach any significance to the claims of the Bolsheviks that they are moving machines and factories from the Donets region and other parts of the country to the Urals. – 1-11-41

While the Soviet leadership is capable of replacing the lost manpower from the vast human reservoir available to them, according to German views, these replacements can only be people with insufficient military training. However, regarding the losses in material, it is believed that the Soviet leadership will by no means be able to make up for the tremendous quantities lost. Although the production capacity of the partly improvised armament factories west and east of the Urals is not precisely known, there is no tendency in Berlin to overestimate it. – 7-4-42

Our train continues relentlessly,
We capture city after city,
We are there, and we stay there,
The Russians are fed up

To be oppressed by Stalin
They are thoroughly tired of it,
They know that we will liberate them
And are full of friendliness.

“In response to our question about whether the farmers were not afraid that the Bolsheviks would return, we received a response that left nothing to be desired in terms of clarity: ‘How could that be? You are here. For us, the war is over.’ One thing is certain: here in Ukraine, we are not seen as enemies but as friends, liberators from Moscow‘s yoke.” – 4-9-41

We are bringing Russia into line
It supplies what we need,
Because Russia is so rich in raw materials,
The German chimneys smoke.

Russia will become a German colony,
Providing food and metal,
That was the melody of the future,
Sung everywhere.

According to the thoughts already expressed by Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf, one now hears increasingly clear arguments that the struggle against the Soviet Union actually represents the completion of this work of European order.
This week in Europa-Kabel, one reads:
It has long been a dream of the Bolsheviks to connect the German production apparatus with its highly developed labor force to the Russian raw material reservoir. This was to be accomplished through the conquest of Germany via world revolution. Now the moment has come when the realization of this gigantic project can take place, but not as a goal of the Russian continent, but as a plan for Europe. Within a few years, the Russian space will be brought closer to Europe. Russia will no longer be what it has been so far, namely a separate continent that has often been set in motion against Europe, but a space that complements Europe and enables it to breathe more freely, and one that also renders a transoceanic attack imaginary. Europe and Russia will merge with each other, and a new continent will emerge.
31-10-41

The dream for which some Germans died
Is completely dreamt out
What was once acquired with blood,
Is now quickly cleared out.

They dreamed of power and glory,
Of wealth, revelry, and joy,
The victorious march became a dance of death,
The Russia song is over.

Luga evacuated. 1944
Führer‘s headquarters, February 14 (D.N.B.) The High Command of the Wehrmacht announces: Between Lake Ilmen and Lake Peipus, our troops conducted further withdrawal movements in some sectors, according to orders and without hindrance from the enemy. In this context, the city of Luga was evacuated after the destruction of significant war installations.

Staraya Russa evacuated.
Führer‘s headquarters, February 18 (D.N.B) The High Command of the Wehrmacht announces: South of Lake Ilmen, a protruding bend in the front, including the city of Staraya Russa, was evacuated to shorten the front, after the destruction of all military installations and without hindrance from the enemy.

Ruins of Kholm evacuated.
Führer‘s headquarters, February 22 (D.N.B) The High Command of the Wehrmacht announces: After the destruction of all military installations, the ruins of the former city of Kholm were evacuated as part of a planned withdrawal movement.

Krivoy Rog evacuated.
Führer‘s headquarters, February 23 (D.N.B). The High Command of the Wehrmacht announces: The city of Krivoy Rog was evacuated after fierce battles and the destruction of all significant war installations.

Rogatshev evacuated.
Führer‘s headquarters, February 18 (D.N.B). The High Command of the Wehrmacht announces: The town of Rogatshev was evacuated on the night of February 23rd to 24th after the destruction of all installations.

Post-Editing: Sylvia Stawski, Ernst Sittig