David Dietrich is scum. It's a shame because Marlene Dietrich did that German name proud in WWII.
In the late 1930s, Dietrich created a fund with Billy Wilder and several other exiles to help Jews and dissidents escape from Germany. In 1937, her entire salary for Knight Without Armor ($450,000) was put into escrow to help the refugees. In 1939, she became an American citizen and renounced her German citizenship. In December 1941, the U.S. entered World War II, and Dietrich became one of the first public figures to help sell
war bonds. She toured the U.S. from January 1942 to September 1943 (appearing before 250,000 troops on the Pacific Coast leg of her tour alone) and was reported to have sold more war bonds than any other star.
During two extended tours for the
USO in 1944 and 1945, she performed for
Allied troops in Algeria, Italy, the UK, France, and
Heerlen in the Netherlands, then entered Germany with Generals
James M. Gavin and
George S. Patton. When asked why she had done this, in spite of the obvious danger of being within a few kilometers of German lines, she replied, "
aus Anstand"—"out of decency".
[40] and a "
mindreading" act that her friend
Orson Welles had taught her for his
Mercury Wonder Show. Dietrich would inform the audience that she could read minds and ask them to concentrate on whatever came into their minds. Then she would walk over to a soldier and earnestly tell him, "Oh, think of something else. I can't possibly talk about
that!" American church papers reportedly published stories complaining about this part of Dietrich's act.
[33][37]
In 1944, the Morale Operations Branch of the
Office of Strategic Services (OSS) initiated the Musak project, musical propaganda broadcasts designed to demoralize enemy soldiers.
[41] Dietrich, the only performer who was made aware that her recordings would be for OSS use, recorded a number of songs in German for the project, including "
Lili Marleen", a favorite of soldiers on both sides of the conflict.
[42] Major General
William J. Donovan, head of the OSS, wrote to Dietrich, "I am personally deeply grateful for your generosity in making these recordings for us."
[43]
Dietrich received the Medal of Freedom in November 1947, for her "extraordinary record entertaining troops overseas during the war".[46] She said this was her proudest accomplishment.[41] She was also awarded the Légion d'honneur by the French government for her wartime work.[47]
That's what patriotism looks like. Storming the Capitol is what an insurrection looks like. David Dietrich is what an asshole looks like.
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