Note: With this slogan, the city of Berlin wanted to attract visitors around the year 1925.
The Berlin Tourist Office
Wanted to attract visitors to Berlin
And searched for a slogan
That would bring visitors to the capital
from all over the world,
From Maas and Memel, Etsch and Belt,
From Rome, from London and Paris,
A slogan full of momentum and flair.
Suitable for luring foreigners,
They searched for days and weeks,
They searched for the right phrase,
None of them were good enough
But finally: Yes, we’ve got it.
Everyone at least once in Berlin!
Everyone at least once in Berlin!
Berlin is a big city,
With beautiful streets,
Nowhere else can you find anything
more beautiful than Unter den Linden.
Paris has the Champs-Élysées,
Berlin, on the other hand, has the Spree
And the Brandenburg Gate,
The Tiergarten is close by.
It has the castle, has the zoo,
There is much entertainment,
Three operas and many theaters,
And every evening people go out.
From Belgrade, Bucarest, and Vienna,
Everyone at least once in Berlin!
Everyone at least once in Berlin!
But when Adolf Hitler came,
And all the hardship came to an end,
Berlin became even more beautiful,
He finally achieved
That all of Berlin is a pile of rubble,
And receives new bombs daily.
The castle, the cathedral, the zoo in ruins,
The Brandenburg Gate is broken,
And where Hedwig‘s Church stood,
The ground is burnt bare.
The enemy’s aircraft sings its song,
One hears it when it travels through the ether,
Then it hums and buzzes and sings boldly:
Everyone at least once in Berlin!
Everyone at least once in Berlin!
The Tourist Office no longer calls.
Instead, the Russian army comes,
Now from the other side,
The swastika is bankrupt.
You lost East Prussia, Silesia,
Berlin is beautiful, Berlin is big,
Berlin is really unbelievable,
It offers much, it is worth seeing,
Therefore, dear Russians, to Berlin,
That is Stalin’s call,
And all Russians follow him,
Enthusiastically and very impetuously,
One hears and sees them march today:
Everyone at least once in Berlin!
Everyone at least once in Berlin!
Messrs. Churchill, Roosevelt,
And Stalin have agreed:
When we meet next,
It could make or break,
Then we will meet in Berlin,
Because that seemed most suitable to us.
Yes, our next rendezvous,
Will be in Adolf’s capital,
And Stalin’s Don Cossack Choir
Is already preparing the festive song.
They practice diligently and study,
And soon it will be performed,
A choir of jubilant melodies:
Everyone at least once in Berlin!
Everyone at least once in Berlin!
Post-Editing: Hanny Veenendaal
Did you notice an error in this transcription or translation, and would you like to send us a corrected version? Or have you created a lyrical translation that captures rhyme and rhythm of the original? Please feel free to send us your version. We appreciate voluntary support for this memorial project, and we regularly review the messages we receive.