Lida baarova autobiography

1. Lida Baarová: A Czech Actress and Josef Goebbels' Mistress
2. Rise to Fame in Germany
3. The Love Affair and Its Consequences
4. Trial, Imprisonment, and Redemption
5. Later Years and Legacy

Lida Baarová: A Czech Actress and Josef Goebbels' Mistress

Lida Baarová was a Czech actress, a star of pre-war German cinema, and the mistress of Josef Goebbels. She was born into a family with a theatrical background, as her mother was also an actress. Following in her family's footsteps, Baarová studied acting at the Prague Conservatory. At the age of 17, she began performing at the Czech National Theater in Prague and landed her first film role. Baarová also recorded several records during her career.

Rise to Fame in Germany

In 1934, Baarová received an invitation from the film studio "Ufa" in Germany, where she moved to pursue her acting career. That same year, she was introduced to Adolf Hitler at the film studio's pavilions, leaving a lasting impression on the young Czech actress, reminiscent of the tragic Angelika Raubal. Hitler invited Baarová to several tea parties at the Reich Chancellery. In 1935, Baarová starred in the film "Barcarole," which achieved tremendous success. During the filming, she met actor Gustav Fröhlich, with whom she would have a close relationship. This film was followed by other successful works in both film and theater.

The Love Affair and Its Consequences

Baarová's career also caught the attention of Hollywood, but she declined a seven-year contract offered to her by MGM in 1937, doubting her ability to succeed overseas. She later regretted this decision, remarking that she could have been as famous as Marlene Dietrich. In German cinema, Baarová portrayed exclusively attractive women with a light foreign accent, adding an air of exoticism to her characters.

In the fashionable Berlin suburb of Schwanenwerder, Baarová and Fröhlich lived next to the seemingly perfect German family, the Goebbels. After several months of persistent courtship from the Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, their encounter developed into a passionate affair that lasted over a year and became public knowledge. Goebbels was even willing to divorce his wife for Baarová. Magda Goebbels attempted to save her family and, according to Baarová, even met with her to propose a compromise and share her husband, but she did not receive support from Baarová. Eventually, at Magda Goebbels' request, the situation was mediated by Hitler. As Goebbels' children's godfather, Hitler sided with Magda. Goebbels asked Hitler for his resignation to be able to leave Germany with Baarová after divorcing Magda. However, Hitler did not accept the resignation and prohibited Goebbels from seeing Baarová.

Consequently, Goebbels attempted suicide on October 15, 1938. Baarová was banned from appearing in films, and a campaign of harassment was organized against her. The film "Prussian Love Story" (1938), in which Baarová starred, was prohibited from being shown and only appeared on West German screens in 1950 under the title "Love Legend." Baarová returned to Czechoslovakia and then moved to Italy in 1941 but was unable to successfully resume her acting career. After the occupation of Italy by American forces, Baarová returned to Prague, where she developed a relationship with actor Hans Albers, an old acquaintance.

Trial, Imprisonment, and Redemption

In April 1945, while traveling to Germany to join Hans Albers, Baarová was detained by the Americans, imprisoned, and later extradited to Czechoslovakia. In her home country, she faced the death penalty for collaborating with the Nazis, but during her trial, she was able to prove that she had worked in Germany before the war and was sentenced to imprisonment instead. These legal persecutions took a toll on Baarová: her mother passed away during the investigation, and her younger sister, Zorka Janu, took her own life.

While in prison, Baarová was often visited by her admirer, Jan Kopecký, who managed to secure her release due to his family connections in post-war Czechoslovakia's government. Baarová and Kopecký married in 1949 and worked together for some time in a traveling puppet theater they created. However, they later fled to Austria. Kopecký eventually moved to Argentina, while Baarová remained in Salzburg for medical treatment at the sanatorium of Swedish doctor Kurt Lundwall. In 1956, she separated from Jan Kopecký and married Lundwall in 1958, with whom she lived a happy life until his death in 1980.

Later Years and Legacy

During the last twenty years of her life, Baarová lived in solitude and poverty in Salzburg. Her homeland had a cold attitude towards the actress. In 1995, she published her memoirs titled "The Sweet Bitterness of My Life," where she revealed her experiences in the highest echelons of power in Nazi Germany and admitted her romance with Goebbels, which she had denied her entire life.