Sister in Europe:Who we are…(3)

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Just Another German Girl

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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• Child extra in Nazi propaganda films• Popular post-World War II singer• Nurse• Afro-German

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Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

Background Information (1)

• When Marie Nejar was born on March 20, 1930 in the German city of Mühlheim an der Ruhr, Germany had almost completed its fateful evolution from a democracy to a nationalist authoritarian state.

• Before her birth, Marie’s grandmother had already been disowned by her well-to-do family for marrying a Creole from Martinique.

• After years of struggling with no outside support, the young family relocated to Riga, Latvia, where they ran a popular nightclub.

• According to Marie, her grandfather was shot during a scuffle with a regular customer who pulled a gun on him, irritated by the fact that a black foreigner could come to his country and be so successful1.

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Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

Background Information (2)

•After the death of her husband, Marie’s grandmother returned to her home town, the German port city of Hamburg, with her young son and daughter. •Marie’s mother, Cecilie, and her uncle attended school in Hamburg, where her mother also received violin lessons. Although she was classically trained and talented, as the National Socialist Party began to gain influence, Marie’s mother was reduced to playing in bars in Hamburg’s red-light district, St. Pauli, because of her skin color. •It was at one of the bars in St. Pauli that the ill-fated meeting between Marie’s mother and her father, a Ghanaian captain’s steward on a British ship, took place.

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Background Information (3)

• Pregnant by a man she had no intention of marrying, Cecilie concealed her pregnancy from her mother

• Marie was born while Cecilie was supposedly on tour in Mülheim, and was immediately placed in a private children’s home

• When Cecilie’s financially support for her daughter stopped, Marie was moved to a public orphanage and later placed with a German couple as a foster child

• It was not until she was two years old that Marie’s grandmother accidentally found out about her existence and – despite her daughter’s protests – insisted on bringing her grand-daughter to Hamburg to be with the family.

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Hamburg, Landing Bridge, 1935

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Marie’s Childhood (1)

•From the time she arrived in Hamburg, Marie’s grandmother became the focal point of her life•By contrast, Marie’s relationship with her mother remained aloof up to the time of her early death at the age of 38, when Marie was 10 years old•Marie saw her father from time to time, but no strong bond developed between the two•It was Marie’s often traditionally strict grandmother who provided her with warmth and support throughout her childhood years

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Marie’s Childhood (2)

•Although she was sometimes openly discriminated against, growing up near Hamburg’s famous harbor meant Marie lived in a world more used to dealing with foreigners and seeing people of color than elsewhere in the city. •Once she reached school age – and her sphere of activity extended beyond her own immediate neighborhood – Marie became more painfully aware of her status as an “outsider”. •The continuous rise of the Nazi Party in Germany not only increased her sense of alienation from society as a whole, but – indoctrinated in school along with fellow classmates and friends – ironically also led to her initial enthusiasm for the party; much to her grandmother’s dismay•When she received her much-anticipated invitation to join the infamous League of German Girls (“Bund deutscher Mädels”), the open shock at her skin color, as well as the ensuing aggressive racism that her appearance triggered, finally opened her eyes to the real convictions and intentions of the party

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Poster for the 1952 German film “Toxie” which dealth withprejudice against (illegitimate) Afro-German children after the war

Surviving the 3rd Reich

•Despite the increasingly hostile environment due to the rise of Nazism and the onset of the war, Marie benefited from several factors:

• Although they were considered inferior, Blacks were not a priority for the most heinous forms of direct Nazi aggression

• Several neighborhood forces came together to nurture and support (and protect!) Marie; including liberal teachers at her school and the local police officers from Hamburg’s renown “Davidwache”

•However, as a non-”Aryan”, Marie was not allowed to complete her formal education at that time, and was inducted into a forced labor program and ordered to work at a cookie factory.

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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A scene from the film „Münchhausen“ with black extras

Goebbel’s Propaganda Machine (1)

•During this time a number of important films were made to insure public enthusiasm for Germany’s role a colonial power in Africa•Because these films were shot in Germany, many Afro-Germans were forced to portray “bush people” in these films, and – in keeping with the Nazi doctrine of the superiority of the “Aryan” race - the representation of Africans/black people was blatantly racist•Between the ages of about 11 and 14 yrs. Marie was an extra in several of these propaganda films, most notably “Münchhausen”, starring German acting legend, Hans Albers, as well as “Quax, der Bruchpilot”, starring another iconic German actor, Heinz Rühmann

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Goebbel’s Propaganda Machine (2)

„Excuse me. I was a child then. I thought it was wonderful, and I gottwo weeks off from school. With a signature from

and by order of Mr. Goebbels himself.“2

•In contrast to reports from other people, Marie remembers being treated reasonably well during filming. For example, when mail delivery between Hamburg and Berlin was interrupted due to the war, and Marie – extremely worried by not receiving her regular letters from her grandmother – wanted to return to Hamburg, her grandmother was not only brought to Berlin to be with her, but also given the job of caring for the black children on the set, ensuring the family a welcome second income during filming.

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Goebbel’s Propaganda Machine (3)

•At some point Marie asked herself if her grandmother was well aware of the propagandistic nature of the films her grand-daughter was playing in.•The sole breadwinner for herself and her grand-daughter following her daughter’s death, Marie assumes her grandmother felt it best to do what she could to - first and foremost

SURVIVE!

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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aka Leila Negra (1)•Following the war and the death of much-loved grandmother, Marie – now 19 years old - worked during the winter in Hamburg’s St. Pauli district as a hat check girl, and in the summers as a cigarette girl at a resort on the Baltic Sea in Timmendorf. It was here that fate once again stepped into her life.•Marie was asked to speak into the mic during a sound check for the dance band. She spontaneously began to sing a song popular at the time, but the mic didn’t seem to be working. •Later in the evening patrons repeatedly asked when the girl singer was finally going to be performing. It wasn’t till later that the band realized that – though the mic hadn’t worked inside the building – speakers outside had allowed guests on the beach to hear Marie sing.

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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aka Leila Negra (2)

•Soon Marie – with her small stature, “exotic” looks and sweet voice – was a favorite of the resort’s guests. •The following summer representatives from a record company in Vienna were in Timmendorf and decided to give Marie a chance as a recording artist. •The Afro-German post-war recording artist “Leila Negra” was born•Although she was already 20, she was marketed as a 15 years old girl (often shown still cuddling a teddy bear) and everything from her chosen stage name to many of the songs she was given to sing cast her in the racially exploitive role of the “mournful picaninny”

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Marie Nejar (aka “Leila Negra”) and popular Austro-German entertainer, Peter Alexander, performing their smash hit, “The Sweetest Fruits”

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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aka Leila Negra (3)

•One of “Leila’s “ most popular songs at the time was titled “Don’t Look So Sad, Just Because You’re A Picaninny” (“Mach nicht so traurige Augen, weil du ein Negerlein bist“) and was – in Marie’s eyes - a wistful anthem esp. relevant in connection with the sad plight of the many German “brown babies” left behind by their black American G.I. fathers following the war.•Several of her other songs were in the same sad, racially-tinged vein, including:

• “A Picanniny in the Snow” (“Ein kleines Negerlein im Schnee“)• „The Toxie Song“ („Das Toxie Lied“)• „Twelve Little Picannies“ („ Zwölf kleine Negerlein“)

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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A medley of Marie Nejar’s (aka “Leila Negra”) most popular songs, including “Don’t Look So Sad, Just Because You’re A Picaninny”

(“Mach‘ nicht so traurige Augen, weil du ein Negerlein bist“)

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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aka Leila Negra (Postscript)

•By her late 20’s Marie had grown tired of the discrepancy between her on-stage persona and real life•She made it clear to the record company that she would rather not sing at all than continue to sing such misleadingly childish material•The record company made it clear that they only considered her a viable “hot property” if she maintained the status quo•That was the end of “Leila Negra”

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Marie Nejar (1)

•Although she thought seriously about working as a zoo keeper, because positions like that were not open to girls in Hamburg’s private zoos at the time she eventually decided on a career in nursing.•Her new position required her contractually to avoid any references to her former celebrity, but it was sometimes impossible to control•For example: Germany’s most popular daily not only posted a headline about “Leila Negra” leaving the music industry; although she went to the UK to take an intensive course in English, they reported that she was “wandering the street of London - teary-eyed - in search of her father”1

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Marie Nejar (2)•Both because of her skin color and her past celebrity, Marie Nejar was often the subject of harassment at the beginning of her career in nursing •She soon discovered, however, that not only whites could be callous and prejudiced. When – fed up with racism in Germany - she approach the consular general of Liberia about possible emigrating, she was brushed off and brusquely told to “Go to Ghana”•In the meantime, age and maturity have given Marie a love for confrontation. Once, while riding a bus in her native Hamburg, two older women gestured towards her and said, “There goes our pensions.” She immediately countered – in perfect German (of course), “I’m one of the ones paying your pension!”

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Marie Nejar (3)•In 2007 Marie Nejar published her autobiography: “Don’t Look So Sad, Just Because You’re A Picanniny: My Childhood in the Third Reich” •In her book, she shares the complex anecdotes and details from the different stages of her life as:

• A member of an Afro-German family in early 20th century Germany• An Afro-German child growing up during the Nazi era• An “exotic” Post-war singing sensation• A woman of color and nurse in modern Germany

•Marie has received a high level of interest and positive responses to her book

• Her music reminds an older generation of their post-war past• A new generation is keenly interested in the personal stories of people of color in Germany

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Marie Nejar’s Autobiography“Don’t Look So Sad, Just Because You’re A Picaniny:

My Childhood in the Third Reich”

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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On Tuesday, 3 August 2010, I had the honor of conducting a telephone interview with Marie Nejar. Most of the information contained in this profile is based on that

interview. I would like to thank Ms. Nejar for her time, her graciousness, and her willingness to share with us all the story of her life!

(And I definitely plan to drop by for coffee the next time I’m in Hamburg…)

Marie Nejar aka Leila Negra

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Uncaged Birds™…is a collection of confidence- and skill-building programs created especially for women of African descent living and working in Europe.

Let’s be our own rôle models!

As women of color in Europe, rôle models who look like us are often few and far between. That’s why Uncaged Birds ™ is regularly spotlighting women of African descent living and working in Europeand their story – so everyone will know…

…who we are!

Uncaged Birds™…

…poised to take FLIGHT!