Stefan Lux, a Jewish journalist and poet you have probably never heard about, publicly shot himself at the assembled League of Nations in Geneva in July, 1936. This was his final attempt to rally attention to the Nazi specter. His failure and that of so many others to alert the public and the politicians to the monster in waiting is something we should take to heart. Warnings are ignored at our own peril.

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/this-day-in-jewish-history/.premium-1.533511

Europe, Late

 

Violins float in the sky,

And a straw hat. I beg your pardon,

What year is it?

Thirty-nine and a half, still awfully early,

You can turn off the radio.

I would like to introduce you to:

The sea breeze, the life of the party,

Terribly mischievous,

whirling in a bell-skirt, slapping down

the worried newspapers: tango! tango!

And the park hums to itself:

I kiss your dainty hand, madame,

your hand as soft and elegant

as a white suede glove. You’ll see, madame,

that everything will be all right,

just heavenly – you wait and see.

No it could never happen here,

Don’t worry so – you’ll see it could

 

Dan Pagis (translated by Stephen Mitchell)

http://www.poetryinternationalweb.net/pi/site/poet/item/18703/12/Dan-Pagis