Lale Anderson ~ Lili Marlen (1939)
On June the 6th 1944 Allied forces stormed the beaches at Normandy and I was looking for a poem or such to mark the occasion. There are any number of great poems out there about the First World War but I couldn't find one that I thought was great about the 'Second'. They are out there and I know of at least one but it is not accessible for loading to the blog so I settled for the recording above.
Written as a poem by a school teacher from Hamburg in 1915 (Hans Liep) it is described on Youtube as the 20th century's finest soldier's song. There are many versions out there and the recording that is perhaps best known to the public is by Marlene Dietrich but for those who were involved in the North Africa campaign (or the Mediterranean) that voice from Radio Belgrade is the one they remembered best.
I remember reading a book about the campaign and how both the Allied and Axis forces would tune in at 10 pm every night until it was 'suggested' to the Allied forces that they should not! But they still did. The backstory about the song and the other versions are considerable and how accurate my information is you'll have to check out. Loaded by provoqio and with thanks.
Lale Andersen : A German singer - songwriter
Born 23rd March 1905 - Died 29th August 1972
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