Good call, I didn’t know that. This is the original
Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen,
ich war ja kein Kommunist.
Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen,
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.
Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich geschwiegen,
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.
Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr,
der protestieren konnte.
It’s not straight forward to translate, because there is no active verb in English for “to remain silent”.
When the Nazis came and took the communists
I remained silent
Since I wasn't a communist.When they imprisoned the social democrats
I remained silent
Since I wasn't a social democrat.When they took the trade unionists
I remained silent
Since I wasn't a trade unionist.When they took me
There was no one left
Who could protest.
Good idea, but I think “remain silent” applies a bit more generally. The phrase “you have the right to remain silent” is always translated to “sie haben das Recht zu schweigen”. So I went with that.
I think I’d say ‘I kept silent’ as more common or ‘I kept quiet’, probably an even more common phrase.
‘Kept’ would be slightly more ‘active’ than remained I think.
But “remain” does some nice extra poetic work here; it foreshadows another usage of [narrator’s] “remains” - the corpse or ashes or whatever lifeless material is left after their death.
Good call, I didn’t know that. This is the original
Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten, habe ich geschwiegen, ich war ja kein Kommunist. Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten, habe ich geschwiegen, ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat. Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten, habe ich geschwiegen, ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter. Als sie mich holten, gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.It’s not straight forward to translate, because there is no active verb in English for “to remain silent”.
When the Nazis came and took the communists I remained silent Since I wasn't a communist. When they imprisoned the social democrats I remained silent Since I wasn't a social democrat. When they took the trade unionists I remained silent Since I wasn't a trade unionist. When they took me There was no one left Who could protest.And the poem doesn’t mention the disabled, who died first.
Does “I chose silence” work?
Good idea, but I think “remain silent” applies a bit more generally. The phrase “you have the right to remain silent” is always translated to “sie haben das Recht zu schweigen”. So I went with that.
(“schweigen” being the verb I’m looking for here)
I think I’d say ‘I kept silent’ as more common or ‘I kept quiet’, probably an even more common phrase. ‘Kept’ would be slightly more ‘active’ than remained I think.
But “remain” does some nice extra poetic work here; it foreshadows another usage of [narrator’s] “remains” - the corpse or ashes or whatever lifeless material is left after their death.