Conrad Veidt was the man. He despised the Nazis and was consistently outspoken against them during their rise to power. Veidt gave them the metaphorical finger whenever he could, going as far as falsely identifying himself as a Jew on a forced Nazi questionnaire as an act of protest. He was one of the most famous actors of his day, but he wasn't afraid to take on controversial roles: in 1919 he starred as a gay man in a movie that denounced Paragraph 175, literally 75 years before it was overturned. On top of all this, he is the inspiration for The Joker and some French post-punk band wrote a song about him.
This trio of poems is based upon the German lyrical form, Minnesang, a love poem concerning the relationship between a fictitious knight and his lady. Veidt is cast as the knight, navigating a few different "ladies." The love in these poems has become toxic, dangerous thanks to the poisonous oppression of the regime.
Veidt Explores a "Different" Kind of Love
They say I cannot love a man
Kiss his face or grasp his hand
This love is not a childish whim
I am forever bound to him
To hold him close to share his breath
Condemns me to an early death
Veidt Addresses the Fatherland
I carve into your skin
My pen is the knife
We're no longer kin
When you threaten my life
My papers now show my allegiance proven
My father, my country, my love, I am Juden
Hans Walter's Wings
You try to shock us with your might
Your crushing grip, your vicious bite
You make my country broken, stained
I disavow your so called reign
And though to leave my nation stings
Ilona's* love has lent me wings
*Veidt's third wife. She was Jewish and they fled the country together a week after they were married.
Zach Adler is the man.
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