The Story of Marlene Dietrich
By: Eric Swanberg
Marlene Dietrich was an American/German singer and actress. Born in Berlin, 1901, her dream as a young girl was to be a concert violinist. She went to Auguste-Viktoria girls’ school for 10 years to study the violin.
After graduating her dream came true, but was short lived as she was fired from her first job for a silent movie orchestra. During her study at Auguste-Viktoria, Marlene was also interested in theatre and poetry. She decided to start this dream by being a chorus girl for professional stage performances. After playing small roles in many small dramas, she started attracting more attention to herself which led her to participate in more professional dramas. During this time, she met her future husband on the set of a film. A few years later they would get married and have their only daughter, Maria.
After 5 years of small dramas and plays, Marlene got the big role of playing Lolo Lola in The Blue Angel. This breakthrough was the opening to Marlene’s future. Her performance was outstanding and people around the world took interest in her. From here, she took a contract with Paramount Pictures and moved to the United States where her talent would shine bright. Within the next 6 years from 1930, Marlene starred in 6 films that gained her fame and fortune. She was then lured away from paramount pictures by very generous offers where she would make more films in the field of romantic comedy.
In 1937, Marlene was confronted by officials from the Nazi Party to return to Germany to continue making films. She declined the offer, and applied for American Citizenship shortly after. Marlene was known for having very strong political views and she stated that she is very anti-Nazi. She believed that the nazi government was very corrupt and knew they would bring nothing but terror. When America entered World War II, Marlene was one of the first celebrities to start raising war bonds. She would tour the US for almost 2 years, performing in front of thousands of soldiers and audiences. She is known for raising the largest amount of war bonds than any other star. The tours didn’t stop in the US, Marlene would perform for troops at the front lines in Britain, France, Italy, and Algeria. When asked why she would do such a dangerous thing, she replied with “aus Anstand,” which means “out of decency”. Not only did she give tours around the world moralizing US and allied troops, she also helped in propaganda against Germany. Working with the U.S. Military generals, Marlene recorded a variety of sounds that would be broadcasted into Germany. The goal was of this was to scare the Germans to believe that the U.S. Army had very high morality and that the war in as going very well for them. It was believed that this tactic worked very well and Marlene was rewarded with a high award and many personal letters from U.S. Generals thanking her.
After the war ended, Marlene returned to Germany in 1960 for a live performance. By this point, almost every German knew who Marlene was and what she did to help the U.S. beat the Nazis. During her performance at the Staglitz theater, there was mixed feelings from the audience as a large portion chanted “Marlene go home” while others gratefully accepted her return. Alot of Germans thought that she was a traitor to Germany. Marlene simply replied with “I don’t hate the Germans, I hate Nazis.”
From the 1950's to the early 1970's, Dietrich worked exclusively as a high end stage performer. Performing at large stadiums and cities. For every performance came a unique dress and lots of make up. Marlene became a huge attraction to designers from all around the world. She would wear very beautiful unique dresses and became a on-stage model. As the years went by, Marlene survived cervical cancer and many broken bones when performing onstage. During one of her performances in 1975, she fell off the stage and broke her thigh ending her show business.
For the last 11 years of Marlene’s life, she spent it cooped up in her apartment in Paris writing books and journals. She was an alcoholic dependent on painkillers and only let a select few people into her apartment to visit. During this time, Marlene was filmed in a documentary about her life and her journey against the Nazis. It was a very successful documentary that received multiple awards.
At the age of 90, Marlene Dietrich died of renal failure in her apartment in Paris. Her body was buried in Paris. In her will, she asked that her coffin be moved to her hometown once the Berlin Wall was torn down. So after the wall fell, her body was moved to Berlin and buried next to her mother.
After Marlene’s death, her legacy is still seen in Berlin. The film museum on Potsdamer Platz has a large permanent exhibition on Marlene and her life. This extensive museum has numerous props of hers with very detailed stories about her acting career and her accomplishments. This also includes her dresses, props, clothing, posters for her films or dramas, and her anti nazi movement. Her life as a German and an American is also portrayed here to symbolize that she has two homes.
Outside of the Sony Center you can find her star on the “red carpet” with a picture of her standing on it if you look through a certain lens. At her birthplace, you can find this plaque on the outside of the building. Marlene Dietrich Platz is also named after her which is near the Sony Center. Another great thing made after Marlene was a postage stamp. These landmarks are permanent, keeping her memory here in Berlin for anyone to experience her story. Marlene Dietrich was a significant part to the war effort as she used her voice to make Anti German Propaganda. Her voice of impact has influenced people in future generations to realize that your voice is a very powerful tool.
