It was released in 1939 by the then young German singer Lale Andersen. (Apparently, Lale is a name of Persian origin meaning ‘tulip’.)
Although the song was released under that name in 1939, the year of the outbreak of war, it sold few copies. It started being immensely popular after a German military radio station in Belgrade began playing it. It became the anthem for German and Allied soldiers.
We in the UK and Americans are generally more familiar with the song as sung and popularised by Marlene Dietrich. However, today I am sharing the version with which the Germans would have been more familiar.
This is a photo of the singer Lale Andersen.
