Saturday, 27 January 2018

2018年1月27日，星期六

Tell him about his father

To win four gold medals at a single Olympic Games is astonishing enough; however, to do so as a black person in 1936, at a tense Olympic Games hosted by Adolf Hitler, is almost beyond belief. Yet Jesse Owens did exactly that, somehow managing to ignore talk of Aryan superiority to take gold in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay, and long jump, all in the space of a few days. He also made a good friend in the form of German athlete Luz Long, the blond-haired, blue-eyed, long jump rival who swapped training tips with Owens and openly congratulated him after his final jump, in full view of Hitler.

在一届奥运会上夺得4枚金牌已是实属惊人；而在1936年那样一个紧张时期，作为一个黑人能做到这件事更是令人难以置信的。而杰西·欧文斯就做到了，短短几天时间，他就摘得100米、200米、4x100 米接力和跳远项目金牌，使希特勒的“雅莉安白色人种优势论”蒙羞。也是在这个时候，他和德国运动员卢兹·朗成为好友。这位金发蓝眼的跳远比赛对手与欧文斯交流训练技巧，并在他的最后一次跳远后就在希特勒眼皮底下公开祝贺他。

Having bonded so well at the Games, Owens and Long kept in touch by mail. Below is Long's last letter, written during WWII from North Africa where he was stationed with the German Army and later killed in action. It reached Owens a year after it was sent. Years later, as per Long's request, Owens met and became firm friends with his son, Karl. He also went on to serve as best man at his wedding.

在奥运会上结交后，欧文斯与卢兹一直保持着信件联系。下面是卢兹·朗的最后一封信，写于二战期间，当时卢兹所属的德国军队驻扎在北非，他后来在行动中阵亡。信寄出一年后，终于到了欧文斯手中。多年后，欧文斯如卢兹·朗所愿，见了他的儿子卡尔并与其成为了挚友。之后，他还在他的婚礼上做伴郎。

Transcript

抄本

I am here, Jesse, where it seems there is only the dry sand and the wet blood. I do not fear so much for myself, my friend Jesse, I fear for my woman who is home, and my young son Karl, who has never really known his father. 

杰西，我现在所处的世界，似乎只有干砂和湿血。我并不担心自己，我的朋友杰西，我担心的是在家等着我的我的女人和我年幼的儿子卡尔，他甚至还未曾见过他父亲。


My heart tells me, if I be honest with you, that this is the last letter I shall ever write. If it is so, I ask you something. It is a something so very important to me. It is you go to Germany when this war done, someday find my Karl, and tell him about his father. Tell him, Jesse, what times were like when we not separated by war. I am saying—tell him how things can be between men on this earth. 

实话跟你说，我有一种预感，这将是我写的最后一封信。如果是这样的话，我想求你件事。对我来说非常重要的一件事。就是当这场战争结束时，你能去德国，某一天找到我的卡尔，告诉他他的父亲是个什么样的人。告诉他，杰西，在战争让我们分离之前，世界是什么样的。我是说——告诉他这个世界上，人与人之间可以是像我俩一样的。


If you do this something for me, this thing that I need the most to know will be done, I do something for you, now. I tell you something I know you want to hear. And it is true.

如果你能为我做这件事，这件我最需要你保证会做的事，那现在我也为你做件事。我要说的，一定是你也期待听到的。并且是真的。


That hour in Berlin when I first spoke to you, when you had your knee upon the ground, I knew that you were in prayer. 

在柏林，我次和你说话那个时候，看到你膝盖着地，我知道你在祈祷。

Then I not know how I know. Now I do. I know it is never by chance that we come together. I come to you that hour in 1936 for purpose more than der Berliner Olympiade.

当时我不知道我是怎么知道的。现在我知道了。我知道，我们的相遇从不是偶然。我相信，1936年我遇见你，意义远不止柏林奥运会。

And you, I believe, will read this letter, while it should not be possible to reach you ever, for purpose more even than our friendship. 

我相信即使有可能这封信永远也到不了你那里，你仍将读到这封信，而这远不只是因为我们的友谊。

I believe this shall come about because I think now that God will make it come about. This is what I have to tell you, Jesse. 

我相信你会读到这封信，因为我相信上帝会让你读到它。我必须告诉你，杰西。

I think I might believe in God. 

我想我可能相信上帝。

 

And I pray to him that, even while it should not be possible for this to reach you ever, these words I write will still be read by you.

我向他祈祷，即使你永远无法收到这封信，你仍能感受到我写的这些。

Your brother,

你的好哥们儿

Luz

卢兹