Thread by @CIA

During #WWII, Marlene Dietrich recorded a number of anti-Nazi albums in German for the #OSS.

bit.ly/2t441do
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Albums were a part of efforts by #OSS Morale Operations Branch to create propaganda that would lower the morale of German soldiers.
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Born Marie Magdalene Dietrich in Germany, she studied violin until a wrist injury dashed her dreams of becoming a concert violinist.
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1929: after chorus & small theater roles, Marlene’s breakthrough role as Lola-Lola in "The Blue Angel" encouraged her to move to US.
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1930-1935: While on contract with Paramount Pictures, Marlene starred in 6 successful films, one earned her an Oscar nomination.
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Marlene claimed she was asked by Nazi Party representatives to return to Germany.
Instead, she became an American citizen in 1939.
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Marlene became one of the 1st celebrities to raise war bonds & entertain troops on front lines:
“It was the decent thing to do”
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1943: #OSS Morale Ops (MO) began producing radio programs reaching listeners in Europe & the Mediterranean.

bit.ly/2sL0pfp
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#OSS broadcasts were meant to create friction between Italians, Fascists, & Nazis.
Stations were jammed by Axis on several occasions.
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MO wrote German & American songs & singers like Bing Crosby & Dinah Shore recorded them.

Marlene’s “Lili Marlene” was very popular.
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The Nazi government banned “Lili Marlene,” but after receiving numerous letters from Axis soldiers, the Nazis reluctantly gave in.
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US Strategic Bombing Survey discovered that the #WWII #OSS MO programs were just as devastating to German morale as an air raid.
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The #OSS MO programs succeeded in raising the level of skepticism so high, that many people no longer believed #WWII Nazi propaganda.
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1945: Marlene was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the highest civilian awards in the US.
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Marlene said her #WWII service was what she was most proud of in her life.
She died at 90 in 1992 in Paris.

bit.ly/2t441do
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