No one knew these famous people were spies

[cyberswede]

Hedy Lamarr Was The Real Agent Q

Hedy Lamarr escaped a bad domestic situation with her Nazi husband by fleeing her native Austria for America. And she put more than her famous face to good use to thank her new home nation.

Working as an inventor for Allied military intelligence, she built frequency hopping communication technology and torpedo jamming devices that were deployed throughout World War II. And we still use some of her tech today. You have this classic Hollywood femme fatale to thank for the stuff that makes your cell phones work.

Agent Provocateur Josephine Baker

Sultry American jazz singer Josephine Baker was already a European sensation when war broke out in 1939. And a few choice remarks early on earned her friendly relations with Axis sympathizers who thought she was one of their own.

She used her elite status among the enemy to carry invisible ink messages on her sheet music, helped smuggle people to safety, and wound up with the rank of Lieutenant in the Free French Air Force. When the war ended, she was the first American (and woman) awarded France's Croix de Guerre and Medal of Honor of the Resistance.

More: http://allday.com/post/983-no-one-knew-these-famous-people-were-spies

[PeoViejo]

1. Marlene Deitrich would have never worked for the Nazis

who knew she was Gay and would have shipped her off to the Death Camps in a second.

I bet she got a chuckle about entertaining the Troops.

Some Background:

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[closeupready]

6. Basically, it still IS the San Francisco of Europe.

Or it was in the 90's when I was last there. I think it's always been so. London and Paris have caught up, but you know how these things are.

I love Berlin - if I were going to move back to Europe, that's probably where I'd go.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Baker adopted 12 children of different races and called them her "rainbow tribe."

Jean-Claude, one of her adopted children, wrote a book about her.
In fact, just browsed Amazon and found quite a number of books about her.

"She was the toast of Paris in the 1920s, star of stage and screen in the 1930s, Red Cross volunteer and undercover agent in World War II, participant in the 1963 Civil Rights Movement march on Washington, and star of several farewell (and comeback) tours."

[PeoViejo]

3. She was way ahead of her time.

RIP.

[G_j]

4. Adopting the World: Josephine Baker's Rainbow Tribe

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/adopting-the-world-josephine-baker-s-rainbow-tribe-a-652613.html

By Merlind Theile

Long before Angelina Jolie, Mia Farrow and Madonna made headlines with their adoptive families, 1920s star Josephine Baker tried to combat racism by adopting 12 children of various ethnic backgrounds from around the world. Today the members of her "rainbow tribe" are still searching for their identity.

[brooklynite]

5. Um, isn't that the whole point?