When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Eva Busch and her husband, Ernst Busch, left Germany. They went to Holland where she appeared on radio and made recordings in several languages. She even went to the USA to record a few records. After she and Ernst Busch divorced, Eva settled down in Paris to continue her singing career. Her German citizenship was revoked in 1937. At the outbreak of WWII she was detained with other Germans in Gurs, but was let go after a few weeks, since it was well known she was anti-nazi. She returned to Paris and continued her career, now in the occupied Paris...
In 1941, on the third day of her show at the ABC Music Hall, she was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to Ravensbrück, where she was a political prisoner for almost 3 years. "The hatred kept me alive", she would later comment... Finally, her mother Emmy Burg-Zimmermann, a well known opera singer managed to get her out. Eva, however, now had to perform for military and civilian audiences...
After the war she and Ernst Busch are reconciled in the ruins of Berlin. Eva Busch returns to France in november 1945 and resumes her career. She meets journalist George Sinclair and the 2 women share their lives until George's death in 1985...
Rudolf Nelson, the famed Berlin composer and showman, was a fellow exile and Eva frequently starred in his shows. He wrote the beautiful "Zigarette" for Eva... She sings "Du hältst in der Hand Deine Seligkeit, eine Zigarette lang..." or "Your happiness lasts as long as the cigarette in your hand"... She recorded the song in August 1940, Rudolf Nelson's name was changed to "Lemaire". Nelson's music was banned since he was jewish. Rudolf Nelson survived the war and eventually returned to Germany, where he died in Berlin in 1960.
Slideshow of smoking actresses, among others Brigitte Helm, star of Metropolis, Renate Müller, Pola Negri and others...
And yes, before the comments start coming, I know smoking is bad.
All images from personal collection.
Tags: Eva Busch Rudolf Nelson Paris Germany Deutschland Occupation Zigarette Cigarette Columbia
