Riddle By: William Heyen

Kayla G.English 30-1

Riddle Poetry AnalysisDec. 10.2013

The Holocaust affected numerous amounts of people. It’s probably safe to say that all of human kind was affected one way or another. After the Holocaust some people did not want to talk about it ever again and others openly did, through novels, poetry and even songs to express their feelings and raise awareness. William Heyen wrote Riddle to raise awareness and to pose a very interesting question, “Who killed the Jews?”. Through this poetry analysis, hopefully the answer will become clear.

What’s Happening…

William Heyen

An American Poet Born in the state of New

York in 1940 Grew up on Long Island Both his parents

emigrated from Germany

He taught at a German University and visited Holocaust memorial sites while there…

Because of his German heritage, his Uncles who both fought and were killed in WWII (fighting for Germany) and also because of his visits to the memorials, Heyen was inspired to write multiple poems about the Holocaust, including Riddle.

RiddleBy: William Heyen

From Belsen a crate of gold teeth, from Dachau a mountain of shoes, from Auschwitz a skin lampshade. Who killed the Jews?

Not I, cries the typist, not I, cries the engineer, not I, cries Adolf Eichmann, not I, cries Albert Speer.

My friend Fritz Nova lost his father – a petty official had to choose. My friend Lou Abrahms lost his brother. Who killed the Jews?

David Nova swallowed gas, Hyman Abrahms was beaten and starved. Some men signed their papers, and some stood guard,

and some herded them in, and some dropped the pellets, and some spread the ashes, and some hosed the walls,

and some planted the wheat, and some poured the steel, and some cleared the rails, and some raised the cattle.

Some smelled the smoke, some just heard the news.Were they Germans? Were they Nazis? Were they human? Who killed the Jews? 

The stars will remember the gold, the sun will remember the shoes, the moon will remember the skin. But who killed the Jews?

RiddleBy: William Heyen(Paraphrased)

From the death camps,a crate of gold teeth,a mountain of shoes,a skin lampshade.Who murdered the Jews?

Not I, shouts the typist,not I, shouts the engineer,not I, shouts Eichmann,Not I, shouts Speer.

My friend’s father was killed,a narrow-minded officer made the choice.My friend lost a brother.Who murdered the Jews

The father was lead to the gas chamber,the brother was abused and famished.Some men signed their papers,and some were guards.

Some brought them to the camps,some emptied their guns,some spread their ashes,some hosed down the walls.

Some grew the crops,some made the steel,some cleared the rails,some raised the cattle.

Some breathed the smoke,some just heard news.Who where the people? Where they people?Who murdered the Jews?

The sun, stars and moon will rememberThe spoils from the camps.But who murdered the Jews?

The definition of a ‘riddle’ is… “A puzzling question,

problem or matter” (www.dictionary.com).

Since this project is to analyze Holocaust poetry, then it would seem fitting that this poem is going to raise some puzzling question(s) in regards to the Holocaust.

Also a riddle is something that requires lots of thought so this poem isn’t going to be ‘a walk in the park’, it will make the audience really think long and hard about what Heyen has said.

Title (The First Time)

Consists of 8 stanzas with 4 lines in each.

• Makes for a short read and somewhat of a list in parts Rhyming/Scheme

• For most of the poem, the scheme is ABCB but not on stanzas 5 and 6 in order to highlight them. By not carrying the rhyming scheme right through, it puts great emphasis on the fact that everyone had a part to play in the Holocaust. “shoes”/ “Jews” / “choose” / “news” “engineer” / “Speer”

Punctuation • Used commas to accent the list aspects and cause the poem to flow fast and to make the

accusations stronger by pointing multiple fingers. Very prominent in stanzas 5 and 6 and part of 4 & 7.

• Used dashes, periods and question marks to highlight certain areas to make clear an important idea. “Where they Germans? Were they Nazis?/Where they human? Who killed the Jews?” (27-28) “My friend Fritz Nova lost his father--/a petty official had to choose”(9-10)

The use of “-ed”• Heyen used a lot of “-ed”s in his poem to show that these things had happened and if they

had happened then it means that someone had carried them out making them the responsible ones even when nobody owns up to their involvement. “Herded, dropped, spread, hosed, planted, poured, cleared, raised” (17,18,…,23,24)

Structure

“crate of gold teeth” (1), “mountain of shoes” (2), “skin lampshade” (3)

• All of these ‘spoils’ from the death camps have a very negative connotation about them. These aren’t just ‘things’ like they are said to be by definition but they leave you with a horrified feeling that these came from people; living, breathing people.

“cries” (5,6,7,8)

• This word has the feeling around it of desperation, anger and sadness. These people don’t want to be blamed or take responsibility for the Holocaust so they cry “Not, I”. They are angry that it happened or that they have been caught and blamed. And sad because it had taken place and there were millions of lives lost. Also desperate to have the blame on someone else’s shoulders so that they can have a clear conscience.

“Belsen” (1), “Dachau” (2), “Auschwitz” (3)

• With these names belonging to notorious death camps, they carry a horrifying under lying meaning. The names honestly bring fear to the readers, as I’m sure they did to the Jews.

Connotation

Literary Devices

Repetition • “Cries” & “Not I” (5,6,7,8)

Lots of people said that they weren’t guilty of the Holocaust

The typist was the one who ‘heard the news’ and never tried to stop it. He just typed out what he heard for the papers

The engineer built the infrastructure for the Germans, such as roads and industrial areas for them but yet he says it wasn’t him.

Eichmann was the ‘mastermind’ behind the deportation of the Jews but yet he says it wasn’t his fault

Speer was the one who kept the German War Machine going despite the heavy presence and bombing of the industrial areas. And yet he had no part in the Holocaust.

• “Who killed the Jews?” (4,12,28,32) This is Heyen’s big question, his riddle,

to the audience. And the repetition of it shows that it is hugely important! His whole poem revolves around this idea that people need to know and others need to take responsibility.

• “My friend” (9,11) This is repeated twice and adds a more

personal tone to the poem. Not only is Heyen wanting to know “who killed the Jews” but who killed his friends’ families.

• “Will remember” (29,30,31,32) This repetition is useful because it shows

that the Holocaust won’t be forgotten; the survivors, the dead and the murders.

• “Some” (17,18,…,25,26) So many times “some” was used. And it

stands to reason that all of the some’s make up a collective of ‘All’. These some’s point fingers at everyone who was involved, or just “heard the news” (26). All people played a role in the Holocaust

Literary DevicesCont’d

Personification • “The stars…the sun…the

moon will remember” (29-32) This is a very powerful

section in Heyen’s poem. Not only does this stanza say that the universe will remember the Holocaust because of its magnitude but it also hints at the fact that the moon, sun and stars know exactly who “killed the Jews”. Because in remembering all the ‘spoils’, they know exactly how they were gotten and by whom.

Imagery• This poem is filled with imagery. In fact

every stanza creates a vivid image in the readers’ minds. Stanza 1: Paints a clear picture of all the

shoes and teeth and skin lampshades. Stanza 2: Can see people protesting

very strongly that they were ever involved in the Holocaust

Stanza 3 & 4: Strong imagery of losing a father and a brother through gas chambers and starvation…can see the men themselves as well

Stanza 5,6 &7: Shows all who were involved; the Gestapo, Hungarian Police, the SS Officers, the farmers, the ranchers, the railway men and everyone who knew that this was happening

Stanza 8: Once again there’s the imagery of the shoes and teeth and lampshades.

The overall attitude in Riddle is very serious and

demanding.• Heyen writes of a very serious topic which, of

course, makes the poem carry a serious note. • He also writes with authority, demanding to know

“Who killed the Jews?” and there is also desperation in his question. He needs to know because it is very personal to him.

• Heyen also wants to make sure that he gets his points across by using a firmness in his tone and also through the structure.

Attitude

Shifts

There are 2 major shifts in Riddle…

1st Shift: Right between stanza 7 &8• Heyen shifts from asking

questions and pointing fingers to saying that “the stars will remember” (29) as if to say they know the ones who killed the Jews. It goes from asking questions and making assumptions to actual witnesses knowing.

2nd Shift: “But who killed the Jews?” (32)• ‘But’ is the key word. The last

three lines had reader’ convinced that there was an answer and the stars knew it. That was good enough for Heyen, or so readers’ thought. But the last line shows that we as humans still need an answer and need people to own up to what happened during the Holocaust.

The BIG question was “who killed the Jews?” It was

repeated 4 times in Riddle which shows its importance to the author and the readers.

The question does get answered though…we all killed the Jews. From the men in Hitler’s inner circle, to the farmers who grew the crops to sustain the armies, to the engineer who built the infrastructure, to the ones who wrote about it in the paper, and to the ones who had only heard about the Holocaust. Everyone was guilty because, in a way, everyone blindly followed.

I think it is a very appropriate title because reader’s don’t understand the answer until a few reads through and some analysis so it is in fact a riddle.

Title(The Second Time)

There are a few different themes that arise from the poem...

There are consequences to pay for your actions and you need to own up to them.• No body wants to say they were apart of the Holocaust, which is

represented by the typist, engineer, Adolf Eichmann and Alfred Speer. They all cry out saying ‘it wasn’t me’ but through the use of the ‘some’ repetition and the ‘-ed’s, Heyen points out that some one is guilty and it needs to be recognized by the human race “who killed the Jews” and not just by the stars, moon and sun.

Those who blindly follow are just as guilty as the active participators.• This goes along with the saying “tolerance will not be tolerated”. Just

because people aren’t actively involved in the action doesn’t mean that they haven’t played a role in the situation. Heyen represented this theme through the use of ‘some’ to show the indirect as well as the direct roles played in the Holocaust [Ranchers, Nazis, Railway men, SS Officers, and those who “just heard the news” (26)].

Theme

I really believe that William Heyen wrote a very powerful poem.

Through the excellent use of connotation, structure, literary devices and the like, this poem challenges readers’ ways of thinking. It calls the audience to task in their everyday lives, not just referring to the Holocaust. We need to be able to stand up for what we believe in and not just sit on the side lines thinking that someone else will take care of it and that we aren’t causing the problem because we are just watching. I think that’s Heyen’s biggest message; everyone is guilty who blindly follow or turn away despite what we know we should do. Heyen wants people to own up to their participation in the Holocaust while warning the rest of us to not let anything like this, on a large scale or not, happen again because no one said ‘enough is enough’. Riddle challenges readers in more ways then one which makes it such an excellent poem!

To Sum It All Up…

"Adolf Eichmann." Adolf Eichmann. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.

<http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/e/eichmann-adolf/>.

"Adolf Eichmann." Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. <http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsour

"Albert Speer." Albert Speer. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. <http://www.auschwitz.dk/speer.htm>.

"Albert Speer." Albert Speer. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/alber

"Albert Speer." Spartacus Educational. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec. 2013. <http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/GE

"riddle." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/riddle?s=t>.

"William Heyen Biography - eNotes.com." enotes.com. enotes.com, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. <http://www.enotes.com/topics/william-heyen>.

Bibliography