Tanks or perfumes?
Our good German perfumes bring in important foreign currency. With foreign currency, rare raw materials are bought for our armaments. And with that, the question is already answered: during the war, we do without
Mouson Lavender
With the stagecoach
So much has already been taken from you,
Because this war is complete and total,
Luxury has disappeared completely,
The war demands it, that’s how it is.
Life has become quite Spartan,
Yes, these are tough and hard times,
Getting anything is almost impossible,
But people are ready to make sacrifices.
They gladly sacrifice the pleasures,
Be it coffee, tea, or tobacco,
They say that who wants to win must
Sacrifice taste.
And since taste has never been
A strong side of yours,
That‘s why you were willing, you were resourceful,
And you imposed restrictions on yourselves wonderfully.
The Third Reich made you forget
What gave beauty to your life
And good living, good food
Had long been written off by you.
So today you live in miserable caves,
Raise a toast to ersatz drinks,
The most primitive things are lacking,
But this knowledge comforts you:
Hurray, the front has its tanks,
The front has its ammunition,
And Adolf Hitler is a solid,
A Splendid fellow and we will make it.
What use is the softness
Of a refined culture,
That is a fairy tale from the olden days
Because today only weapons speak.
Countless things have disappeared
Under the swastika regime,
Even perfume has now
Died a heroic death.
It exhaled its last fragrant and delicate breath
On the field of honor,
The pleasant scent of the atmosphere
Suffered, but it was applauded
By those who see a useless
Waste of energy in such things,
If luxury items were made now,
Then the victory would be lost.
But such a thesis is not entirely harmless to me,
No, I‘m sorry,
Perfumes are not so indispensable
In these dismal times.
The Nazi songs of praise,
Might be drowned out
If perfumes were sprayed in large quantities
In Adolf‘s Third Reich,
And there are still many things
In Germany that are objectionable,
If you infused them with perfume –
Perhaps a better wind would blow.
I don‘t know if I‘m right or not,
Has the decay already gone so far,
That no perfume can free you
From the stench of decay,
That has pervaded all fibers, all pores
Of the Third Reich for a long time,
Yes, perfume would be wasted here,
Since it has been stinking to the high heavens for so long!
Post-Editing: Eleonore A. Speckens
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