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From Tag der humanitären Hilfe: "Wenn ihr nicht da wärt, würden wir verhungern", tagesschau.de, 19 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
He is one of the many helpers who, on this 19 August 2026, help people in a crisis region to survive. World Humanitarian Day, which since 2008 has once a year been meant to honour the achievements of aid workers, commemorates the explosion of a car bomb in front of the UN headquarters in Baghdad on 19 August 2003. In the attack, the then High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 21 other UN staff members were killed.
Word for word: He is one of many helper-women and helpers, who on this 19 August 2026 people in a crisis-region help to survive. The day of-the humanitarian aid, which since 2008 once in-the year the achievements of-the helpers honour shall, reminds at the explosion of-a car-bomb before the UN-headquarters in Baghdad on-the 19 August 2003. Thereby were the then high-commissioner for human-rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 21 further UN-staff killed.
A news-style text about World Humanitarian Day: it honours aid workers and recalls the 2003 Baghdad bombing that killed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and 21 colleagues.
Three declarative sentences. The first contains a relative clause ('die ... helfen zu überleben') whose finite verb 'helfen' stands at the end and governs a zu-infinitive complement. The second embeds a relative clause ('der ... würdigen soll') between subject and finite verb, uses genitive noun phrases and 'erinnern an' with the accusative. The third is a passive werden-passive in the preterite ('wurden ... getötet') with a coordinated nominative subject and an apposition.
Rules at work(14)
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Er ist
Both main clauses open with one element (Er / Der Tag ...) and place the finite verb second (ist, erinnert).
In a German main clause the finite verb is always the second element. The first element can be the subject, but it can just as easily be a time expression, an object or a whole subordinate clause; whatever it is, it counts as one element and the verb follows it. This is why putting something other than the subject first pushes the subject after the verb.
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der seit 2008
Two relative clauses modify Tag and Helferinnen und Helfern with der/die agreeing with their antecedents.
A relative pronoun takes its gender and number from the noun it refers back to, and its case from the job it does inside the relative clause. The clause is verb-final and always separated by a comma.
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würdigen soll
In both relative clauses the finite verb (soll, helfen) stands at the end, with infinitives or zu-infinitives before or after it.
In a subordinate clause the finite verb stands last. Where the clause also holds a participle or an infinitive, the finite verb goes after them, so the order at the end is participle then auxiliary.
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wurden ... getötet
The third sentence is a werden-passive: the victims are the subject and no agent is named.
Werden plus a past participle. The agent, when it is mentioned at all, follows von for a person and durch for a means. In the perfect passive the participle of werden appears as worden rather than geworden.
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der humanitären Hilfe
Genitive attributes appear throughout: der humanitären Hilfe, der Helfer, einer Autobombe.
The genitive shows possession and follows a small set of prepositions. Masculine and neuter nouns add s or es. In speech it is often replaced by von plus the dative, but it is alive in writing and in fixed expressions.
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von vielen Helferinnen und Helfern
Von requires dative; likewise helfen takes a dative object (Menschen) and vor/in are dative for location.
The dative marks the indirect object, usually the person something is given, said or shown to. A number of common verbs take a dative object where English would use a direct one, and several prepositions always take it.
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in einer Krisenregion
An, in and vor take the dative here because they express static location or time, not movement.
An, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor and zwischen take the accusative when the phrase answers where to, and the dative when it answers where. The distinction is movement across a boundary against position, not motion against stillness.
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erinnert an
Erinnern is fixed to an, which governs the accusative in the commemorative sense (an die Explosion).
Many verbs are tied to one preposition and one case, and the pairing rarely matches the English one. Warten auf takes the accusative, denken an takes the accusative, teilnehmen an takes the dative.
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helfen zu überleben
Helfen takes a zu-infinitive complement describing what the helped people are enabled to do.
Many verbs, adjectives and nouns take an infinitive introduced by zu, which stands at the end of its clause. With a separable verb the zu goes between the prefix and the stem, giving aufzustehen.
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wurden
A completed historical event (2003) is narrated in the preterite, standard in written news German.
The simple past is the written narrative past. In speech it survives mainly in sein, haben and the modals, where hatte and war are far commoner than the perfect forms.
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würdigen soll
The modal soll in the infinitive construction expresses the official purpose of the day.
The six modals können, müssen, dürfen, sollen, wollen and mögen say something about the main verb rather than naming an action. The modal is the finite verb in second position and the main verb goes to the end of the clause as an infinitive.
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humanitären
After definite articles and after cardinal numbers the adjectives take weak endings (-en, -e).
After a definite article the adjective ending is e in the five nominative and accusative singular slots and en everywhere else, because the article has already shown the case and gender.
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für Menschenrechte
Für always governs the accusative, as in für Menschenrechte and an die Explosion.
Durch, für, gegen, ohne and um always take the accusative, whatever they mean and whatever follows them.
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am 19. August 2003
Dates use an + dative with the ordinal in the obsolete -en form (am neunzehnten August).
Dates take am with an ordinal in the dative, and clock times take um. Halb counts forward to the coming hour, so halb acht is half past seven.
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Words(53)
- er
he
pronounA1personal
- sein
to be
verbA1sein, war, ist gewesenmit seinirregular
Copula here linking subject to predicate noun.
- einer
one, one of
pronounA2indefinite
Here stands for 'ein Problem'; declines like the indefinite article.
- von
from, of, by
prepositionA1governs dative
Used here to mark authorship, like 'by' in English credits.
- viel
many, much
adjectiveA2
'viel' before plural countable nouns means 'many'; its comparative is the irregular 'mehr'.
- die Helferin
female helper, aid worker (female)
nounB1pl. Helferinnengen. Helferinweak declension
- und
and
conjunctionA1coordinating
- der Helfer
helper, aid worker
nounB1pl. Helfergen. Helfersweak declension
- die
who, which, that
pronounA2relative
Demonstrative 'die' pointing back to a previously mentioned noun; stronger than plain 'sie'.
- an
on, at, by
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for points in time and location (am Montag), accusative for direction.
- dies
this, that
determinerA1demonstrative
- 19.
19th
numeralA2
- der August
August
nounA1pl. Augustegen. Augustsstrong declension
- 2026
2026
numeralA1
- der Mensch
human being, person
nounA1pl. Menschengen. Menschenweak declension
Weak n-declension: the genitive singular is Menschen and every plural form is Menschen.
- in
in, into
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for location, accusative for direction.
- ein
a, an, one
determinerA1indefinite
The form einer here is dative feminine singular, not the pronoun meaning 'one'.
- die Krisenregion
crisis region
nounB2pl. Krisenregionengen. Krisenregionmixed declension
- helfen
to help
verbA1helfen, half, hat geholfenmit habenstronggoverns dative
'helfen' takes a dative object: 'Ich helfe dir.' not 'Ich helfe dich.'
- zu
marker before infinitives
particleA1
Only certain verbs and expressions allow a zu-infinitive; it also exists as a preposition 'to'.
- überleben
to survive
verbB1überleben, überlebte, hat überlebtmit habenweak
- der
the
determinerA1definite
Appears twice: dative feminine 'der Wirtschaft' and nominative plural 'die Beschlüsse'.
- der Tag
day
nounA1pl. Tagegen. des Tagesmixed declension
- humanitär
humanitarian
adjectiveC1
- die Hilfe
help, assistance
nounA2pl. Hilfengen. Hilfestrong declension
- der
who, which
pronounA1relative
- seit
since, for
prepositionA2governs dative
With time spans German uses 'seit' + present tense where English uses perfect: 'seit 13 Jahren' = 'for 13 years'.
- 2008
2008
numeral
- einmal
one day, eventually, once
adverbA2temporal
Here means 'some day in the future', not 'one time only'.
- das Jahr
year
nounA1pl. Jahregen. Jahresstrong declension
- die Leistung
achievement, performance, service
nounB1pl. Leistungengen. Leistungmixed declension
- würdigen
to honour, to pay tribute to
verbC1würdigen, würdigte, hat gewürdigtmit habenweak
- sollen
should, to be supposed to
verbA2sollen, sollte, gesolltmit habenmodal
In reporting, 'soll' signals that something is planned or claimed rather than fact.
- erinnern
to commemorate, to remind
verbA2erinnern, erinnerte, hat erinnertmit habenweakan + accusative
Reflexive sich erinnern an = to remember; non-reflexive erinnern an = to commemorate or remind of.
- die Explosion
explosion
nounB1pl. Explosionengen. Explosionmixed declension
- die Autobombe
car bomb
nounB2pl. Autobombengen. Autobombemixed declension
- vor
before, in front of, ago
prepositionA1governs dative
With clock time ('vor 7 Uhr') it means 'before' and takes no visible case change.
- das UN-Hauptquartier
UN headquarters
nounB2pl. UN-Hauptquartieregen. UN-Hauptquartiersstrong declension
- das Bagdad
Baghdad
nounB1pl. -gen. Bagdadsinvariable declension
- dabei
thereby, in doing so, at the same time
adverbA2modal
Da-compound standing in for 'an/bei dem'; very common as a connector between sentences.
- werden
become, will (future auxiliary)
verbA2werden, wurde, ist gewordenmit habenirregular
Also the passive auxiliary; do not confuse with bekommen (= receive).
- damalig
of that time, then, at that time
adjectiveB2-, -
Usually attributive only; 'die damalige Ministerin' = the minister who held office then.
- der Hochkommissar
High Commissioner
nounC1pl. Hochkommissaregen. Hochkommissarsweak declension
- für
for
prepositionA1governs accusative
Here für Dienstag names the day the forecast applies to, not a beneficiary.
- die Menschenrechte
human rights
nounB1pl. Menschenrechtegen. -invariable declension
- Sergio
Sergio (male given name)
noun
- Vieira
Vieira (surname)
noun
- de
de (part of a Portuguese surname)
particle
- Mello
Mello (surname)
noun
- 21
twenty-one
numeralA1
- weiter
further, additional
adjectiveA2weiter, am weitesten
- der UN-Mitarbeiter
UN staff member
nounB1pl. UN-Mitarbeitergen. UN-Mitarbeitersweak declension
- töten
to kill
verbB2töten, tötete, hat getötetmit habenweakgoverns accusative