Even When He is Silent [with lyrics]

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Description

"Even When He is Silent" is a setting by the Nowegian composer Kim André Arnesen, made in 2011, of some words found on a wall in Cologne. Since the original report, which appeared in the Swiss newspaper 'Neue Zürcher Nachrichten' on 26th June 1945, there have been many versions, often contradictory. (See below for more information:)

It is performed here by Cantus & Tove Ramlo-Ystad.

Video background by Chet Valley Churches; a poppy field near Bungay in Suffolk.

The original text appears to have been written on the wall of a series of tunnels in Cologne, where the Catholic resistance sheltered Jews from the Nazis. The German text as reported in Neue Zürcher Nachrichten was:

"Ich glaube an die Sonne, sei es auch dunkel,
ich glaube an Gott, mag er auch schweigen,
ich glaube an Nächstenliebe, obwohl sie sich nirgends zeigen darf."

A translation might be:

"I believe in the sun, even in the darkness.
I believe in God, even if God is silent.
I believe in compassion, even when it must remain hidden."

Thanks to 'The Humanist Seminarian' for all this research: https://tinyurl.com/tvwbz7bs