Recorded by Pinkhes Guter (Toronto), submitted by Dr. Sidney and Lorna Katz (Great Neck) as a song of the Warsaw Ghetto and transcribed by the compilers. Also titled Treblinke. Other versions of the song were published in Shoshana Kalisch’s Yes, We Sang! and without the melody in Shmerke Kaczerginski’s Lider fun di getos un lagern and Moyshe Prager’s Min Hametsar Koroti. Albert Veisbrut, Margate, Fla., writes that the song was sung in the Skarzysko Camp in 1942-1944.
Over there not far away,
At the loading platform, where they push and shove
In the railroad car;
Over there where a child cries out to his mother:
O mother, don’t leave me alone,
I want to go with you!
Be quiet, little child; be still, little swallow.
Don’t tell anyone you’re a Jew!
For your brothers, sisters and parents
Are all going away to be killed.
Be quiet, little child; be still, dear heart.
Don’t tell anyone you’re a Jew!
The police
Ordered everyone to walk faster:
“You will know no want, you’ll get three killos of bread.”
And with that bread,
They sent them to their deaths.
They will return no more.
Treblinka over there,
That’s the Jewish cemetery.
Whoever goes there stays there
And returns no more.
There where a child cries out to his mother:
O mother, don’t leave me alone.
I want to go with you!
Dort nisht vayt,
Dort vu der umshlag-plats dort shteyt,
Dort vu men shtupt zikh in der breyt
In di vagonen:
Dort, vu a kind shrayt tsu der mamen:
Oy, Mame, loz mikh nit aleyn,
lkh vii geyn mit dir tsuzamen.
Shvayg, kindele, shvayg, shvelbele,
Zog nisht oys, az du bist a yid,
Vayl brider, shvester, tate-mame
Forn ale tsuzamen,
Forn ale tsum farsamen.
Shvayg, kindele, shvayg, hertsele,
Zog nit oys, az du bist a yid.
Di politsey,
Zi hot geheysn shneler geyn,
Ir vet nit visn fun keyn noyt,
Bakumen dray kilo broyt.
Un mit dem broyt hot men zey
Geshikt tsum toyt,
Zey veln mer nit tsurikkumen.
Treblinke dort,
Dos iz dos yidishe gute ort,
Ver kumt ahin farblaybt shoyn dort,
Vet mer nit tsurikkumen.
Dort vu a kind shrayt tsu der mamen:
Oy, mame, loz mikh nit aleyn,
lkh vii geyn mit dir tsuzamen.
דאָרט נישט װײַט,
דאָרט װוּ דער אומשלאַג־פּלאַץ דאָרט שטײט,
דאָרט װוּ מען שטופּט זיך אין דער ברײט
אין די װאַגאָנען.
דאָרט, װוּ אַ קינד שרײַט צו דער מאַמען:
אױ, מאַמע, לאָז מיך ניט אַלײן,
איך װיל גײן מיט דיר צוזאַמען.
שװײַג, קינדעלע, שװײַג, שװעלבעלע,
זאָג נישט אױס, אַז דו ביסט אַ ייִד,
װײַל ברידער, שװעסטער, טאַטע־מאַמע
פֿאָרן אַלע צוזאַמען,
פֿאָרן אַלע צוס פֿאַרסמען.
שװײַג, קינדעלע, שװײַג, הערצעלע,
זאָג ניט אױס, אַז דו ביסט אַ ייִד.
די פּאָליצײ,
זי האָט געהײסן שנעלער גײן,
איר װעט ניט װיסן פֿון קײן נױט,
באַקומען דרײַ קילאָ ברױט,
און מיט דעם ברױט
האָט מען זײ געשיקט צום טױט,
זײ װעלן מער ניט צוריקקומען.
טרעבלינקע דאָרט,
דאָס איז דאָס ייִדישע גוטע אָרט,
װער קומט אַהין פֿאַרבלײַבט שױן דאָרט.
װעט מער ניט צוריקקומען.
דאָרט װוּ אַ קינד שרײַט צו דער מאַמען:
אױ, מאַמע, לאָז מיך ניט אַלײן,
איך װיל גײן מיט דיר צוזאַמען.
Song Title: Shvayg, Kindele, Shvayg, Shvelbele
The Songs of Generations: New Pearls of Yiddish Song anthology comprises songs that were either never printed before or appeared in rare and inaccessible publications — sometimes in different versions and without proper sources. Most of the songs in this book were submitted by readers of Chana and Yosl’s column “Perl fun der yidisher poezye” (Pearls of Yiddish Poetry) in the Yiddish newspaper Der Forverts (The Forward), initiated in October, 1970. Over 25 years, thousands of songs were collected in correspondence and on cassettes from readers throughout the world, and they represent a veritable national Yiddish song archive. Chana Mlotek, in her introduction, writes, “In the course of years the inquiries, contributions and enthusiasm of these readers have kept our own interest unflagging and have reinforced our dedication to this effort. And in recent years our participants have also been augmented by new readers from the former Soviet Russia, who receive our newspaper there or from newly-arrived immigrants in this country and Israel.”
