This is a heavy one! Image by skipraider with thanks, words by Bob
One Man
When the dust began to settle
Weary Europe gave a sigh,
Then the poppy's crimson petal
And the Treaty of Versailles
Took away the German metal
Armoured war machine supply.
One man who lived through the slaughter
Where the millions had to trudge
Felt that treaty gave no quarter,
Letting foreign rulers judge,
His outlook would never alter
From a sullen brooding grudge.
Who had made the State turn tender
Making it as good as lame?
What explained this weak surrender,
What had caused disgrace and shame?
Someone had a foul agenda,
Someone who should take the blame.
Through the post war streets he wandered
Watching battle sated queues,
In the aftermath he pondered
Then he formulated views,
Realizing where life was squandered
How he really hated Jews.
In the dim light of beer kellers
Burgermeisters drank with glee,
This hypnotic fortune teller's
Devastating repartee
Pleased both wealthy city dwellers
And the rural peasantry.
Every outraged claim and antic,
Every gesture caused a cheer,
Far from boring or pedantic
Speeches lit the fuses here,
When his voice became more frantic
It confirmed a simple fear.
Only those whose blood was purer
Could maintain the human trail,
Only this would ever cure a
Nation that was due to fail,
So they voted for the Fuehrer,
Each arm rising in a heil.
Perfect fathers, perfect mothers
Perfect offspring they'd permit,
Jews along with any others
Who weren't normal didn't fit,
To the mighty culture lovers
Underlings must all submit.
So the world again attempted
To bring back the peace again,
Very few were now exempted
From the hardship and the strain,
Soldiers saw as camps were emptied
Eyes that ached with lonely pain.
And today green fields and valleys
Have no sign of what took place
And the cottages and alleys
Of quaint hamlets give no trace,
For the echoes at the rallies
Died out with the Master Race.
Sculptor hammers then embosses,
Words are carved, forever set
Names on endless white stone crosses
Showing who paid freedom's debt,
One man's hate brought all these losses,
One man we must not forget.