Tainted Goddesses

Germany's film industry, under its sinister Minister of Culture, a rakish Josef Goebbels, sought to entertain the German people with largely escapist fare: cocktail comedies, musicals and historical costume pageants. The aim was to emulate Hollywood's fare. The author explores the careers of the Nazi movie actresses with deft characterisations and scrupulous attention to detail. There has been very little available in English until now on these movie stars of the Third Reich. Fresh, complete and casy to read, the book comes with a rich selection (over 150) of rare, historical photos in black and white, most of them unknown. This book is not only about the wit, beauty and naturalness of the most beautiful stars of the 30s-'40s era such as Greta Garbo, Lauren Bacall or Marlene Dietrich - who went on to live fulfilled lives, idolised by millions - but also about those who, like "fallen stars", remained largely unknown to the West when the evil empire of the Nazism fell to ruins. Tainted Goddesses includes biographies of these women of the Nazi era, along with synopses and credits of their most important films.