An Israeli Perspective on Marlene Dietrich

There is no need to introduce Marlene Dietrich since her name alone is a symbol. Dietrich is a symbol of culture, of style and fashion, glamor and beauty, freedom of expression and sexual liberation. So how Marlene Dietrich, the undisputed icon, is among the women in our #WomenattheCenter - revolutionary women who were forgotten between the pages of history” project?
David Witzthum, historian, and former emissary of Israel’s Broadcasting Authority in Germany, talks about Dietrich's less renowned role in the war against the Nazi regime and her connection to the young state of Israel that made her, in addition to being a cultural symbol, a symbol of uprising against fascism, a symbol of survival and fighting for freedom.

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My grandmother, mother and aunt who fled Vienna adored "die Marlene" as they used to call her. At the age of 15 I booked a seat at her concert in Brighton, England as I had heard of her since I was a small child already. Not only was she unique but the fact that she was one of the few non Jewish Germans who courageously spoke up against the Nazi regime, was another reason to love her and consider her a hero. She said that the best audiences were British and that the second best were in Israel. In fact she visited Israel twice. She certainly deserved the award Israel gave her.

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Marlene was wunderbar. And she loved Jews from her early Berlin years