While many of Europe's big stars fled to Hollywood in the 1930s during the rise
of the Nazis, Swedish diva Zarah Leander stayed in Europe and gained notoriety
as a result of working for Joseph Goebbels' propaganda Nazi movie studio and was
said to be one of Hitler's favourite performers. Later speculation suggested she
had a secret life as a spy and was sharing German secrets with the Russians, but
she remained a controversial figure, criticised by many for profiting handsomely
from the Nazi regime.
She was born in the Swedish city of Karlstad and started performing at the age...