O Tannenbaum O Tannenbaum "" (; "O fir tree", English: "O Christmas Tree") is a German Christmas song. Based on a traditional folk song, it became associated with the traditional Christmas tree by the early 20th century and sung as a Christmas carol. The modern lyrics were written in 1824, by the Leipzig organist, teacher and composer Ernst Anschütz. A "Tannenbaum" is a fir tree. The lyrics do not actually refer to Christmas, or describe a decorated Christmas tree. Instead, they refer to the fir's evergreen quality as a symbol of constancy and faithfulness. Anschütz based his text on a 16th-century Silesian
Albert Tannenbaum owned by his father. When Tannenbaum was 25, he met a guest at the club by the name of Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro, a close associate of infamous Jewish gangster Lepke Buchalter. Shapiro felt that Tannenbaum had what it took to become a mob hitman, and introduced him to the underworld. Tannenbaum progressed rapidly through the ranks of organized criminal violence. He began as an enforcer and strikebreaker being paid $50 a week; his salary was raised to $75 and then later to $100. When he became a full-fledged contract killer in Murder, Inc., he was paid $125 a week for