{"id":319,"date":"2017-04-20T16:46:52","date_gmt":"2017-04-20T16:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/terezin\/?page_id=319"},"modified":"2018-04-05T15:23:21","modified_gmt":"2018-04-05T15:23:21","slug":"birthday-poem","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/terezin\/documents\/war-life\/birthday-poem\/","title":{"rendered":"Birthday Poem and Anniversary Card"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Birthday Poem, 1942<\/h4>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Birthday wishes in the Ghetto, from March 9, 1942.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How few of those, expelled like us to the ghetto,
\nremained true to themselves?
\nHow few of those around us are not envious and hostile,
\nwould not sell themselves and others?
\nHow ** few are purified for a better future
\nby this massive suffering?<\/p>\n

If you were not one the few
\nI would not trouble myself to write to you.
\nWhich proves that I always think of your birthday
\neven though I have no present for you.
\nFor sheet pleasure in the child of man
\nwhich, hardly changed, I find again.<\/p>\n

Therefore, my first wish is
\nthat you may remain as you are,
\ntrue to yourself – in the future –
\nuntouched by hardship and hatred,
\nchildlike put in the midst of all the dirt,
\nsurrounded by the light of love.<\/p>\n

and since I know your pain I wish for you
\nthat you may be surrounded by your loved ones
\nLook! The day of freedom is dawning
\nand you will see its sunshine again.<\/p>\n

And then, when the new life begins,
\nmay fate give you all the pleasures
\nwhich my third wish contains
\nbecause it grows out of knowing you.
\nIf this wish becomes reality
\nyou will soon be perfectly happy.<\/p>\n

-Unknown author, copied from Lotte’s translation<\/p>\n

Anniversary Card, 1943<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The year that just passed was difficult
\nbut – for you – never without love
\nand therefore never without light.
\nDo not forget this.<\/p>\n

May the full circle of your coming years
\nincrease the flow of this light
\nin shiny colourful beauty of flowers.
\nThis is my wish for you today.<\/p>\n

And if you complain that due to fate
\nyour life’s *** fields which promised
\nsuch rich harvest could not be tilled
\nand now lay fallow,<\/p>\n

My wish for you is this: may this time
\nof fallow fields give you double
\nand triple harvest in later,
\nfertile days.<\/p>\n

-Unknown author, copied from Lotte’s translation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Birthday Poem, 1942 Birthday wishes in the Ghetto, from March 9, 1942.     How few of those, expelled like us to the ghetto, remained true to themselves? How few of those around us are not envious and hostile, would not sell themselves and others? How ** few are purified for a better future by … Continue reading Birthday Poem and Anniversary Card<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":595,"featured_media":215,"parent":1188,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/full-width-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-319","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/terezin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/terezin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/terezin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/terezin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/595"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/terezin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/terezin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1787,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/terezin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/319\/revisions\/1787"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/terezin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/terezin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.smith.edu\/terezin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}