Akademisches Gymnasium - Vienna 1938

I see them yet,
The brightest and the best,
Those chosen for
The finest secondary school,
Young boys just starting out
In life - so full of zest,
Assured their hopes and dreams
Will meet their quest,
But time and fate had brought them
Killing time and war,
Their world was lost
And fell under an evil star,
Many burned in the camps
And wound up as smoke
High up in the sky,
They died and never could
Understand the reason why,
Many fell in the frozen fields
Near Stalingrad
Or in the hot burning
Deserts of North Africa,
Some lucky ones just fled
Looking for liberty,
They went to Shanghai, New York,
Tel Aviv - just to be free,
They scattered far and wide
And told their story
Of misery and death of family
And friends - brutal and gory.
This generation must never,
Ever be forgotten,
Reminding us that man
Can be quite savage, rotten.
Why were those poor, unlucky
Boys dismissed from life,
Victims of man's evil nature,
Prejudice and strife.
If there be gods who watched
This taking place,
They would in shame
Withdraw and hide their face.

Alfred Charasz
Copyright 2007 Alfred Charasz