"Riddle"

William Heyen


From Belsen a crate of gold teeth, 
from Dachau a mountain of shoes, 
from Auschwitz a skin lampshade. 
Who killed the Jews?


Not I, cries the typist, 
not I, cries the engineer, 
not I, cries Adolf Eichmann, 
not I, cries Albert Speer.


My friend Fritz Nova lost his father – 
a petty official had to choose. 
My friend Lou Abrahms lost his brother. 
Who killed the Jews?


David Nova swallowed gas, 
Hyman Abrahms was beaten and starved. 
Some men signed their papers, 
and some stood guard,


and some herded them in, 
and some dropped the pellets, 
and some spread the ashes, 
and some hosed the walls,


and some planted the wheat, 
and some poured the steel, 
and some cleared the rails, 
and some raised the cattle.


Some smelled the smoke, 
some just heard the news.
Were they Germans? Were they Nazis? 
Were they human? Who killed the Jews? 


The stars will remember the gold, 
the sun will remember the shoes, 
the moon will remember the skin. 
But who killed the Jews?


In this poem, many methods are used to ponder one question. "Who killed the Jews?"  This question itself is an example of the repetition throughout.  This is the main idea of the poem.  No one answer is given, but many are left for consideration.  "and some herded them in, 

and some dropped the pellets, 

and some spread the ashes, 

and some hosed the walls,

and some planted the wheat, 

and some poured the steel, 

and some cleared the rails, 

and some raised the cattle."  The parallelism in these two stanzas begins to show that there is no one person that is to blame, and no one is prepared to take blame.  Earlier in the poem, specific people are alluded to, those that spearheaded certain aspects of the Holocaust, but even they claim they were not to blame.  Combining these men with those such as typists and engineers, everyday people who may have simply been doing their jobs shows that many of the problems stemmed simply from that, people doing their jobs.  They did what they were told, so once all was said and done there was little room to place blame. "Were they Germans? Were they Nazis? 

Were they human? Who killed the Jews?"  These questions also show the variability.  As with the friends and relatives mentioned initially, the different groups of people make the situation universal. The final stanza, using the imagery of the sun, stars, and moon, shows that the tragedy that occurred has a lasting affect, and even nature has witnessed it and keeps it in its history.  It shows that the chosen blindness of some can lead to the destruction of many.

The Lamb

William Blake  

Little Lamb, who made thee?

         Dost thou know who made thee?

Gave thee life, and bid thee feed

By the stream and o'er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing, woolly, bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice?

         Little Lamb, who made thee?

         Dost thou know who made thee?

         Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,

         Little Lamb, I'll tell thee:

He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb.

He is meek, and he is mild;

He became a little child.

I a child, and thou a lamb.

We are called by his name.

         Little Lamb, God bless thee!

         Little Lamb, God bless thee!

This poem alludes largely to Christian beliefs and utilizes repetition to reinforce the idea of the Lamb.  The rhetorical question in the beginning of the poem, "Little Lamb, who made thee?"  refers to God, and the fact the He made not only the lamb, but also Jesus who came to be known as the Lamb of God.  Around the time that Jesus was crucified, lambs were slaughtered in temples in Jerusalem, and this was believed to take away the sins of those who participated in the feast.  Jesus' sacrifice for the sins of the people earned him the name of Lamb of God.  Throughout the poem,  the word Lamb is capitalized to refer to Jesus and all that he has done.  It also refers to his being born as a child, and his eventual fate to become the Lamb of God.