February 10, 1945
Introduction to the content
In the poem Either one or the other, Curt Bloch reflects on two options: Either he will be liberated by the British and Americans, who are making progress only “by the millimetre.” Or freedom will come from the Russians, whose advance Bloch is very satisfied with. Either way, it is “about time.”
With rhymes in his underground magazines, Curt Bloch plays “on the grand piano of my imagination” – the title of this imaginary song can already be seen on the cover design. Through poetry, he can endure the long, difficult period of captivity more easily, embark on mental journeys, and thus overcome the confinement of his hiding place.
In the poem “The Task”, Curt Bloch unmasks a newspaper report from January 18, 1945, as propaganda. It states that the German troops withdrew from the Belgian town of Houffalize, and this was not a sign of weakness but part of their task. If that were the case, Bloch mocks, “the Hitler army has now received this task everywhere.” For him, that’s a big laugh. But in hiding, one tends to rejoice silently.
In the poem The King Tiger, Stalin tanks and German Königstiger tanks are compared. According to Joseph Goebbels, Reichsminister of Propaganda, the comparison clearly favors the German combat vehicle, especially because of its high speed. Curt Bloch dryly remarks that this is probably why the King Tiger is particularly well-suited for escape …
The Tannenberg Memorial, resting place of former President Paul von Hindenburg, is destroyed by the Germans to prevent it from falling into the hands of Russian troops. His remains were previously exhumed and transported to Berlin. Curt Bloch sees this as a Precautionary measure – to prevent “that the old hero now spins indignantly and disturbed in his grave at the development of the Eastern front at Tannenberg.the old hero from turning in his grave, outraged and dismayed by the developments on the Eastern Front at Tannenberg.”
January 1933 to January 1945 – twelve years have passed since Adolf Hitler assumed political power in Germany. Curt Bloch uses this moment for a summary: Germany has turned into a pile of rubble, the years of violent methods now demand accountability. It will not be long before “Hitler’s pack” will meet its end.
