The Welders
Once upon a time in Germany,
In the town of Markkleeberg, near Leipzig,
In the pretty block number 3, in the twenty-second [unit],
There [they] lived in exemplary order, peace, in the 22nd [unit].
They all loved each other. And that is out of the ordinary in the lager.
There lived in unison, the twelve welders,
Their room was pretty, orderly, an example in their block,
Their bunks all two-tiered. Their curtains from madeira,
The holes were cut open, the raw edges unfinished
As they had no access to embroidery yarns.
They worked eights hours, their clothing was clean,
They washed regularly, their coiffures were pretty.
They even received pullovers and wore stockings on their feet,
bathed weekly, and had clean overalls.
Once upon a time, and one can even believe,
This is how the twelve welders lived in our block.
They even received a canteen and ate with good appetite.
At the handing out of the [food] portion, they did not fight.
Half of them—daily, to their morning shift
Walked in quiet and order to the iron factory.
They worked swiftly and it was no redemption
When at two ten the replacement came in,
Adri, Lily, Magda, Herta and Rozsika
The sixth of them was madeira Rozika.
In the other group were three sibling couples
Two Lerners, two Zuckers and two Trattner girls.
Though Adri was not Lily’s sibling
They walked like Siamese twins to the W.C.1
Herta was Magda's bread partner
But, for her bad luck, she favored the striped one.
I never knew the secret of their lives,
Whom [he or she] preferred, the Flemish Alizka or Herta.
The life of twelve welders is of one dream,
Twelve monograms on a dozen red plates.
There wasn't anyone in the factory who didn't know
That at two fifteen will the six welders come in.
This was the latest news in the factory daily,
No wonder that everyone was so looking forward to it.
They appeared every day, exactly in the afternoon,
Except on Sunday [when] after twelve.
The main article always spoke of the [food] portion,
How many contains bread and what is the spread,
Then the most common topic would be
Whether by chance there is fodder beet for the day.
They also talked about whether there was a scandal in the lager,
In what mood Lucifer Obershaar2 was in,
They also told us with usual precision
How much coking coal Lucifer had confiscated from our block.
Twelve welders, I thank you here
That you always told us everything.
Live on in peace and harmony
In [unit] twenty-two, the twelve of you.
Epilogue:
Twelve welders, I am angry at you
That you did not take in my blanket
I have witnesses who, unfortunately, saw
That my blanket was stolen just then
Second fragment on the right margin:
With the motto of "Spet [sic] oder doch"
With honest friendship and true camaraderie
Erzsebet Frank
Third comment (far right at the bottom of the page):
Markleeberg, in the month of February 1945
from Elizabeth Zucker Mermel