Following a pogrom in the Polish town Przytyk in 1938, Mordkhe Gebirtig (1877-1942) wrote the stirring song which was to prove prophetic of the Holocaust. It was sung in the ghettos and is still one of the most often performed commemorative songs. Gebirtig was a popular Yiddish songwriter before the war who continued to write and compose songs in the Cracow ghetto. He was shot by the Germans on June 4, 1942.
It burns! Brothers, it burns!
Our poor shtetl pitifully burns!
Angry wind with rage and curses
Tears and shatters and disperses.
Wild flames leap. they twist and turn,
Everything now burns!
And you stand there looking on
Hands folded, palms upturned,
And you stand there looking on
Our shtetl burns!
It burns! Brothers, it burns!
Our poor shtetl pitifully burns!
Tongues of flames with force and power
Have our villages devoured —
And the wild wind howls and churns.
Our shtetl burns!
And you stand there looking on…
It burns! Brothers, it burns!
God forbid the moment may affirm,
When our city which now holds us
Will as ash and flames enfold us,
Signs of slaughter leaving all –
With black and empty walls!
And you stand there looking on…
It burns! Brothers, it burns!
Help can only come if you return
Love which shtetl once inspired,
Take up arms, put out the fire.
Douse it with your blood – be true,
Show what you can do!
Don’t just stand there looking on
Hands folded, palms upturned,
Don’t just stand, put out the fire —
Our shtetl burns!
S’brent! Briderlekh, s’brent!
Oy, undzer orem shtetl nebekh brent!
Beyze, vintn mit yirgozn
Raysn, brekhn un tseblozn
Shtarker nokh di vilde flamen,
Alts arum shoyn brent.
Un ir shteyt un kukt azoy zikh
Mit farleygte hent,
Un ir shteyt un kukt azoy zikh-
Undzer shtetl brent!
S’brent! Briderlekh, s’brent!
Oy, undzer orem shtetl nebekh brent!
S’hobn shoyn di fayertsungen
Dos gantse shtetl ayngeshlungen —
Un di beyze vintn huzhen,
Undzer shtetl brent!
Un ir shteyt un kukt azoy zikh…
S’brent! Briderlekh, s’brent!
Oy, es ken kholile kumen der moment:
Undzer shtot mit undz tsuzamen
Zol af ash avek in flamen,
Blaybn zol vi nokh a skhlakht,
Nor puste, shvartse vent!
Un ir shteyt un kukt azoy zikh…
S’brent! Briderlekh, s’brent!
Di hilf iz nor in aykh aleyn gevendt,
Oyb dos shtetl iz aykh tayer,
Nemt di keylim, lesht dos fayer.
Lesht mit ayer eygn blut,
Bavayzt, az ir does kent.
Shteyt nit, brider, ot azoy zikh
Mit farleygte hent.
Shteyt nit, brider, lesht dos fayer —
Undzer shtetl brent!
ס׳ברענט! ברידערלעך, ס׳ברענט!
אױ, אונדזער אָרעם שטעטל נעבעך ברענט!
בײזע װינטן מיט ירגזון
רײַסן, ברעכן און צעבלאָזן
שטאַרקער נאָך די װילדע פֿלאַמען,
אַלץ אַרום שױן ברענט.
און איר שטײט און קוקט אַזױ זיך —
מיט פֿאַרלײגטע הענט,
און איר שטײט און קוקט אַזױ זיך —
אונדזער שטעטל ברענט!
ס׳ברענט! ברידערלעך, ס׳ברענט!
אױ, אונדזער אָרעם שטעטל נעבעך ברענט!
ס׳האָבן שױן די פֿײַערצונגען
דאָס גאַנצע שטעטל אײַנגעשלונגען —
און די בײזע װינטן הוזשען,
אונדזער שטעטל ברענט!
און איר שטײט און קוקט אַזױ זיך. . .
ס׳ברענט! ברידערלעך, ס׳ברענט!
אױ, עס קען חלילה קומען דער מאָמענט:
אונדזער שטאָט מיט אונדז צוזאַמען
זאָל אױף אַש אַװעק אין פֿלאַמען,
בלײַבן זאָל — װי נאָך אַ שלאַכט,
נאָר פּוסטע, שװאַרצע װענט.
און איר שטײט און קוקט אַזױ זיך. . .
ס׳ברענט! ברידערלעך, ס׳ברענט!
די הילף איז נאָר אין אײַך אַלײן געװענדט,
אױב דאָס שטעטל איז אײַך טײַער,
נעמט די כּלים, לעשט דאָס פֿײַער,
לעשט מיט אײַער אײגן בלוט,
באַװײַזט, אַז איר דאָס קענט.
שטײט נישט, ברידער, אָט אַזױ זיך
מיט פֿאַרלײגטע הענט,
שטײט ניט, ברידער, לעשט דאָס פֿײַער —
אונדזער שטעטל ברענט !
Song Title: Es Brent
Compiled by sisters Malke Gottleib and Chana Mlotek, this collection of 40 songs, issued on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, reflects the suffering, despair, longing, as well as the strength, hope and courage that led the last remnant of enfeebled Jews to take up arms against the mammoth Nazi war-machine. Save for five songs, this compilation comprises songs that were actually written or sung in the ghettos and concentration camps. Four exceptions written after the war: “Babi Yar,” “Moyshelekh un Shloymelekh,” “Kadish,” and “Mayn mame hot gevolt zayn oyf mayn khasene” are often presented at commemorative gatherings and were therefore included. The fifth song “Am Yisroel Khay” was written in a D.P. camp and is an affirmation of the will of the survivors to build new lives for themselves, holding high their belief in the endurance of the Jewish people. To enable readers and singers not conversant with the Yiddish alphabet to utilize this collection, We Are Here! Songs of the Holocaust provides parallel transliterations and singable English translations by Roslyn Bresnick Perry.
