Die Rhetorik der Deustschen

Inventur

Von Günter Eich (1907-1977)

Dies ist meine Mütze,

dies ist mein Mantel,

hier mein Rasierzeug

im Beutel aus Leinen.

 Konservenbüchse:

Mein Teller, mein Becher,

ich hab in das Weissblech

den Namen geritzt.

 Geritzt hier mit diesem kostbaren Nagel,

den vor begehrlichen Augen ich berge.

 Im Brotbeutel sind

ein Paar wollene Socken

und einiges, was ich

niemand verrate,

so dient es als Kissen

nachts meinem Kopf.

Die Pappe hier liegt

zwischen mir und der Erde.

 Die Bleistiftmine

lieb ich am meisten:

Tags schreibt sie mir Verse,

die nachts ich erdacht.

 Dies ist mein Notizbuch,

dies meine Zeltbahn,

dies ist mein Handtuch,

dies ist mein Zwirn.

This is a poem I read last semester in my German literature class that really stuck with me. Instead of wasting an entire page translating this for everyone, I'll just sum it up. The author, Guenter Eich, was a holocaust survivor. In this peom, Eich describes his daily life while living in a concentration camp. This poem illustrates to its readers the simplicity of life and the importance of the bare necessities one needs to live. The grammar is short and sweet as compared to the typical lengthy sentences one often finds in German literature. The importance of this grammar is that it highlights the idea of "simplicity." You don't need much to live, and this poem is certainly a testament to that. The title of the poem "Inventur" translates directly to "Inventure", which is exactly what the poem is all about. Eich lists, in a very simple way, the items he is able to live with in his camp bunk. He mentions items such as a hat, a razor blade, a jacket, a linen bag, a tin can he carved his name into, socks, a nail used for writing, and the list goes on. As you can see, he doesn't have much. What's interesting is Eich's emphasis on the fact that he has his name etched into a tin can. It makes that can his own; he finds beauty in having something left to his name that's so basic to mankind: a writing utensil. I've always liked this poem because the rhetoric is so impressive. Eich's use of simple writing really illustrates the significance and impact the holocaust had on his life. Eich's simplicity exaggerates the giant impact Hitler had on the world at the time. Read aloud, this poem, no matter what language you can speak or understand, screams "basic." There are so many natural pauses exactly where they should be, which carries over into such a somber vibe. Although in German, this is one of my favorite pieces of literature.