Every language has expressions and proverbs that form an important part of a nation’s culture and history. The German language is particularly known for expressions that seem to have no connection to their actual meaning (as is the case in other languages as well).
The expression “die Wahl haben zwischen Pest und Cholera” actually originates from France. In 1965, the French politician Pierre Poujade compared the choice between Charles de Gaulle and Gaston Defferre to choosing between the plague and cholera.
Of course, the best choice would be neither. Unfortunately, things do not always go the way we would like.
This German expression is therefore used when we need to choose between two equally bad options.
The phrase illustrates a situation in which none of the available possibilities is desirable, yet a choice must still be made. A similar expression exists in English: “between the devil and the deep blue sea.”
The plague also appears in Croatian idioms, where you can, for example, run from someone or something as if from the plague or fear someone or something like the plague.
Sources: LWL, Croatian idiom database