Then There's Only One Choice
By Wolfgang Borchert
Translated
from the German by
William T. Hathaway
Wolfgang
Borchert was a young German writer who was drafted into World War II
and then imprisoned for resistance activities. The imprisonment
destroyed him physically, and he lived only two years after the war.
During that time he wrote antiwar literature that is widely read in
Germany but little known in the USA. This
i s
the last piece before his death in November 1947 at the age of 27.
His
incantatory warning is
much needed by
us now in
this time of proliferating wars.
"Dann gibt es nur eins!"
You. Man at the machine in the factory. When they tell you tomorrow to stop making pots and pans and instead make helmets and machine guns, then there's only one choice:
Say NO!
You. Woman in the store, woman in the office. When they tell you tomorrow to fill grenades and mount telescopic sights on sniper rifles, then there's only one choice:
Say NO!
You. Factory owner. When they tell you tomorrow to make gun powder instead of baby powder, then there's only one choice:
Say NO!
You. Researcher in the laboratory. When they tell you tomorrow to invent new ways to kill people, then there's only one choice:
Say NO!
You. Songwriter in your studio. When they tell you tomorrow not to sing love songs but hate songs, then there's only one choice:
Say NO!
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