# German translation help, please? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-translation-help-please/591897 "2011-08-08T02:08:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-translation-help-please/591897/1 "2011-08-08T02:08:07Z")
Just finished Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s _Locke & Key: Keys to the Kingdom_, the latest in their horror comics set in Lovecraft, Mass. Good stuff. There are references to several magical keys in the comics, and paragraphs supposedly handwritten in German in 1942, describing two of them: \*Engels-Schlussel Bei Tagesanbruch war ich drauBen und suchte nach demkleinen Joe. Es sturmte und regnete in Stromen. Alles kam mir krank und unwirklich vor - wie in einem Albtraum. Ich rannte und rannte, vollig verzweifelt, und es war mir scheiBegal, was er Jean uber mich erzahlte. Wenn en tot war, woltte ich selbst such sterben. Und dannsah ich etwas Unglaubliches - etwas, das es gar micht hatte geben durfen, und ich bekam vor Uberraschung und Staunen ganz weiche Knie. Ich sah Jean durch den Regen himsuffliegen, den zerschlagenen Korper ihres Bruders in der Armen. Sie trug das Gurtzeug mit den Flugeln, und hintendrin steckte der Schlussel. Ich schwore, sie ist getlogen! Und dabei sah sie so wunderschon sus wie eine Trauertaube. Herkules-Schlussel Die Halfte der 8. Armee und ein schier endloser Haufen SS-Menner warteten da auf mich! Ich schleuderte Eric gegen die Mauer und horte, wie seine Rippen brachen, als ware jemand auf ein Bundel Zweige gesprungen. Ich muss zugeben, das horte sich wie Musik in meinen Ohren an! Mit der anderen Hand schlug ich nach den Soldaten, und sie flogen wie Streichholzer durch die luft. Der Herkulses-Schlussel setzte all die Kraft in mir frei, die ich als verdsmmter Kruppel nie gehsbt hatte. Aber der Sturmbannfuhrer wusste, wie er mich fertigmachen konnte! \* Since the words are handwritten, I may have misread some (or more). The lowercase letters a, n, s and u are especially similar. Thanks for your help! ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-translation-help-please/591897/2 "2011-08-08T04:30:03Z")
Try Yahoo Babelfish. I think some of your transliteration is wrong, but it gives a mostly sensible result when your text is pasted in. Also, change the [uppercase B](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9F) to ‘ss’ if you don’t have the correct German letter in your font. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-translation-help-please/591897/3 "2011-08-08T04:55:08Z")
> [@Kiwi\_Fruit](#): > > Try Yahoo Babelfish. I think some of your transliteration is wrong, but it gives a mostly sensible result when your text is pasted in. Also, change the [uppercase B](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9F) to ‘ss’ if you don’t have the correct German letter in your font. The correct letter is ß – which looks like the Greek letter beta (β), but isn’t, since it consists of two letter s’s run together, the first being the long s (ſ), or a long s with the letter z (ſz). ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-translation-help-please/591897/4 "2011-08-08T05:30:53Z")
Engels-Schlussel Bei Tagesanbruch war ich drauBen und suchte nach demkleinen Joe. Es sturmte und regnete in Stromen. Alles kam mir krank und unwirklich vor - wie in einem Albtraum. Ich rannte und rannte, vollig verzweifelt, und es war mir scheiBegal, was er Jean uber mich erzahlte. Wenn en tot war, woltte ich selbst such sterben. Und dannsah ich etwas Unglaubliches - etwas, das es gar micht hatte geben durfen, und ich bekam vor Uberraschung und Staunen ganz weiche Knie. Ich sah Jean durch den Regen himsuffliegen, den zerschlagenen Korper ihres Bruders in der Armen. Sie trug das Gurtzeug mit den Flugeln, und hintendrin steckte der Schlussel. Ich schwore, sie ist getlogen! Und dabei sah sie so wunderschon sus wie eine Trauertaube. At dawn I was outside and I was looking for little Joe. Wind blew hard, alsmost a storm, and it rained heavily. Everything seemed off, ill, unreal -like in a nightmare. I ran and ran, desperately, and I didn’t give a shit what he told Jean about me. If he was dead, I would want to die too. Then I saw something unbelievable- and I got weak in the knees with surprise. I saw Jean througth the rain, the degeated body of her brother in her arms. She wore the harness with wings, and in the back I could see the key. I swear, she is … And she looked as beautiful as a mourning dove. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-translation-help-please/591897/5 "2011-08-08T05:35:06Z")
my German isn’t perfect but here’s what I get out of it Angels-Key At daybreak I was outside and I looked for the small Joe. It was raining and storming. Everything seemed sick and unreal to me, like in a bad dream. I ran and ran, fully in despair, and it was for me just like what Jean had explained about me. If he were dead, I would also want to die. And then I saw something unbelievable, something that there was not allowed to exist, and my legs turned to jelly from surprise. I saw Jean flying through the rain, the battered body of her brother in her arms. She wore a harness in the wings, and the key was behind. I swear she flew! And she looked so cute like a morning dove. Hercules Key Half the eighth Army and an endless bunch of SS-Men were waiting there for me! I threw Eric against the wall and heard his ribs break as if someone were thrown against a bunch of branches. I must admit, that sounded like music to me! With the other hand I punched at the soldiers, and they flew like, and they flew like ??? through the air. The Herkules-key released all the power in me, which I had never had as a damned cripple. But the Stormtrooper knew, how he could finish me! ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-translation-help-please/591897/6 "2011-08-08T05:43:06Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > With the other hand I punched at the soldiers, and they flew like, and they flew like ??? through the air. ???= match sticks. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-translation-help-please/591897/7 "2011-08-08T08:29:46Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Herkules-Schlussel > Die Hälfte der 8. Armee und ein schier endloser Haufen SS-Menner warteten da auf mich! Ich schleuderte Eric gegen die Mauer und hörte, wie seine Rippen brachen, als wäre jemand auf ein Bündel Zweige gesprungen. Ich muss zugeben, das hörte sich wie Musik in meinen Ohren an! Mit der anderen Hand schlug ich nach den Soldaten, und sie flogen wie Streichhölzer durch die Luft. Der Herkules-Schlussel setzte all die Kraft in mir frei, die ich als verdammter Krüppel nie gehabt hatte (hätte?). Aber der Sturmbannführer wusste, wie er mich fertigmachen konnte! \* (Corrected spelling) Herkules Key Half of the 8th army and a seemingly endless hoarde of SS-Men waited there for me! I threw Eric against the wall and heard his ribs breaking, as if somebody jumped onto a bundle of sticks. I have to admit it sounded like music to my ears. With the other hand I struck at the soldiers and they flew through the air like matchsticks. The Herkules Key released a power in me that as damned cripple I would never have had. But the Sturmbannführer [a military rank in the SS, equivalent to major] knew how he could finish me! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/german-translation-help-please/591897/8 "2011-08-08T13:44:54Z")
Terrific - thanks!