Günter Eich was born in Germany in 1907. He served in the German Wehrmacht in World War II, and was captured by the Americans. While in captivity at a US POW camp in Remagen, Eich wrote poetry, which was later compiled into his first major book, Abelegene Gehöfte (Outlying farms). [1] After his release from the camp in 1947, he co-founded Gruppe 47, a left-leaning writer’s society, of which Günter Grass, another German WWII veteran and poet, was a member. He continued writing prose, poetry, and radio plays until his death in 1972. [2]
Eich’s poem, “Inventory,” which describes a prisoner’s belongings, is one of Germany’s most famous poems from World War II. [3]
This is my cap,
this is my coat,
here’s my shaving gear
in a linen sack.
A can of rations:
my plate, my cup,
I’ve scratched my name
in the tin.
Scratched it with this
valuable nail
which I hide
from avid eyes.
In the foodsack is
a pair of wool socks
and something else that I
show to no one,
It all serves as a pillow
for my head at night.
The cardboard here lies
between me and the earth.
The lead in my pencil
I love most of all:
in the daytime it writes down
the verses I make at night.
This is my notebook,
this is my tarpaulin,
this is my towel,
this is my thread. [4]
Discussion
No comments yet.