"A survivor from Warsaw"
Arnold Schönberg
I cannot remember everything. I must have been unconscious most of the time.
I remember only the grandiose moment when they all started to sing, as if prearranged, the old prayer they had neglected for so many years - the forgotten creed!
But I have no recollection how I got underground to live in the sewers of Warsaw for so long a time.
The day began as usual: Reveille when it still was dark. "Get out!" Whether you slept or whether worries kept you awake the whole night. You had been separated from your children, from your wife, from your parents. You don't know what happened to them... How could you sleep?
The trumpets again - "Get out! The sergeant will be furious!" They came out; some very slowly, the old ones, the sick ones; some with nervous agility. They fear the sergeant. They hurry as much as they can. In vain! Much too much noise, much too much commotion! And not fast enough! The Feldwebel shouts: "Achtung! Stilljestanden! Na wird's mal! Oder soll ich mit dem Jewehrkolben nachhelfen? Na jut; wenn ihrs durchaus haben wollt!"
The sergeant and his subordinates hit (everyone): young or old, (strong or sick), quiet, guilty or innocent ...
It was painful to hear them groaning and moaning.
I heard it though I had been hit very hard, so hard that I could not help falling down. We all on the (ground) who could not stand up were (then) beaten over the head...
I must have been unconscious. The next thing I heard was a soldier saying: "They are all dead!" Whereupon the sergeant ordered to do away with us.
There I lay aside half conscious. I had become very still - fear and pain. Then I heard the sergeant shouting: „Abzählen!“
They start slowly and irregularly: one, two, three, four - "Achtung!" The sergeant shouted again, "Rascher! Nochmals von vorn anfange! In einer Minute will ich wissen, wieviele ich zur Gaskammer abliefere! Abzählen!“
They began again, first slowly: one, two, three, four, became faster and faster, so fast that it finally sounded like a stampede of wild horses, and (all) of a sudden, in the middle of it, they began singing the Shema Yisroel.
华沙幸存者：(zt)
华沙幸存者》是美籍奥地利作曲家勋伯格为朗诵、男声合唱和管弦乐队而写的作品。这首作品是勋伯格创作的最重要的作品之一，他成功地运用了“十二音体系”的现代音乐技法，表现了法西斯的残暴，揭露了法西斯残酷无情的本质。
《华沙幸存者》乐曲一开始，类似军号和警报声的动机突然出现，通过这不寒而栗的音乐，人们仿佛听到了化为废墟的犹太区的凄惨景象。人们的报数声，法西斯的怒骂声由朗诵者极为形象地表述出来。后来，男人们唱起了古犹太歌曲。最后，乐队以全奏奏出了激动人心的乐段，在强烈的气氛中结束。
男声朗诵一切我都记不清了。在大部分时候我一定丧失了意识。我只记得那个庄严时刻，他们像有预谋似的开始唱歌，唱那支被他们遗忘多年的古老经文歌！但是我不记得我是怎样来到地下，在华沙的下水道里住了这么长时间。
那天照常开始：天还黑时就吹响了起床号。快出去！不管你睡着过还是愁得彻夜未眠。你和孩子、妻子、父母离散了，不知道他们的下落，你怎么睡得着呢？
喇叭又吹响了──快出去！要不军士会大发雷霆！他们出来了；老人和病人动作非常慢；有的人神经兮兮的飞快。他们害怕军士。他们尽可能地快。不行！太吵太吵了，太乱太乱了──还不够快！军士大叫：“注意！安静！你们准备好了，还是要我的枪托给你们帮忙？那样也好，看来你们真的要它！”军士和他手下的士兵殴打每一个人：老的，少的，沉默的，多嘴的，清白的，有罪的。我痛苦地听着他们哀号呻吟。我也挨了重重的殴打，打得太狠了，我倒在地上。我们还得再站起来，不能站起来的就被揍脑袋。
我一定昏过去了。我记得的下一件事是一个士兵说：“他们都死了”，于是军士命令干掉我们。我半清醒地躺在一边，周围变得寂静──充满恐怖。
然后我听见军士喊：“报数！”开始他们还慢条斯理：一、二、三、四……“注意！”军士又喊，“快点！重来！一分钟内我要知道要把多少人送去毒气室！报数！”他们重来，起初很慢：一、二、三、四……后来越来越快，最后快得竟像野马奔跑，突然，报数声停止，他们开始唱起《倾听吧，以色列人》。
