Marlene Dietrich made her way to a recording studio in the middle of New York’s Times Square, about to give one of the most audacious performances of her career.
The Berlin-born screen siren had renounced her German citizenship five years earlier, and become a proud American – a move that had so enraged Hitler, he’d put a seven-figure bounty on her head.
But Dietrich was undeterred, and went on to become a key figure in the US war effort, singing for Allied troops in Algeria, France, Italy, and Germany – often in extremely dangerous conditions.
What is less well-known is her role as part of a top secret team of ‘black propaganda’ specialists whose work helped break the Nazis’ stronghold in Europe.
And on the night of August 16, 1944, Dietrich wasn’t about to record just any album.
In her new book, The Propaganda Girls, author Lisa Rogak reveals that the classic songs on the set list were destined to be beamed into enemy territory – with their subtly altered lyrics written specifically to undermine the Germans and chip away at morale.
Lili Marlene, for instance. The German love song was based on a World War I poem written by a soldier who was missing his sweetheart back home.
Dietrich was a key figure in the US war effort , singing for Allied troops in Algeria, France, Italy, and Germany – often in extremely dangerous conditions
But in Dietrich’s version, the soldier was dying, losing not just his love, but his life as well.
‘With one manicured hand Marlene caressed the silver microphone that could be easily mistaken for a grenade in the dark, while a Lucky Strike dangled from her other hand,’ writes Rogak.
‘She lowered her head as if in prayer; she needed a moment to collect her thoughts. First, her family back in Germany. She knew that what she was about to do could be signing their death sentence.
‘That is, of course, if they were still alive.’
She went on to record a total of 12 songs over three sessions, and the result was almost instant. The former German icon’s subversive versions of these beloved, patriotic numbers rubbed salt in the wounds of the Nazis – especially Lili Marlene.
‘The Nazis fought back with a different rendition… sung by German vocalist Lale Andersen,’ writes Rogak.
‘It was broadcast on Nazi radio stations every night at 9.57pm, forging brief and fragile cease-fires nightly as men in the trenches on both sides dropped their guns for a few minutes.
‘But it was Marlene’s interpretation that affected German morale to a greater degree.’
The recording was part of a much larger campaign whose output included official-looking – but entirely fake – military orders, newspapers, and radio broadcasts as well as songs.
The small band of women behind the devastating project – Elizabeth ‘Betty’ MacDonald, Jane Smith-Hutton, Barbara ‘Zuzka’ Lauwersall and Dietrich – worked for the US Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA, in the Morale Operations branch, or MO for short.
‘Outside of a small group of spies,’ writes Rogak, ‘no one knew they existed’.
It’s hard to imagine how a few songs could make much impact on an already long drawn-out conflict. But OSS boss William Joseph ‘Wild Bill’ Donovan, was convinced their work could be ‘even more effective than a shooting war’.
And women, he believed, were much better at it than men.
Marlene’s interpretation of the song Lili Marlene devastated German morale
Hitler grew increasingly obsessed with capturing Dietrich, following her movements carefully – especially while she was touring the front lines
Marlene barely escaped with her life when a German counterattack struck only a kilometer away from her camp
Betty MacDonald once said: ‘We were able to think of a lot of gossipy things to do… that men never would have thought of.
‘I don’t want to brag, but women can hurt people better, maybe, than men could think of. Women seemed to have a feeling for how to really fool people.’
In fact, they had already witnessed an astonishing level of success.
As the war dragged on, US troops started to see a dramatic increase in the number of enemy soldiers surrendering.
‘Defeated German and Japanese troops stumbled across enemy lines… with one hand thrust in the air, waving a piece of paper with the other,’ writes Rogak.
That piece of paper was often a leaflet, newspaper cutting, or letter created by the MO that had finally convinced them the war was futile.
‘One half-starved German even handed over a couple sheets of rough toilet paper with Hitler’s face printed on it as his ticket out of the war.’
The more effective the Propaganda Girls were, the more furious Hitler became – and it seems Dietrich was his arch nemesis. He grew increasingly obsessed with capturing her, following her movements carefully – especially while she was touring the front lines.
‘Indeed,’ writes Rogak, ‘during the Battle of the Bulge, as the Third Army moved into Germany, Marlene barely escaped with her life when a German counterattack struck only a kilometer away from her camp’.
But she refused to be cowed and claimed she was unafraid of death.
What did keep her awake at night, however, was the possibility of being taken alive and tortured.
‘They’ll shave off my hair, stone me, and have horses drag me through the streets,’ she said, ‘or worse, force me to talk on the radio’.
According to Rogak: ‘General George Patton had presented her with a pearl-handled revolver identical to his… leaving no doubt that he meant for her to use it on herself, if the circumstances required.’
Marlene Dietrich claimed she was unafraid of death
A woman advertises her own war effort in Times Square in April 1945 – having donated her clothing to victims of the conflict
VE Day celebrations in Times Square
In the end, however, the pistol was not needed. Hitler committed suicide less than a year after her devastating Times Square recording session and Germany surrendered a week later.
With the war over, Dietrich was desperate to return to Germany and search for her family.
‘First, she located her sister, Elisabeth, and her husband,’ writes Rogak. ‘For all the years of the war, Marlene had imagined that they had suffered incredible hardships.
‘But instead, she discovered, they actually operated a small theater for the Nazis who ran the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.’
Dietrich was disgusted and never spoke to them again.
She was overjoyed to learn her mother, Josefine, was still alive, though very frail.
‘She unfortunately died a couple of months later.’
Dietrich went on to tour the world with her Las Vegas cabaret act, made more movies, and re-recorded the songs she’d performed for the MO.
But she always said that her work during the war had been the most important she’d ever done.
‘It was the best role she ever played,’ said her daughter Maria Riva in her memoir. ‘She earned laurels for her heroic courage, collected medals, and was honored and respected.
‘The officer’s daughter had found her true calling, she was playing the part of the brave soldier.’
From Propaganda Girls: The Secret War of the Women in the OSS by Lisa Rogak. Copyright © 2025 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
