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Friday, January 28, 2022

For another project.

 I need a solid translation of this. Can you help?



8 comments:

Anónimo said...

Hello my brother. Have you managed to get someone to translate the postcard?
looks like it's german
Maybe a sister in my congregation can translate

German Girl said...

The beginning says
German people formerly sang "Die Wacht am Rhein" but we are practising the Wacht am Rhein right now.
Die Wacht am Rhein is a German song that stresses the fact that Germans are guarding the Rhine as German territory at the French boarder.

latecomer said...

I think the translation is beyond me - because it doesn't seem to be in standard German (Google Translate suggested West Frisian).

However, I will make this observation: the card refers to "Wacht am Rhyn" - evidently the German patriotic anthem "The Watch on the Rhine", which was juxtaposed against "La Marseillaise" to great effect in the 1942 film "Casablanca", in which "Die Wacht am Rhein" was sung by German officers, who then were drowned out by exiled French singing "La Marseillaise".

I hope it's acceptable to post a link to the film clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEJHJ_WfNgU

German Girl said...

There´s a Belgian soldier talking to his family. I´m not able to decipher everything but on Monday I´ll meet my friend and helper - if nobody is faster - and I´ll send what I get. Corrections welcome.

Die Deutsche Leute sangte früger „Die Wacht am Rhyn“ aber wir tun den „Wacht am Rhyn“ nun.
German people formerly sang "The Guardians at the Rhine" but we are being the guardians now.
A song that stresses that the Rhine is German territory, kept against the French enemy.)


Il est minuit et je profite de ma …….. pour faire mes barres? ……. et pour présenter une pensée affectueuse à tous.
It is midnight and I take advantage of … …… to present you that I think of you most affectionately.

Je vois Düsseldorf devant mon ……..
I´m seeing Düsseldorf before my …

Je me trouve dans une nouvelle ….. du grand ….. de chemin de fer au dessus du …….
I´m right now in a …….

Beau pays. Jolies …….Villes magnifiques.
Lovely country. …. Wonderful cities.

Affectueux baisers à toute la famille
Léon
Loving kisses to the whole family
Léon


Armée Belge d´occupation
Belgian occupation army

Love, German Girl

B. W. Schulz said...

I think it's in Flemish (Dutch) or in a local dialect.

German Girl said...

Yes, that's right, it's not normal German. But easily understandable.

Stéphane said...

The text has 2 parts, it begins in German and ends in French. Let me complete German Girl’s transcript of the French part :

Le 21[?] - 1- 19
January 21th, 1919

[I skip the German part already translated]

Il est minuit et je profite de ma garde pour faire ma correspondance et vous présenter une pensée affectueuse à tous. Je vois Düsseldorf devant moi car je me trouve dans une tourelle du grand pont du chemin de fer au dessus du Rhin. Beau pays. Jolies vallées. Villes magnifiques. Affectueux baisers à toute la famille
Léon

…macker, sergent
8e [régiment] de ligne 2e c[ompagnie]
B.P. n[uméro] 4
Armée Belge d´occupation


It is midnight and I take opportunity of my guard to do my correspondence and present you an affectionate thought to all. I’m seeing Düsseldorf before me as I find myself in a turret of the great railway bridge over the Rhine. Beautiful country. Pretty valleys. Wonderful cities. Loving kisses to the whole family
Léon

…mcker, sergeant
8th Line Regiment [***] 2nd Company
Post Box # 4
Belgian occupation army
[***] See https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/8e_régiment_de_ligne_(Belgique)

Recipient :

Mr et Mme Dewulf & Melle Marie-Louise
16 rue Eeckhout Bruges
[Today : Eekhoutstraat 16, 8000 Brugge, Belgium.
The house still exists, at the following Google Maps coordinates :
51.206252736847865, 3.2279859808026328
51°12'22.5"N 3°13'40.8"E]


Stéphane

Poor_German_Collector said...

The first sentence is a "German" one, written by someone who does not speak German properly. It contains many mistakes in grammar and vocabulary. I just wanted to point out that this is no dialect but only poor German.