Marlene Dietrich Lili Marleen May 2026

Composer Norbert Schultze set Leip’s poem to music.

Although Lale Andersen popularized the song, Marlene Dietrich made it a global icon by using it as a tool for political and psychological warfare: Marlene Dietrich Lili Marleen

German soldier Hans Leip wrote the lyrics during World War I while waiting to be sent to the Russian front. The title combined the names of two of his acquaintances: his girlfriend Lili and a nurse named Marleen. Composer Norbert Schultze set Leip’s poem to music