Borchert did not write for us. He spoke for the dead, the victims of a war they did not begin and neither wanted to win nor lose but to simply stop immediately. His love was for the victims, his hatred for those who lived on as if nothing ever happened. His work is the cry of a devastated generation returning to devastated cities inhabited by devastated people.

After the war Borchert had only two years before he died and those he spent every minute writing, knowing that the end was near. Some of his earlier poems show clearly how much he loved and valued life. Everything he ever wanted was to live in peace. Even after he everything but physically lost his life in World War II he somehow found the strength to carry on, to fight against his fate. "Whatever comes tomorrow, and be it sorrow: I say YES."

Not only Borchert finally lost. He wrote the legacy of his generation. It is up to us if their death will be remembered. Ignoring their cry will ensure that new generations will share their fate. In my opinion everything Borchert wrote boils down to: Never forget what it did to us and never ever let it happen again.

Do I like Borchert's style? Do I adore his poems? Do I admire his technique? Rest assured: with Borchert it doesn't matter.