European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 11, 1947, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Lale Andersen was an unknown Singer until soldiers heard her recording of this wars greatest Ballad Munich at Munich Jubilee Hall this the song gis Are Apt to hear most frequently is the song called the greatest Ballad to come out of the and they will hear it Sung by a slim blon who is closer to Lili Marleen than anyone except the the Blond is Dale an Dersen who made the recording that brought Fame to herself and a song that overcame the boundaries of nations and it All happened through an error by a German disc it began in Early when Ger Man signal and communication troops picked up a Batch of phonograph records at a Vienna radio station and took them to Belgrade to beam to the afrika there were Only thirty to forty records in that group and one of them was Lili Marleen Sung by Lale an unknown the a Side of the Platter was three red a favorite of the singers and a tune that achieved some degree of popularity in Germany in one the German disc think ing he red roses played the b he realized his mistake too late and let the record the song was not a German poet wrote the lyrics in 1915 about his two loves of the first world War in another German set the words to but never thought the tune would go he was the Sheet music never sold and the recordings Only gathered dust until radio Belgrade played it in German soldiers first heard it Dur ing the Early Days of the african Campaign and it became a hit Goeb Bels racked his brains unsuccessfully to Analyse the reason for the songs by november British and american who didst understand the German wrote their but the refrain was always the longings of a homesick Soldier for the girl he left not Long after that initial radio Belgrade was swamped with re quests from the troops in Africa for repeats until the playing of Lili mar Leen was a nightly along with the songs phenomenal Lale Andersen skyrocketed to Fame of the number she had recorded Over three years German night clubbers flocked to berlins Cabarett Dar Kooiker just to take a look at the slight Blond Singer with the dream in her whom the afrika Korps was calling Lili Joseph Goebbels became interested and called her to his who Are he Are you an a what you have become famous he told and i Haven the slightest idea who Lale Andersen not Many other persons had heard of Lale Andersen she was born in Bremerhaven thirty nine years her father was a German Sailor and Mother Lale married a Young artist when she was seven teen and within a few years found herself with three children and a virtually empty she studied dramatics in the Early among her theatrical friends were and when they fled Lale went with them to two years pre she had left her husband but she had somehow managed to support her children on the slim wages she received for playing bit Lale returned to Germany in 1938 and afterwards Cut the record ing of Lili the children remained in Switzerland until War broke out and their Mother could no longer Send Money out of Germany for their when Goebbels asked her at that first interview in Why did you leave Germany in she tried to evade the want it distasteful for you to be among those intellectual de the Swarthy club footed minister of propaganda we didst talk about those she we Only discussed our Goebbels dismissed her with a courtly exaggerated she re and she hoping there would be no meanwhile she kept on corresponding with her Zurich just As she had done in the but after that Goebbels her letters went Early in recalled to the propaganda there spread out on Goebbels big Mafe agony desk were her they had never reached their Zurich Arent you a stentorian voice roared at a German writing this and of thing to jews and to German traitors what was there to say rather than weep or lose her Lale Andersen the walked out of the walked in her apartment Lales Telephone this time she was summoned to report to the Reich she appealed to a Friend and a lawyer for they advised her to do As she was while would try to find in which Camp she would be interned by Betty Luros and would try to Appeal her she was told she made the unpardonable error of forgetting to Heil Hitler when she took her leave of Herr Goebbels earlier in the at the Reich and for that misconduct she was instructed to Heil ten times the painting of the fuehrer which Hung above the is colonels at that she burst into tears and denounced the whole ridiculous act when she she was told that there would be a caller at her apartment that night she by her overwrought nerves could take no one had so that she might be when some one she took sleeping More than was necessary to put her to two Days she still at her Cook told her the at three in the morning four men had one of a by his had advised the men to leave her pulse was so weak it seemed evident that her heart would cease beating in the matter of a few satisfied with that they after that the nazis never molested she for Bidden to perform in Germany in one respect the British helped her keep her at the time of the sleeping Pill bbl broadcast that Lale was already Goebbels seized an this bit of misinformation to Point out what liars the British the British got the reports from their agents in Goebbels played the affair to the announcing to the world at every Opportunity that Lale was alive and Well in the out Side world found it hard to but he was during the last three years of the War Lale and her living from had to report to the Gestapo weekly and she had to give a summary of her goings and meanwhile she had idea of the extent of the popularity of Lili mar Leen outside the Borders of not until Germany was overrun did she hear american and British troops singing their own internationalized and today she is still quite amazed at some times she is not sure whether the song has really brought her Good she might still have been playing Small roles on the stage or singing in a bombed out Berlin but on the other she might have achieved her dramatic but they All want me to she says with a shrug of her Shoul i still want to at least do bless Emall continued from Page 7 to the but How the hell would you with All the stinking creepers that grew in this stinking Jungle and made the top of every tree a stinking rats nest but if the  get to who the hell could the Sarge was a Good Man an old timer from the first siege of and he had an my to prove and they had to get  let this one bloody machine gun nest Knock the whole regiments plan out of he eased his Sten to his other tried to mop the sweat that kept streaming from under his and for All that he did everything like it was slow there was that angry splat just Over his his heart pounded As he cowered closer to the stinking Felt it seeping through his shirt and his Felt its stench almost clogging his As he cowered he and As he thought the song came again bless pm bless Emall the Long and the Short and the bless All the sergeants and to bless All the corrals and their blessed for were saying goodbye to them All he want conscious of stopping on that telltale but As the others had gone through his head he quite consciously had been making himself ready for he moving this time deliberately rather than merely slowly or checked Over his Sten gun and Hung two hand grenades where they would be laying the other gently to one he had scanned the terrain once that stinking fifteen Yards Between him and the Green spot that was the he bad looked afresh for cover once had found so he had wiped from his mind All thoughts of cover Rand with it almost it being better to have none at such a he remembered it As he Lay under the Khaki coloured mos Quito bar of his port moresby Hospital that Good Bye to them All had been the last line to go through his washing machine Charlie had just dumped his nightly stick of bombs on the seven mile and he could read his Mother had sent him the dip and As he read it Over for the third time he had to admit the Bloke from the Sydney morning Herald had made a Nice Story of because it Kwas 1944 and Security rules still in he hed had to dateline the Story somewhere in new instead of for gallantry read Over and above the Call of private Dennis a former Sydney accountants today was awarded the Victoria Cross As he Lay in a new Guinea on a Jungle Hillside outside armed Only with hand grenades and Sten Tunce single Anderly attacked a strongly Emp laced japanese on his first charge the 24yearold Sydney private silenced the enemy Posi Tion Long enough to drag Back to cover his wounded who had attempted unsuccessfully to Knock out the Jap though he suffered a flesh wound in his shoulder from an enemy snipers Bullet while bring ing his sergeant to Keogh took two More grenades from one of his fallen comrades and made a second charge he silenced the enemy machine killing the three and after taking another Bullet in the brought the japanese sniper Down out of his tree by a wry coincidence Mckeogh received the empires highest Mili tary decoration almost year to the Day after he had stood trial before a court martial Board on charges of cowardice in the face of the