The Consulate General of Switzerland, Presence Switzerland and Villa Aurora present: A Diva's war: Marlene Dietrich's military glamour - Lecture with Elisabeth Bronfen

Throughout her life, Marlene Dietrich was to insist that the only valuable thing she ever did was join the U.S. Army and do her share as a soldier during the European Campaign. This lecture will explore how she chose to turn the theater of war into a stage for herself, re-enacting certain aspects of her film roles in the real. It will also retrace how, after the Allied Victory in Europe, she insisted on remembering this war, in part by taking on roles in films such as Wilder’s A Foreign Affair and Kramer’s Judgment at Nuremberg that contradict her own war effort, in part by re-enacting her part as troop entertainer on stage until her last concert in London, 1973.

Elisabeth Bronfen is Professor of English and American Studies at the University of Zurich. She received her M.A. at Harvard, and her PhD at the University of Munich. A specialist in 19th and 20th century literature, she has published extensively in the area of gender studies, psychoanalysis, film, cultural theory and art.
Her most recent book publication is “Specters of War. Hollywood’s Engagement with Military Conflict”

Reception for Elisabeth Bronfon following the lecture.

RSVP required: Please call 310.573-3603 or write an email to infola@villa-aurora.org

Admission free

Location: 520 Paseo Miramar, Los Angeles, CA 90272

Street parking is available on Los Liones Drive. Shuttle service begins at 3:30 pm and will start from Los Liones Drive, off Sunset Boulevard two blocks North-East of Pacific Coast Highway.

Please do not park on the Topanga State Park Lot!