I had seen
a film in 1965, titled as “Battle of the Bulge.” It was a WW II
movie with Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson acting in it. After all
these years, what I still remember from this film, is a group song,
sung in the film by the young German tank crews. The song “
Panzer-lied,” is one of the best known Wehrmacht songs. It was
composed in June 1933 by Oberleutnant Kurt Wiehle. Wiehle adapted a
German sailor's song, writing lyrics more appropriate to the
Panzerwaffe. Wikipedia says that at the time, Germany was
clandestinely developing an armored force in defiance of the Treaty
of Versailles. The song could be considered as a reflection of the
German re-armament, launched in the same time frame as the song was
written.
English
translation of the first stanza, goes something like this.
If
it storms or snows, or the sun smiles on us,
The
day burning hot, or the icy cold of night.
Dusty
are our faces, but happy is our sense, yes, our sense.
Then
roar our tanks into the storm's wind.
The
song became famous in the English-speaking world due to its usage in
the 1965 film Battle of the Bulge.
Enjoy!
If you
can not see the embedded video on your android devices, here is the
link.
You
can also copy and paste the link http://youtu.be/i-n8YW1rrxI
in your
You Tube App. If that also does not work, search You tube, Panzer
lied with subtitles - the German tank song
24
November 2013
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