Lale Andersen (March 23, 1905 – August 29, 1972) was a German chanson singer-songwriter^a born in Bremerhaven, Germany. She is best known for her interpretation of the song Lili Marleen in 1939, which became tremendously popular on both sides during the second World War. Image File history File links Lale_andersen. ... is the 82nd day of the year (83rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see 1905 (disambiguation). ... is the 241st day of the year (242nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Chanson is a French word for song, and in English-language contexts is often applied to any song with French words, particularly a cabaret song. ... The term singer-songwriter refers to performers who both write and sing their own material. ... Bremerhaven is a city in the federal state of Bremen, Germany. ... Lili Marleen is a famous German love song which became very popular on both sides during World War II. A Lili Marleen and Lale Andersen memorial in Langeoog The words were written in 1915 during World War I by Hans Leip (1893-1983), a school teacher from Hamburg who had... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Early life

She was born in Lehe^b and baptized Liese-Lotte Helene Berta Bunnenberg.^[1] In 1922, at the age of 17^c, she married Paul Ernst Wilke (1894 – 1971), a local painter.^d They had three children together: Björn, Carmen-Litta, and Michael. Shortly after the birth of the third child, the marriage broke up. Leaving the children in the care of her relatives (sister Thekla and brother Helmut), Lale went in October 1929^[2] to Berlin, where she reportedly studied acting at the Schauspielschule at the Deutsches Theater.^[3] In 1931, her marriage was ended by divorce.^[4] About the same year, she began appearing on stage in various cabarets in Berlin.^[5] From 1933 to 1937, she performed at the Schauspielhaus in Zürich, where she also met Rolf Liebermann,^[6] who would remain a close friend for the rest of her life. In 1938, Lale was in Munich at the cabaret Simpl, and soon afterwards joined the prestigious cabaret Kabarett der Komiker in Berlin.^[5] Lehe may refer to the following places in Germany: Lehe, Lower Saxony, a municipality in the district of Emsland, Lower Saxony Lehe, Schleswig-Holstein, a municipality in the district of Dithmarschen, Schleswig-Holstein Lehe (Bremerhaven), part of the city of Bremerhaven, Bremen Category: ... This article is about the capital of Germany. ... The Deutsches Theater in Berlin, Germany is a well known theater, which was built in 1850 (then as Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater, after Friedrich Wilhelm). ... Cabaret is a form of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue — a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting around the tables (often dining or drinking) watching the performance. ... The Schauspielhaus Zürich (English: )is one of the most prominent and important theaters in the german-speaking world. ... For other uses of Zurich, see Zurich (disambiguation). ... Rolf Liebermann (1910-1999, born in Zurich) was a German composer of different kinds of music: chansons, classical, and light music. ... For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ...

Lili Marleen and the war years

While at the Kabarett der Komiker, she met Norbert Schultze, who had just written the music for Lili Marleen. Lale recorded the song in 1939, but it would only become a hit when the Soldatensender Belgrad (Belgrade Soldier's Radio), the radio station of the German armed forces in occupied Yugoslavia began broadcasting it in 1941. Lili Marleen quickly became immensely popular with German soldiers at the front. The transmitter of the radio station at Belgrade, was powerful enough to be received all over Europe and the Mediterranean,^[4] and the song soon became popular with the Allied troops as well.^[7] Norbert Schultze (January 26, 1911 - October 14, 2002) Name in art of Norbert Arnold Wilhelm Richard. ... Lili Marleen is a famous German love song which became very popular on both sides during World War II. A Lili Marleen and Lale Andersen memorial in Langeoog The words were written in 1915 during World War I by Hans Leip (1893-1983), a school teacher from Hamburg who had... Radio Belgrade (Radio Beograd) is state-owned and operated Radio Station in Belgrade, Serbia. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in the Latin alphabet, Југославија in Cyrillic; English: South Slavia, or literary The Land of South Slavs) describes three political entities that existed one at a time on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century. ... Antenna tower of Crystal Palace transmitter, London A transmitter is an electronic device which, usually with the aid of an antenna, propagates an electromagnetic signal such as radio, television, or other telecommunications. ...

Nevertheless, Nazi officials did not like the sad song about parted lovers, and Joseph Goebbels prohibited its being played on the radio. Lale was not allowed to perform publicly for nine months, not simply because of the song but also because of her friendship with Rolf Liebermann, who was Jewish, as well as with other Jewish artists she had met in Zurich. In desperation, Lale unsuccessfully attempted to commit suicide.^[8] When she was allowed to perform again, it was only subject to several conditions,^[3] one of which was not to sing Lili Marleen. NTL Goebbels ordered her to make new "military" version of the song (with a signinificant drum) which was made in June 1942. In the remaining war years, Lale Andersen had one minor appearance in a propaganda movie and was made to sing several propaganda songs in English.^[9] Shortly before the end of the war, Lale retired to Langeoog, a small island off the North Sea coast of Germany. Paul Joseph Goebbels (German pronunciation: IPA: ; English generally IPA: ) (October 29, 1897 – May 1, 1945) was a German politician and Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda during the National Socialist regime from 1933 to 1945. ... Rolf Liebermann (1910-1999, born in Zurich) was a German composer of different kinds of music: chansons, classical, and light music. ... Langeoogis one of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islandsat the edge of the lower saxon Wadden Seain the southern North Sea, located between BaltrumIsland (west), and Spiekeroog(east). ... The North Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between the coasts of Norway and Denmark in the east, the coast of the British Isles in the west, and the German, Dutch, Belgian and French coasts in the south. ...

Career after World War II

After the war, Lale Andersen all but disappeared as a singer. In 1949, she married Swiss composer Artur Beul.^[10] In 1952 she made a comeback with the song Die blaue Nacht am Hafen, for which she had written the lyrics herself.^[11] In 1959 she had another big hit Ein Schiff wird kommen..., a cover version of the title song from the movie Never on Sunday, originally sung by Melina Mercouri.^[12] Both songs won her a gold album each in Germany. In 1961, she participated as the representative of Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song Einmal sehen wir uns wieder, which only reached 13th place with three points. Throughout the 1960s, she toured extensively through Europe and also performed in the United States and Canada until her farewell tour Goodbye memories in 1967. Two years later, she published a book entitled Wie werde ich Haifisch? – Ein heiterer Ratgeber für alle, die Schlager singen, texten oder komponieren wollen (How do I become a shark? A cheerful companion for all, that sings songs, writes lyrics and composes music), and in 1972, shortly before her death, her autobiography Der Himmel hat viele Farben (The Sky has many Colours) appeared and topped the bestselling list of the German magazine Der Spiegel.^[3] Never on Sunday (Greek: Ποτέ Την Κυριακή, Pote Tin Kyriaki) is a 1960 black-and-white film which tells the story of Ilya, a prostitute who lives in the port of Piraeus in Greece, and Homer, an American tourist — a classical scholar enamored with all things Greek. ... Melina Mercouri (Μελίνα Μερκούρη, born Maria Amalia Mercouri) (Athens, Greece, October 18, 1920 – New York City, March 6, 1994) was a famous Greek actress, singer, and political activist. ... The Eurovision Song Contest 1961 was the sixth Eurovision Song Contest. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Lale Andersen died of a heart attack in Vienna, Austria, at the age of 67. She was buried at the dune cemetery on the East Frisian island of Langeoog. Heart attack redirects here. ... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ... The landscape to the north of Greetsiel, in East Frisia. ... Langeoogis one of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islandsat the edge of the lower saxon Wadden Seain the southern North Sea, located between BaltrumIsland (west), and Spiekeroog(east). ...

Footnotes

Note a: Lale Andersen often wrote her own texts, usually under the pseudonym Nicola Wilke.^[11]

Note b: Lehe at the time of her birth was an independent municipality. It is now part of Bremerhaven. In 1924 Lehe was amalgamated with the neighbouring Geestemünde to become the city of Wesermünde. Bremerhaven, which was founded in 1827, was merged into Wesermünde in 1939. In 1947 Wesermünde became part of the state Bremen and was renamed Bremerhaven.^{[13] [14]}

Note c: Although some online resources give 1924 as the year of the marriage,^[10][12] Lehrke's book contains a copy of the wedding announcement that had appeared in the Nordwestdeutsche Zeitung on April 1, 1922.^[1] is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Note d: In her early career, Lale Andersen was sometimes billed as Liselotte Wilke.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Lehrke, G.: Wie einst Lili Marleen—Das Leben der Lale Andersen, Henschel Verlag, 2002; ISBN 3-89487-429-5. In German.
2. ^ Nordsee-Zeitung of August 10, 2002.
3. ^ ^{a b c} D'heil, S.: Lale Andersen, URL last accessed January 16, 2006.
4. ^ ^{a b} Lale Andersen und Lili Marleen, last accessed January 16, 2006.
5. ^ ^{a b} Deinert, M.: Lale Andersen: Werdegang, last accessed January 16, 2006.
6. ^ Lale Andersen, last accessed January 16, 2006.
7. ^ Ciceran, M.: Lili Marleen, last accessed January 16, 2006.
8. ^ Deinert, M.: Lale Andersen: Verfolgung und Auftrittsverbot, last accessed January 16, 2006.
9. ^ Deinert, M.: Lale Andersen: Englische Propagandalieder, last accessed January 16, 2006.
10. ^ ^{a b} Probst, E.: Lale Andersen; URL last accessed January 16, 2006.
11. ^ ^{a b} Nitschke, R.: Andersen, Lale: Der Wachtposten und das Meer, SWR 4, March 2005. URL last accessed January 16, 2006.
12. ^ ^{a b} Müller, P.: Stadtgeschichte Bremerhavens: Lale Andersen, last accessed January 16, 2006.
13. ^ Lehe homepage, last accessed January 16, 2006.
14. ^ Bremerhaven history, last accessed August 20, 2007.

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Further reading

• Ahlborn-Wilke, D.: Wie Einst: In Memoriam Lale Andersen 1945–1972, Gauke Verlag, 1978; ISBN 3-87998-023-3. In German.
• Ahlborn-Wilke, D.: Lale Andersen. Erinnerungen - Briefe - Bilder, 4th ed.; Gauke Verlag, 1990; ISBN 3-87998-058-6. In German.
• Magnus-Andersen, L.: Lale Andersen, die Lili Marleen, Universitas Verlag, 1985; ISBN 3-8004-0895-3. In German.

External links

• Lale Andersen in the IMDb
• Lale biography (in German)
• Bio in German with photos