Jewish Hymn

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Kim Sung
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Jewish Hymn

#1

Post by Kim Sung » 13 Jan 2006, 15:24

5. What was the Jewish traditional song that Jews sang in front of the billet of that Nazi official?
I've searched all related data on this choral incident in Italy. From the reasoning that it was the song that both Peiper and the disliked local Nazi official knew, we can assume that it(or they) was a very well-known Jewish hymn.

I believe that at least one of the following four hymns was sung by the Jewish rabbis rescued by Peiper on that day before the billet of the local Nazi official.
Adir Hu (He is Mighty)

Adir Hu is a sing-along song with a catchy tune and is generally sung as the Seder comes to a close. This Jewish hymn expresses hope that the age of Messiah will return and the sacred Temple will be rebuilt. In Hebrew, each line of this hymn starts with a different letter of the alphabet in alphabetical order.

He is mighty, He is mighty
Chorus:
May He soon rebuild his house.
Speedily, speedily and in our days, soon.
G-d, rebuild! G-d, rebuild!
Rebuild your house soon!
He is distinguished, He is great, He is exhalted
(Chorus)
He is glorious, He is faithful, He is faultless, He is righteous
(Chorus)
He is pure, He is unique, He is powerful,
He is wise, He is King, He is awesome,
He is sublime, He is all-powerful, He is the redeemer, He is all-righteous
(Chorus)
He is holy, He is compassionate, He is almighty, He is omnipotent
(Chorus)
Dahyenu (It Would Have Been Enough For Us)

One of the most popular Seder tunes, it describes some of the many favors that God bestowed upon the Israelites when He led them to freedom into the Land of Paradise from Egypt. This song has been taken from Haggadah. We have got just two verses of this song for you.

Had He brought us out of Egypt and not judged them,
It would have been enough for us.
(Chorus)
It would have been enough for us.

Had He judged them and not done so to their idols,
It would have been enough for us.
(Chorus)
It would have been enough for us.
Eliyahu Ha-Navi (Elijah, the Prophet)

This song is to be sung when the Cup of Elijah is poured and the door is opened in anticipation of his return.

Elijah the Prophet,
Elijah the Tishbite,
Elijah, Elijah,
Elijah the Gileadite
Speedily and in our days,
Come to us,
With the messiah, son of David,
With the messiah, son of David.
Mah Nishtanah (Why is it Different?)

This number us tune sung when the youngest at the table is reciting the Four Questions.

Why is this night different from all other nights, from all other nights?
On all other nights, we may eat chametz and matzah, chametz and matzah.
On this night, on this night, only matzah.
On all other nights, we eat many vegetables, many vegetables.
On this night, on this night, maror.
On all other nights, we do not dip even once.
On this night, on this night, twice.
On all other nights, we eat either sitting or reclining, either sitting or reclining.
On this night, on this night, we all recline.
Any additional information would be welcomed.
Attachments
The Jewish Rabbi makes a Testimony for Peiper in Nurnberg.jpg
The Jewish Rabbi makes a Testimony for Peiper in Nurnberg.jpg (144.84 KiB) Viewed 3427 times
Jews sing their song in front of the billet of the Nazi official.jpg
Jews sing their song in front of the billet of the Nazi official.jpg (107.45 KiB) Viewed 3424 times
s Life.jpg
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Last edited by Kim Sung on 09 May 2006, 05:53, edited 1 time in total.

TH Albright
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#2

Post by TH Albright » 13 Jan 2006, 19:59

This story may or may not be true, but we do know that Peiper's battalion was given the odious task of assisting the local Gestapo/SD in rounding up a large number of Jews in the Italian Peidmont region for deportation to Auschwitz in the fall of 1943. That Peiper may have run across some fellow Berliners in that group and arranged for their escape is possible, but his unit took an active role in the round-up. Peiper's history indicates a penchant for the random act of chivalry in addition to a certain amount of operational ruthless; he certainly allowed his commanders' a great deal of latitude in interpreting the laws of land warfare given a situation. In his role as Himmler's adjutant in 1940-41, he fully aware at the highest levels of state of the nascent extermination programs Himmler was setting in motion; he witnessed T4 Aktion gassings, the precursor to the Jewish exterminations in Operation Reinhardt. Like many Germans of all persuasions, Peiper may have been inclined to help individuals while actively participating in the broad sweep of state-sanctioned persecution..funny how human nature is. However, I would like to see some corroboration of this "story" before it becmoes accepted in the Peiper "canon".


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Kim Sung
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#3

Post by Kim Sung » 14 Jan 2006, 03:00

TH Albright wrote:Peiper may have been inclined to help individuals while actively participating in the broad sweep of state-sanctioned persecution..funny how human nature is.
What an irony it is! There were several cases Peiper showed chivalry toward the enemy.

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Helly Angel
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#4

Post by Helly Angel » 14 Jan 2006, 03:03

Kim Sung wrote: ...What an irony it is! There were several cases Peiper showed chivalry toward the enemy.
For example, please?


TIA,

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Kim Sung
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#5

Post by Kim Sung » 14 Jan 2006, 03:20

Helly Angel wrote:For example, please?

TIA,
For example, at the battle around Boroshilov in November 1943, Peiper reprimamanded his men for shooting at Red Army soldiers surrendering out of a fortified house after tenacious resistance. And, at the battle of Bulge, when his men tried to shoot American POWs, he invervened to keep them from doing that.

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Helly Angel
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#6

Post by Helly Angel » 14 Jan 2006, 04:08

Kim Sung wrote: For example, at the battle around Boroshilov in November 1943, Peiper reprimamanded his men for shooting at Red Army soldiers surrendering out of a fortified house after tenacious resistance. And, at the battle of Bulge, when his men tried to shoot American POWs, he invervened to keep them from doing that.
Thanks.

can you give me sources of this please? I´m very interested in these informations.

I have a confussion because I understand his relation with Malmedy massacre (talking about the militar actions on december 1944) and the actions in Boves (Italy).

TIA,

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#7

Post by mars » 14 Jan 2006, 05:10

Kim: I wish your source was not Mr Kobayashi Motofumi, his comic books are excellent, but he is no historian at all.

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Kim Sung
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#8

Post by Kim Sung » 14 Jan 2006, 05:18

Helly Angel wrote:Thanks.

can you give me sources of this please? I´m very interested in these informations.

I have a confussion because I understand his relation with Malmedy massacre (talking about the militar actions on december 1944) and the actions in Boves (Italy).

TIA,
I read about his chivalry in some Japanese books published by Gakken. But you must note that Japanese books on WWII are extremely pro-German. It is possible that Japanese writers exaggerated some small sign of chivalry.

I think you had better read Charles Whiting's Biography instead.

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Kim Sung
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#9

Post by Kim Sung » 14 Jan 2006, 13:41

The fact that Peiper told his lawyer Everett to bring the Jewish rabbi from Israel in order to testify that he saved some Jews' lives in Italy mean that he was desperate to save his own life and acted with the mindset of 'A drowning man will catch at a straw'.

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Helly Angel
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#10

Post by Helly Angel » 14 Jan 2006, 15:38

Thank you Kim!

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Kim Sung
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#11

Post by Kim Sung » 14 Jan 2006, 17:02

De nada.

Anyway, nobody can answer to my initial 7 questions on this episode?

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Kim Sung
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#12

Post by Kim Sung » 16 Jan 2006, 14:44

I think Peiper saved those Jews not because they were Jews, but because they were from Berlin, his hometown.

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#13

Post by tonyh » 16 Jan 2006, 16:29

Maybe if we can read the lines of dialogue from the Rabbi that testified on his behalf at the Malmedy trial, then you can draw a proper conclusion.

As to your assertion that Pieper was "was desperate to save his own life and acted with the mindset of 'A drowning man will catch at a straw'."

You are simply wrong.

Peiper offered to forfeit his own life, if the men under his command an on trial for alledgedly taking part in the Malmedy incident, could go free.

Hardly the action of a man looking for anything to save his own neck.

Tony

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#14

Post by mars » 16 Jan 2006, 19:35

Gentlemen, I wonder what Edward Gibbon would say if he knew one day some of us would cite a history source from a comic book ?

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#15

Post by David Thompson » 16 Jan 2006, 20:35

Kim Sung -- You asked:
7. Did that German Jewish rabbi's testimony give some help to Peiper who had been indicted for war crimes in Nürnberg International Tribunal?
Peiper was not indicted for war crimes by the Nuernberg International Tribunal. He was indicted for war crimes by an American military tribunal at Dachau, and was put on trial there for the execution of American POWs at Baugnez in December 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge.

The books I have on Peiper and the Malmedy massacre (of which the Baugnez killings were a part) trial do not mention the rabbi's testimony or the choral incident in Italy.

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