Prisoner of Zion

Half a thousand, half a hundred
Six times two, pick up your pen
Child, my child, count it up now
That's the number that I mean

It's a number, just a number
Write it down, child, while you can
Understand it and remember
That's the number they gave a man

It's a number, just a number
One of hundreds, a sign of shame
Each man's jacket had a number
Men had numbers, none had names

Hitler's system took their freedom
Took them prisoner one by one
For the courage of their convictions
They were tortured, gassed and burned

They took Communist, they took pacifist
They took social democrat
Jew and Christian all were prisoner
In the concentration camp

To the camp at Esterwegen
Listen, child, and understand
They took Carl von Ossietzky
They broke his body, not his mind

In Berlin upon the fourth of May
Nineteen-hundred and thirty-eight
The Gestapo with its treatment
Signed his death certificate

Five-six-two, his prison number
Listen, child, I beg you please
Keep in mind, always remember
He got the Nobel Prize for Peace

In the struggle against injustice
He fought hard and he fought long
Child, remember Ossietzky
Peace won't come by words alone

Prisoner 562 by Andrae/MacKintosh

Mordechai Vanunu's Press Release on receiving the Carl von Ossietzky Medal:

"Today, October 5, is a historic day in my life and for whistleblowers worldwide. On this day in 1986, I completed the mission I had taken on to inform the world - not governments or intelligence organisations, but every human being who can read - about Israel's nuclear weapons arsenal as published by The Sunday Times, which put Mordechai Vanunu's story on its front page under the headline Revealed - the secrets of Israel's nuclear arsenal. For this I was sentenced to 18 years prison in Israel, 12 of them in isolation, and, after release, 6 more years without freedom of speech or movement in Israel. I was following the spirit of Ossietzky without even knowing or having read about him. This proves that we, the people, have the same mind, the same spirit, the same beliefs in human rights and freedoms, and fight for the rights of people everywhere. The first step is to give the people the information and let them choose the right direction. Ossietzky did not survive the brutality of prison. I survived, and I am ready to continue to speak on behalf of all whistleblowers. Knowledge is the power of every human being. I hope Israel will now end all my suffering - 18 years in prison and 6 more years of travel restrictions - so I can travel all over the world. I want to thank the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) for the courage to give me the the Von Ossietzky medal even though I received it after 24 years. I hope this time I will be free to come to Berlin and speak on behalf of Ossietzky in the city."