General von Witzleben at the People’s Court.
The Verdict.
The People‘s Court of the Greater German Reich dealt with the case of eight traitors expelled from the army on August 7 and 8, who had participated in leading roles in the crime of July 20th. The accused: Erwin von Witzleben, Erich Hoeppner, Hellmuth Stieff, Albrecht von Hagen, Paul von Hase, Robert Bernardis, Friedrich Karl Klausing, and Peter Graf York von Wartenburg were found guilty of perjury, dishonor, ambition, and high treason against the nation. Their assets shall be forfeited to the Reich. The verdict was executed by hanging for all the condemned two hours after the pronouncement. – 9-8-44
Witzleben is no longer alive,
Witzleben is stone dead
And he didn‘t die very dignified,
For he died at the gallows.
And the other officers,
Hoeppner, Klausing, York, and Stieff,
And Bernardis also paid utterly
For their plans.
Also von Haase, von Hagen too,
Despite their tuneful names,
They risked their neck
As they died by the noose.
Whether lieutenant or captain,
Or even field marshal,
They dared too much,
For they wished for Hitler‘s fall.
Adolf Hitler was supposed to die,
And the swastika regime,
But the plan shattered to pieces,
And the monster was seen
Heinrich Himmler stages
A giant show trial,
And besides,
Dr. Joseph Goebbels bared his teeth.
Nazi bosses, puppets,
Formed a ‚people‘s court‘,
But I bet the verdict
Wasn‘t delivered by these judges.
No, the verdict was written,
Before the trial even began,
You shall love thy Führer,
And whoever doesn‘t love him, cannot
And must not hope for mercy,
No, they appear before court,
They‘re inevitably struck
By the beam of Himmler‘s revenge.
Von Witzleben could feel,
It is certainly no joke,
Himmler‘s mills grinding cruelly,
So does Himmler‘s justice.
Yes, this is how they swiftly and bluntly
Deal with their opponents,
When I look at it, I find:
It‘s simply ‚Himmlerish‘.
Explanation
Leben means Life. Curt Bloch is making a wordplay, saying that Witzleben is no more alive (am Leben).
Witz means joke. Curt Bloch is making a wordplay, saying that the verdict has been no joke (kein Witz) for von Witzleben.
Himmel means heaven. Curt Bloch is making a wordplay, saying that the whole story is heavenly (himmlerisch, inspired by the name Himmler).
Post-Editing: Kurt Gerhard Funke
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