Marlene (31 page)

Danny kept everyone's morale up, including mine. When he left us, we had to wait for his replacement, who couldn't hold a candle to him. It wasn't his successors fault. For who could replace Danny Thomas? In my thoughts and in my heart—nobody. He left instructions behind, which we followed to the letter. Long after he was gone from the battlefront, we remembered his words and suggestions. We sorely missed his way of singing, and drumming on his helmet, but we carried on, often telling ourselves, “Now, Danny would have done it this way or that way,” but we didn't have our hearts in it, and we missed him very much. I don't think he ever knew that.

A couple of times I tried to tell him, but there were too many people standing around, and I don't think he heard me. Will he hear me now? I wonder. Time changes things and people. He is happy and has a large family—God bless him. Danny was irre
placeable, but we survived that terrible winter, and stayed in Europe until the end of the war.

We were sleeping somewhere in a shed. Suddenly I felt myself being shaken and I heard voices saying, “It's the eighty-eights.” That meant nothing to me, but I could tell something was wrong.

“They're pretty close by; the eighty-eights are aimed at us—clear out, clear out!”

We crawled out of our sleeping bags—thank God we were fully dressed—and ran out of there. But where to? Someone bellowed “Run!” So we ran.

A jeep, jump in, helmets bump against each other. For heaven's sake, hurry up, the eighty-eights aimed at us, what's happened? How did they break through the lines? The front of the First Army was solid. Hurry up, get going. Destination Rheims.

“Rheims?” I ask. “But that's way behind us.”

“Anybody ask you for your opinion? No? Then, clear out, get going.”

So we started moving, after I had gathered our things and all my costumes together. Had I known that enemy troops had broken through our lines, I would never have dreamed of taking my clothes with me, but we had no idea of what was going on. We figured it was just another alert, like so many we had already gone through.

We came through. The 77th Division, composed of green kids fresh from America, was wiped out. Then General Anthony McAuliffe appeared on the scene, with his famous “Nuts!” and managed to drive the Germans back, and saved us—when I say “us,” I mean not only individuals, but whole nations, the Allies.

The 82nd Airborne Division, under the command of General James Gavin, arrived, and everything was once more under control. But losses had been heavy. There were many wounded, many amputations, and a flood of letters went across the Atlantic to the families.

Since we had received no instructions in Rheims, we proceeded to our headquarters in Paris. After a few days, we were again sent out on tour.

The war continued. I no longer remember the places and towns which we passed through. But I do remember that one day, I was ordered to report to Forward Ten in the rear—Forward Ten was the code name for the commander in chief. A soldier is always reluctant to fall back. So I began to argue, and the only answer I got was, “Orders are orders!”

The meeting took place in the Hürtgen Forest. General Omar Bradley was seated in a mobile home, as if he were waiting for me. Maps hung from the walls, the general was very pale and looked tired.

“I guess I can trust you,” he said.

“Thank you, General,” I replied.

“Tomorrow we're going to enter Germany, and, for the time being, you belong to the unit that will be the first to set foot on German territory I've discussed the problem with Eisenhower, and we've decided that it would be best if you stayed in the rear and, for example, visited hospitals. We don't want you to be seen in Germany. If anything happens to you, we couldn't assume any responsibility, and wouldn't know how to deal with the criticism that would inevitably arise.”

I was dumbfounded. “And this is why you asked me to come here?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “The situation is very serious. The Germans would just love to get their hands on you. That would be a disaster.”

I spoke in angelic tones, I pleaded with him, I did everything conceivable to tug at his heartstrings.

Here I must mention one very important point: All generals are lonely. The GIs can disappear in the bushes with a local girl. Not so the generals. They are protected day and night, eyes follow every one of their movements. Never and nowhere can they kiss someone, or lay someone down on a haystack. They are hopelessly alone.

General Bradley finally allowed me to enter Germany. His
only conditions were that I had to have two bodyguards who were to protect me day and night. The two soldiers assigned to this detail were delighted. What luck! They had thought they would be putting their lives on the line, and now all they had to do for the duration of the war was to stick close to my heels.

We pushed into Germany, and surprisingly, we didn't feel at all threatened. Nor did we feel the slightest fear. The people on the street embraced me; they asked me to put in a good word for them with the Americans; they couldn't have been friendlier. They welcomed me into my country, even though they knew I was on the other side.

American Army regulations were different from those in the English and French armies. For example, Germans were forbidden to be in the vicinity of any American quarters, but the French and British permitted a certain coexistence.

We were billeted in a small German cottage, whose inhabitants asked me to help them. They couldn't find a place for their cow anywhere else; would they be allowed to come feed her? They thought I had miraculous powers and could solve all their problems. But we were pushing ahead very rapidly and had no time to worry about every peasant's cow.

Often I had to speak on village squares, to tell people to go home and close their shutters, and not clog the streets, so that our tanks could drive through. No interpreters were available, since the troops in the rear had not kept up with our progress. After each time I spoke, I would be asked, admiringly, what it was that I had said because the streets would be cleared instantly. I would answer, “Does it matter? They cleared out, didn't they?”

We had no problems in Aachen—most of the city had been destroyed (precisely the parts where we stayed). We didn't run into any problems as we pushed through the rest of Germany, and my two bodyguards had a marvelous time.

However, in Aachen we did get body lice. And don't let anybody tell you that crabs can be transmitted only by another person. And don't believe they can't crawl. I have seen them crawl.

One day, it was announced that showers would be installed,
and that the women could use them in exchange for “some favors.” The “favors” were these: for two buckets of water, one look; for three buckets of water, two looks; for four buckets of water (which you needed if you wanted to wash your hair), some kisses and as many looks as possible.

Star portrait by Cecil Beaton

Star portrait by Edward Steichen

Guest performances throughout the world: Las Vegas, 1959

The Olympia, Paris, 1959

Germany, 1960

Marlene Dietrich with the Russian poet Konstantin Paustovsky in Moscow, 1964