Der Alte Soldat
Frank Rennicke
The Old Soldier
As a cripple returned from
War and captivity,
Fate taken at its word,
I confess with my last strength:
If I could change everything today, I wouldn't undo it. I stood in the farthest lands, saw Tobruk and Narvik.
If I had stayed home unharmed, I would have spared myself much, I would have described files and saved house and children. But if I hadn't experienced the shame of the nakedest misery myself, I wouldn't know to what greatness need elevates people.
I have been a soldier and have remained one until now. Despite begging pension and prostheses, my faith remained unharmed. Even if everything went miserably to ruin, the Reich, my unit, my leg - 'I stood on the Volga, in Minsk and also in El Alamein.'
I have seen our victorious flag high above the castle of Athens and fluttering in the wind over the yurts of the Khans. How I would like to trade places with you there, and even if you boast so loudly, I heard the Arctic Ocean roar and have seen the Northern Lights.
I have long since strayed from all of you on winding paths. But I have truly come to know comradeship in people. In the East, in the South, in the North, my only home, that was my oath. I have indeed become a cripple, but I feel sorry for you who are healthy.
