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Songs of the ghettos, concentration camps, and World War II partisan outposts

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My Gate (Moja brama)

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Sachsenhausen concentration camp, 1944

Lyrics by: Aleksander Kulisiewicz

Music by: Serbian popular song

Language: Polish


Performed by Aleksander Kulisiewicz

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    “Work makes one free,” a sign on the gate at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Germany, February 1941.

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    My Gate

    Moja Brama is Kulisiewicz's reminder of the sadistic “sporting competitions” held at Sachsenhausen. During these sessions, SS-men commanded prisoners to perform the so-called “Indian Dance,” forcing…

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  • “Work makes one free,” a sign on the gate at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Germany, February 1941.

    “Work makes one free,” a sign on the gate at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Germany, February 1941. —USHMM #19226a/Popperfoto

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“Work makes one free,” a sign on the gate at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Germany, February 1941.

“Work makes one free,” a sign on the gate at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Germany, February 1941.
—USHMM #19226a/Popperfoto

Moja Brama is Kulisiewicz's reminder of the sadistic “sporting competitions” held at Sachsenhausen. During these sessions, SS-men commanded prisoners to perform the so-called “Indian Dance,” forcing inmates to quickly and repeatedly raise their arms, stare at the sky, twist their bodies, drop to the ground, and stand up again. Many prisoners became dizzy or ill or fell exhausted after such “exercise.” Kulisiewicz's coping mechanism was to focus on the camp gate, much as a ballet dancer might spot a distant object to remain balanced while turning. The image of the gate burned into Kulisiewicz's consciousness, and remained among his most indelible impressions of camp life.

Listen to

  • Black Böhm (Czarny Böhm)
  • Heil, Sachsenhausen
  • It’s Cold, Sir! (Zimno, panie!)
  • Mister C
  • Muselmann—Cigarette Butt Collector (Muselmann—Kippensammler)
  • Second Helping (Repeta)

Related Links

  • Aleksander Kulisiewicz

  • Sachsenhausen concentration camp (article in the USHMM’s Holocaust Encyclopedia)

Aleksander Kulisiewicz

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