From the beginning of his murderous megalomaniacal crusade, Adolf Hitler was assisted by a varied cast of women. This series assesses the contributions that Hitler’s female helpers made to the propaganda, politics and processes of the regime. Using private archival footage and exclusive interviews, we create five portraits of life behind the scenes of this regime of terror.

In this programme, we look at a woman who became the most highly paid actress in Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Peculiarly, Germany’s biggest film star at this time was a Swedish born girl with Jewish grandparents. Zarah Leander started her career in small, Swedish theatres as a singer and actress before making an unforgettable debut in German cinema.

Zarah soon became incredibly popular in Germany. Adored by the public and strongly backed by the Nazis, she appeared on the covers of numerous magazines and appeared endlessly in widely viewed films. Leander is particularly famous for her starring role in Die Grosse Liebe (The Great Love). Made in 1942, the movie infamously features SS guards performing in drag as chorus girls.

Zarah was widely regarded as a replacement figure for the anti-Nazi Marlene Dietrich, who had moved to America. Zarah soon had two children, Boel and Göran, with her first husband, Nils Leander. After her divorce from Nils, Zarah married the journalist Vidar Forsell, who also became her manager. Her third and final husband was Arne Hülphers, the pianist. Their marriage lasted until his death in 1978.