Never Say
Hirsh Glik wrote this poem in Yiddish for the Vilna Jewish United Partisan Organization. Put to the music of a preexisting Soviet melody, the poem served as the anthem of the Jewish uprising and spread to become the unofficial hymn of Jewish partisan fighters across Europe. To this day, the song remains an integral part of Holocaust commemoration and serves as a reminder of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. The poem combines a sober acknowledgment of the existential threat facing Jews during the Holocaust with an optimistic affirmation of the efforts to fight back with all available physical or spiritual weapons.
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