Lili Marlene: The Soldiers' Song of World War II [Hardcover]

Liel Leibovitz (Author), Matthew Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2008

The dramatic story of an iconic love song, its three creators, and their lives under the Nazis.

"Lili Marlene," the unlikely anthem of World War II, cut across front lines and ideological divides, uniting soldiers across the globe. This love song, telling the story of a young woman waiting for her lover to return from the battlefield, began as a poem written by a German solider during World War I. The soldier-poet's words found their way to Berlin's decadent cabaret scene in the 1930s, where they were set to music by one of Hitler's favored composers. The song's singer, however, soon found herself torn between her desire for fame and a personal hatred of the Nazi regime. In a gripping and suspenseful narrative, the three artists' remarkable stories of arrests and close calls intertwine with the recollections of soldiers on all sides who fought their way through deserts and towns, seeking solace and finding hope in "Lili Marlene." 13

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1941, a German-controlled radio station in Belgrade broadcast a recording that soldiers later referred to affectionately as Lili Marlene. Leibovitz (Aliya) and Miller (a Columbia School of Journalism student) offer this fascinating history of one of the world's most recorded tunes, detailing the careers of the artists involved in its creation. The original lyrics, based on Hans Leip's poem Song of a Young Sentry, were set to music by Norbert Schultze and evoked every woman left behind at home to wait and worry. Singer Lale Anderson's rendition transfixed soldiers from both sides of the war throughout Europe and North Africa. So potent was the song, it caused unofficial cease-fires when it played nightly. Set against the rise of Nazism, the authors paint chilling portraits of the megalomaniacal Joseph Goebbels and the cruel machinations of German culture boss Hans Hinkel. Despite the Nazis' attempts to censor the words, or the Allies' rewriting the lyrics, the original recording captured the true essence of the song. Lili Marlene was a reminder of unity, hope, and brotherhood, bringing soldiers to tears and comfort to the women left behind. (Nov.)
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Review

“Not even the most iconic of songs necessarily deserves its very own biography, but in the case of that Second World War classic, "Lili Marlene," dear to soldiers and civilians on both sides, there really is a fascinating story to tell. Forged in the crucible of 20th-century German history, a First World War favorite composers, recorded by an ambitious, anti-Nazi singer. Lively and well-informed, this book tells it all, with lots of attention to the travails of those involved. Nazi music had some rousing tunes, but generally the lyrics were rebarbative. Here the sentiments are unobjectionable and universal, just made for a time when the shadow of the barracks gate was bound to heighten romance under lamplight for a world at war.” (The Atlantic )

“... A compelling examination of a simple song's enormous psychological and political power.” (Kirkus Reviews )

“...Leibovitz (Aliya) and Miller (a Columbia School of Journalism student) offer this fascinating history of one of the world's most recorded tunes, detailing the careers of the artists involved in its creation....” (Publishers Weekly )

“A fascinating story. Lively and well-informed, this book tells it all, with lots of attention to the travails of those involved.” (Atlantic Monthly )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (November 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393065847
• ISBN-13: 978-0393065848
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,031,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and informative book on Lili Marlene, December 8, 2008

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lili Marlene: The Soldiers' Song of World War II (Hardcover)

Lili Marlene was one of the most famous love songs ever created or sung. The song and it tune won immediate popularity with the German troops of World War II and this popularity amazingly transferred on to the Allied troops as well. It was so popular among the Allies that the English version of the song was finally done.

This book describes how this song came to be. The author, Han Leip who wrote the lyrics during the First World War, Nobert Schultz who wrote the tune and finally, Lale Andersen who sang it at the beginning of Second World War. The authors skillfully traced the origins of the song, background information on all the major players that led up to the success of this song. It was interesting to note that Joseph Goebbel distaste this song and tried to censored it while Allied leaders were bit dismay themselves that their troops were taken in by a German love song. But the book clearly shows that this song, was written for the common soldiers and its words and meanings transcended military front lines. The subtitle of the book, "Soldiers' Song of World War II" proves to be very accurate.

If I may be allowed to whine a little, I thought it would have been a nice addition if there was a CD attached to this book that we could have listen to, both Andersen and Marlene Dietrich versions of this song. That would have been rich although the price of the book may have gone up a bit.

Nevertheless, a well written book that should interest anyone that like to read about World War II without the weapons, battles and campaigns. It should also interest anyone who are into music history as well.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lile Marlene, November 30, 2008

By 

Janis Totham-Davies (Takoma Park MD) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lili Marlene: The Soldiers' Song of World War II (Hardcover)

This is a must have, it is a fantastic book. I bought it for my husband and he couldn't put it down until he had finished it. It is full of the most amazing historical facts, and my husband hasn't stopped talking about it since he got it! Buy it you'll love it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a war book from the soldiers point of view, November 14, 2008

By 

h s truman "history afficianado" (long island, new york) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lili Marlene: The Soldiers' Song of World War II (Hardcover)

most war time books focus either on the military machine that initiated the war or the military machine on the other side that felt compelled to defend themselves. with liebowitz and miller's book "lili marlene" we are exposed to a view of wartime experienced by the combatant or civilian who typically had very different goals than the generals. we see that the average soldier for the most part entered the war with either mixed feelings or more likely entered the army against his will and from the beginning was mostly concerned with getting home alive and unharmed. his thoughts were not the grandiose ideas of world domination but rather seeing his wife or girlfriend and family. the powerful and touching song lili marlene seemed to convey all of these warm notions to soldiers and civilians alike. what apparently made this song so special was that it not only transcended nationalities but ideological boundaries as well. germans, brits, americans and apparently all the european combatants were touched by this song and for that reason the military commands tried to silence it. i found the authors telling of the story to be more about what really matters to soldiers in a war than about the song itself.