Shpatsir In Vald

194?

2018
Yiddish Glory – The Lost Songs Of World War II

“Shpatsir in vald” (A Walk in the Forest), by tailor Klara Sheynis, 25, from Cheboksary in the Chuvashia Region, recounts in waltz time an affecting farewell exchange between two lovers before he goes off to the front. They have obviously spent the night together in the forest. One can only be reminded of Romeo and Juliet awakening together:

See, the sun is already rising,
The world will soon be full of light.
Go, take revenge on the fascists,
My hero will come back with a badge of honor.

But maybe not alive. So many young people’s lives were upended by war and destruction. People hung their futures on slender hopes. So much had to be rebuilt, physically and emotionally, after the war ended.