The Thousandth Regiment - 2. "Gunned-down fathers, bastards and grandsons, we"

War is a horrible thing. It would be nice if we never had them. Horrible things happen in all wars but WWI had some horrors that are still hard to imagine. But there are men, soldiers, men in uniform who believe in their purpose, their duty to their country.

Michael said to me that it was his duty to protect people. He said he had no desire to die but would have it meant he'd save someone else. So, i guess i mean war is horrible.. their treatment in the first world war was horrible, conditions were but a lot of men believed in what they were doing.

Though i hope we do find better ways to resolve things than killing each other ... these men on all sides, were doing what many of them thought was right. That should be respected always, in my opinion.  i feel this poet's pain...but i think about their sacrifice as well.

18 hours ago, Mikiesboy said:

War is a horrible thing. It would be nice if we never had them. Horrible things happen in all wars but WWI had some horrors that are still hard to imagine. But there are men, soldiers, men in uniform who believe in their purpose, their duty to their country.

Michael said to me that it was his duty to protect people. He said he had no desire to die but would have it meant he'd save someone else. So, i guess i mean war is horrible.. their treatment in the first world war was horrible, conditions were but a lot of men believed in what they were doing.

Though i hope we do find better ways to resolve things than killing each other ... these men on all sides, were doing what many of them thought was right. That should be respected always, in my opinion.  i feel this poet's pain...but i think about their sacrifice as well.

 

Thanks for the comments and thoughts, Tim. The points you raise are why I think works by actual veterans should always outweigh slogans by those in politician suits. And Hans made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, so his words/emotions/vision should perhaps hold just that extra special place of honor. 

Thanks again for reading and sharing your thoughts

There is plenty of argument for the morality and immorality of war. But what these men and women go through, the things they have to see and live with, I cannot imagine the constitution one needs to have. 

59 minutes ago, Defiance19 said:

There is plenty of argument for the morality and immortality of war. But what these men and women go through, the things they have to see and live with, I cannot imagine the constitution one needs to have. 

I was never a soldier, I was a cop. So, many of us share that sense of duty; to our country, to the people we are to protect. I was expected to uphold the law, I was expected to protect the people who are in our city. Would have I have died for that, the simple answer is yes. If I had to in order to fulfill my duty, then yes I would. 

I'd do the same now, if tim was in danger, if that was the only option, then yes. 

This poet is German. He was the enemy and we his. But, we are no different, not really. Politicians and law-makers never get their hands dirty. It's easy for them … killing anyone, is not easy. It never rests easy. No matter how right you are told you are. 

Thanks for these, AC. They could just have easily been written by one of our boys. 

22 hours ago, Defiance19 said:

There is plenty of argument for the morality and immorality of war. But what these men and women go through, the things they have to see and live with, I cannot imagine the constitution one needs to have. 

Yes, Def, thank you. Everything the public know that's accurate about the experience of war down the ages has come from soldier-writers and soldier-poets, with visual help from war photographers. Voices like Hans Ehrenbaum-Degele's are important to listen to, I feel. 

Thanks again  

On 8/3/2019 at 10:40 AM, MichaelS36 said:

I was never a soldier, I was a cop. So, many of us share that sense of duty; to our country, to the people we are to protect. I was expected to uphold the law, I was expected to protect the people who are in our city. Would have I have died for that, the simple answer is yes. If I had to in order to fulfill my duty, then yes I would. 

I'd do the same now, if tim was in danger, if that was the only option, then yes. 

This poet is German. He was the enemy and we his. But, we are no different, not really. Politicians and law-makers never get their hands dirty. It's easy for them … killing anyone, is not easy. It never rests easy. No matter how right you are told you are. 

Thanks for these, AC. They could just have easily been written by one of our boys. 

Thank you, Mike. Hans Ehrenbaum-Degele stands in an unimpeachable position in my estimation, and that is because he both gave his life for his country and questioned the right of the Powers-that-Be to place him in harm's way in the first place.

In poetry, there is the side of right and the side of wrong. I would never present the wrong side, and Hans made his feeling clear to all in the 13th poem: 

Der Raubtierkindheit unsres Stammes nah, 

Soll unsre Wucht blutige Helden dichten

Für eine Zeit, die Mörder nicht mehr ehrt. 

---

So from our race's predacious childhood,

Let our strength versify these bloody goons 

For an age to come that won’t praise murder.

On 8/2/2019 at 1:21 PM, Lyssa said:

Such a picture of being desperate overpowered. This poem builds an arch between the doomed fate of the generations. Yet, the short look on a possibility of a modern future for the lyrical I, which got denied by the royals and their seek of a cruel understanding of glory. Your translation gives Hans Ehrenbaum-Degele a voice again. It reads to me like a manifest for peace and freedom. That is deeply touching, heartbreaking and hope giving at the same time. Hope giving, because there still is hope, that we all learn some day. If someone reads this — your magnificent translation or the original — the reader can not stay untouched, I think.

Thanks for your brilliant and important work. Muha

Thank you, Lyssa, and sorry my answer comes out of sequence from the order the comments were left.

Your saying this poem and the others of the collection are touching is wonderful. There will be no progress towards a time of altruistic peace without the human heart being involved. Many of the poems Hans wrote while in uniform present a tough situation in "hard" language, but it all provides a context for when he says very personal things (like longing for an understanding hand to hold...). There is great power in the simplicity of one human reaching out to the compassion of another. 

Thank you again for all of your help, and for reading and leaving comments here. I deeply appreciate it

8 hours ago, AC Benus said:

For an age to come that won’t praise murder.

I think all people in uniform pray for this.  None of us want war or to kill … frankly I wish people would find a better way. 

Thanks, AC. 

On 8/4/2019 at 4:35 PM, MichaelS36 said:

I think all people in uniform pray for this.  None of us want war or to kill … frankly I wish people would find a better way. 

Thanks, AC. 

 

I couldn't agree with you more