Busch first rose to prominence as an interpreter of political songs, particularly those of Kurt Tucholsky, in the Berlin cabaret scene of the 1920s. He starred in the original 1928 production of Bertolt Brecht's Threepenny Opera, as well as the subsequent 1931 film by Georg Wilhelm Pabst.
A lifelong Communist, Busch fled Nazi Germany in 1933 with the Gestapo on his heels, eventually settling in the Soviet Union. In 1937 he joined the International Brigades to fight against fascism in Spain. After Spain fell to the Franco, he emigrated to Belgium, where he was interned during the Nazi occupation and later imprisoned in Gurs, France and Berlin. Freed by the Red Army in 1945, he settled in East Berlin, where he worked with Bertold Brecht and Erwin Piscator at the "Berliner Ensemble". A beloved figure in the German Democratic Republic, he is best remembered for his performance in the title role of Brecht's Galileo, and for his stirring recordings of worker's songs, including many written by Hanns Eisler.
Kampflied gegen den Faschismus
Ernst Busch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Das sind die Großprofitler der Kanonenindustrie.
Ihre Parole ist der Arbeitermord, sie singen vom blutigen Tag.
Setz dich zur Wehr, Du Arbeiterheer, hol aus zum Gegenschlag!
Weg mit dem Schwindel der Eisernen Front, den Betrügern am Proletariat
Uns hilft nur die Rote Einheitsfront aus Arbeiter, Bauer und Soldat
Heraus aus dem alten Wahne, die Einheitsfont marschiert
Es schrein die Reformisten: Der Hitler darf nicht zur Macht!
Doch wer hat den Faschisten die Bahn erst frei gemacht?
Sievering verbot den Roten Frontkämpferbund, doch niemals die braune Armee
Drum Kampf angesagt, zum Teufel gejagt die Führer der SPD!
Weg mit dem Schwindel der Eisernen Front, den Betrügern am Proletariat
Uns hilft nur die Rote Einheitsfront aus Arbeiter, Bauer und Soldat
Heraus aus dem alten Wahne, die Einheitsfont marschiert
Unter der roten Fahne, die Sichel und Hammer führt.
Und drohn des Hitlers Horden, der Kampfbund steht bereit.
Dann ist es Schluss mit dem Morden, dann kommt eine andere Zeit!
Wenn wir im Bund mit der Sowjetunion den Henkern das Handwerk gelegt,
Und die einige Kraft der Arbeiterschaft die braune Front zerschlägt
Weg mit dem Schwindel der Eisernen Front, den Betrügern am Proletariat
Uns hilft nur die Rote Einheitsfront aus Arbeiter, Bauer und Soldat
Heraus aus dem alten Wahne, die Einheitsfont marschiert
Unter der roten Fahne, die Sichel und Hammer führt.
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Text: Erich Weinert
Musik: Hanns Eisler
Zitiert nach der Schellackplatte von 1932, erschienen auf Arbeiter-Kult. Auf der Rückseite der Platte befindet sich "Aufruf der Reichsleitung des Kampfbundes gegen den Faschismus, gesprochen von Reichsleiter Kamerad Jo Schlaffer".
The lyrics of Ernst Busch's "Kampflied gegen den Faschismus" denounce the capitalist system and its collusion with Hitler and his army, which were financed by the big industrialists of the armament industry. The song calls for the worker army to fight back and resist the murderous fascist regime that sings about a bloody day. The Iron Front, which was supposed to be the worker's party, is exposed as a sham to deceive them into joining the capitalist army. The song urges workers to unite under the Red Unity Front, composed of workers, farmers, and soldiers, and to march under the red flag with a sickle and hammer. The song also blames the Social Democratic Party (SPD) as responsible for the rise of fascism in Germany, as they banned the Red Front Fighters' Union, but not the Brown army.
The song's lyrics stress the need for a joint struggle against the fascist regime, combining the strength of the workers' movement with the Soviet Union's power to defeat fascism. The Kampfbund (Fight League) stands ready to fight against Hitler's horde of murderers, and the time for a different future will come when the worker's power collides with the united force of the Soviet Union. The Rote Einheitsfront represents the possibility of joining forces despite the differences in the working class to face the real enemy, fascism.
Line by Line Meaning
Wer zahlt das Geld für Hitler und seine Kompanie?
Who is funding Hitler and his army? It is the big profiteers of the arms industry. Their goal is to murder workers, and they sing about bloody days. Workers must stand up and fight back.
Weg mit dem Schwindel der Eisernen Front, den Betrügern am Proletariat
Down with the deception of the Iron Front, the traitors to the proletariat. We can only be helped by the Red United Front of workers, peasants, and soldiers. We march forward under the red flag, with the sickle and hammer as our symbols.
Uns hilft nur die Rote Einheitsfront aus Arbeiter, Bauer und Soldat
We can only be helped by the Red United Front, composed of workers, peasants, and soldiers. Together, we will march forward and fight against fascism.
Es schrein die Reformisten: Der Hitler darf nicht zur Macht!
The reformists cry out: 'Hitler must not come to power!' But who paved the way for the fascists? It was politicians like Severing who banned leftist groups like the Red Front Fighters, but allowed the brown-shirted army of the fascists to flourish. We must fight back!
Doch wer hat den Faschisten die Bahn erst frei gemacht?
But who paved the way for the fascists? It was politicians like Severing who banned leftist groups like the Red Front Fighters, but allowed the brown-shirted army of the fascists to flourish. We must fight back!
Und drohn des Hitlers Horden, der Kampfbund steht bereit.
And if Hitler's hordes threaten us, we are ready to fight. We will not let them murder our workers and peasants. A new era is coming, an era in which we will join forces with the Soviet Union to defeat fascism and restore peace.
Dann ist es Schluss mit dem Morden, dann kommt eine andere Zeit!
When we defeat the fascists, the killing will stop, and a new era will begin. We will join forces with the Soviet Union to defeat fascism and usher in a new era of peace and prosperity for workers and peasants.
Wenn wir im Bund mit der Sowjetunion den Henkern das Handwerk gelegt,
If we join forces with the Soviet Union to defeat the fascists, then we can put an end to their murderous ways.
Und die einzige Kraft der Arbeiterschaft die braune Front zerschlägt.
Our only hope is to unite as workers and smash the brown front. We must fight back against fascism and restore justice and equality.
Unter der roten Fahne, die Sichel und Hammer führt.
We march forward under the red flag, with the sickle and hammer as our symbols. We will fight for a better future for workers everywhere.
Contributed by Grayson A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@among-us-99999
Ernst Busch really is in the top 10 rappers Eminem is too afraid to diss.
@HKBH736
I don't get it
@nekrophilervorderasiate7092
@Ben Noach eminem dissed People
But Ernst Busch is too powerful for him
The Proletariat is stronger
@user-qb8ce9rf4i
Эрнст Буш - ну это же Певец!Классно поёт,классные песни для рабочего класса.
@iemandd
Fascism needs to be crushed, not debated
@NerdBR200
Same as comunism
@among-us-99999
@Lucas Teles lmao what are you even doing in this comment section
@devroberto9569
1930's -> Fascism
2020's -> EU-Liberism
Different name, same enemy
@devroberto9569
@The Red Joker Far Cry lover and Animal lover. Don't be so optimistic my friend, even though I am basically a patriotic-socialist, there's a statement from Mussolini, a fascist, that I really appreciate as it's really descriptive of our reality, which is: 'freedom is gained, not given' meaning that liberty is something you must fight each day for, not something that you're sure it will happen someday as granted
@apath45
Auf, Auf!