Marlene Dietrich

Shortly before Marlene Dietrich’s extensive estate came into the Deutsche Kinemathek in the autumn of 1993, Helga Alexander, a relative of Dietrich, brought her small collection to Berlin. The collection belongs to the rare additions to the Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin, which stem from the private family circle. It conveys insights into the personal sphere of the actress, especially in the decades from the 1910s to the 1930s. Documents and photos from Marlene Dietrich’s early life, represented only to a modest extent in the collection, are of particular significance. Picture postcards from Switzerland, France and Austria originate from the years 1936 to 1938, a period in which Marlene Dietrich no longer met with her mother in Germany. The donor, Helga Alexander (b. 26 June 1929 in Berlin), is a relative from Marlene Dietrich’s father’s side. Louis Erich Otto Dietrich (1867‒1908) had seven siblings, one of whom was Helga Alexander’s great-grandmother Marie Kriegler (née Dietrich, 1854‒1878). Marlene Dietrich’s mother, Josefine Elisabeth Dietrich (née Felsing, 1876‒1945), was mainly responsible for maintaining contact with family relations. She attended family get-togethers and special occasions and made trips to areas around Berlin in her free time. Presumably, Dietrich’s mother, Josefine (married to officer Eduard von Losch after the death of her first husband), informed the relatives about her daughter’s success in the USA and provided them with the corresponding photos. These included vintage portraits, film photos and Paramount’s large-format text advertising for Marlene Dietrich in Los Angeles. (Text: Silke Ronneburg)