Die Männer und Frauen vom letzten Gefecht
Frank Rennicke
The Men and Women of the Last Battle
They fought in bitter despair, defending Breslau's ruins; heavy machine guns hammered in living rooms, mines lurked in the front yard. Bravely they held out in cellars, the house above them in flames, in smoke and heat at Hindenburgplatz, there they held together firmly.
Those were the men and women of the last battle, back then in the fortress of Breslau - fiercely holding their ground in the East, the last bastion in the German region. Never forget the blood and tears shed, the hardships despite courageous deeds - quietly and with dignity remember the soldiers of the Breslau fortress! Back then in Breslau.
In the stuffy bunker at Striegauer Platz, at Elbing, in the monastery of the brothers, wounds festered, pain tormented - who would see their wives and children again? Bones shattered, faces disfigured, they writhed in fever, blinded or with shrapnel in their bodies - death took many over.
Those were the men and women of the last battle, back then in the fortress of Breslau - fiercely holding their ground in the East, the last bastion in the German region. Never forget the blood and tears shed, the hardships despite courageous deeds - quietly and with dignity remember the soldiers of the Breslau fortress! Back then in Breslau.
The soldiers and young boys stood firm even on lost ground, yet they defied the red flood from the East until the last battle. True to their given word, in faith in God or fate, with little hope of escaping death, yet they persevered until the end.
Those were the men and women of the last battle, back then in the fortress of Breslau - fiercely holding their ground in the East, the last bastion in the German region. Never forget the blood and tears shed, the hardships despite courageous deeds - quietly and with dignity remember the soldiers of the Breslau fortress! Back then in Breslau.
The word of their leaders was their command: to protect the homeland from the enemy! They gave their all when everything shattered, united in battle and in death. Who still thinks of our fathers there? They sacrificed life and happiness; No tombstone recalls that time, no path leads back home.
Those were the men and women of the last battle, back then in the fortress of Breslau - fiercely holding their ground in the East, the last bastion in the German region. Never forget the blood and tears shed, the hardships despite courageous deeds - quietly and with dignity remember the soldiers of the Breslau fortress! Back then in Breslau.
