und wer uns sieht, sieht die furchen, die das leid uns in das antlitz geschrieben,
sieht spuren von körper- und seelenqualen, die uns ein bleibendes mal geblieben.

 

 


und wer uns sieht, sieht den zorn, der hell in unseren augen blitzt,
sieht den jauchzenden freiheitsjubel, der ganz unsere herzen besitzt.

 

 


und dann reihen wir uns ein, in die letzte große kolonne, dann heißt
es zum letzten male: vorwärts marsch! und jetzt führt der weg zum licht und zur sonne.

 

(whoever sees us sees the furrows suffering has written into our faces
sees traces of pain physical and emotional, which will mark us forever.

whoever sees us, sees the fury alight in our eyes
sees the cheerful rejoicing in liberty which fills our hearts

and then we join the last great column
then for the last time it is: onward, march! And now the road leads into light and sun.)

They all wanted to live...

Many imprisoned women only narrowly escaped murder, by chance or through the help of others. All women who died in the camp suffered a violent death full of agony, and mostly lonely. Their lives and uniqueness, purposefully destroyed by the National Socialists, is kept alive in the memories of their families, friends and surviving prisoners. Self-documentation is available of a few victims like Käthe Leichter. Many other women died without leaving anything tangible.

Viktoria Fila learned Käthe Leichter's poem „To my brothers“ by heart in Ravensbrück, and so it preserved. The socialist politician and journalist Käthe Leichter came to the Ravensbrück camp in 1940. Because she was Jewish, she was murdered with poison gas in 1942.


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