The more effective the Propaganda Girls were, the more furious Hitler became - and it seems Dietrich was his arch nemesis. He grew increasingly obsessed with capturing her, following her movements carefully - especially while she was touring the front lines.'Indeed,' writes Rogak, 'during the Battle of the Bulge, as the Third Army moved into Germany, Marlene barely escaped with her life when a German counterattack struck only a kilometer away from her camp'.
But she refused to be cowed and claimed she was unafraid of death.
What did keep her awake at night, however, was the possibility of being taken alive and tortured.
‘They’ll shave off my hair, stone me, and have horses drag me through the streets,’ she said, ‘or worse, force me to talk on the radio’.
According to Rogak:
‘General George Patton had presented her with a pearl-handled revolver identical to his… leaving no doubt that he meant for her to use it on herself, if the circumstances required.’
