AllMovie

The composer of the infamously popular Nazi ballad Lili Marlene got his first chance to be a published songwriter after the Nazis had sequestered Germany's Jewish population, and he openly acknowledges the fact in this documentary. Composed almost exclusively of interviews with the composer Norbert Schultze, the film covers his childhood and early upbringing before going on to cover his years as a cosseted composer of songs, operettas and film scores for the Nazis. The filmmakers attempt to discern to what extent he was committed to the Nazi cause, and to what extent he was merely an opportunist; in that regard it is telling that he cheerfully wrote similar ballads for the Americans when they conquered the country.