Brigitte Pettersson
Secretary and close friend of Zarah Leander

My curriculum vitae within the 20th century:

"Never in my lifetime I have thought, what the 20th century has prepared for me. When I was born in Erfurt in 1936 it was only three years before the war began. So I have experienced the war. A terrible time. After the war we then settled in Duisburg. When I was a child music already had a place in my heart and I played piano and accordion. I was a member of the Duisburg accordion harmony. When I was 14 years old I saw the movie “Heimat“ [home] from the Swedian ZARAH LEANDER, who later played an important role in my life. Until then it was a long way however. The voice and the charisma were so fascinating that from now on I collected everything I could bid for. When I saw her for the first time “live” in Düsseldorf on stage I was overwhelmed. ZARAH became my idol. In Berlin a “Zarah-Leander-Club“ was founded and I became a member. Our first personal meeting with our star was planed to take place at the Kurfürstendamm in a cafe named “Alte Klause“. So it happened, and we were allowed to shake hands with the great diva. She was so nice and congenial and let us take a photo with her and all got an autograph with a personal dedication from her. Given the fact that she was the greatest UFA star and played 14 leading roles in movies, it was a miracle to see this star from very near. With coffee and cake the first 2 hours ran quickly. This meeting wasn´t meant to be the first and [not] the last. I travelled across the county, decorated the wardrobe and suddenly came to the surface anywhere. Through Mrs. Leander’s manager in Cologne, Otto Hofner, I got a tour plan which allowed me to visit cities where Mrs. Leander gave her guest performance. Mrs. Leander wasn´t just an actress, but also a great singer, which fascinated millions with her strange deep voice. Besides her choral guest performances she did many musicals. No matter how, after 9 years of persecution she asked one day whether I would like to get on tour with her. I couldn’t imagine anything better of course, and agreed spontaneously. In the meantime I had taken a job as a business employee and cancelled this job immediately. So I became the tour leader for Zarah and took care about everything that belonged to such a duty. It did me a lot of joy that especially I was chosen to be very next towards my great idol. After 3 months on tour Zarah became personal, so to say aunt Zarah and her husband Arne Huelphers, who always accompanied her on the piano. Uncle Arne. This meant a lot for me. After that tour Zarah invited me to a cure in Bad Wiessee, where I met a lot of interesting personages, among them her text writer Bruno Balz, Franz Grothe, the Millowitschs, Lonny Kellner, Mady Rahl, Familie Grundig, Peter Alexander and so on. I also met Grethe Weiser, Marika Rökk, Michael Jarry, Lale Andersson, Josephine Barker, Paul Hörbiger and Willy Brandt in Bonn during a reception he held for artists. All lived in the 20th century where I could take part. Also an interesting era of time for me.

After the cure in Bad Wiessee Zarah asked me whether I would like to come with her to her estate Lönö in Sweden. For me a dream became reality. I didn’t consider that for a long time and my mother understood that, but not my two brothers. So I followed her to Sweden and came to a castle with 20 rooms and all rooms were equipped antique. I was fascinated that I was allowed to experience this.

Now I met a totally different Zarah Leander. In private she was quite different. On stage she was the star and at home on Lönö she was the landowner. She didn´t want to hear her records, but I had to play Nicolai Gädda and Birgit Nilsson, which I met, too. She was a perfect hostess and many parties were held on Lönö. In a nearby building at the administrator there was a young man who cultivated the fields and who was meant to become my destiny, his name was Tore Pettersson. So I met my future husband through Zarah. Zarah was a dear person and I was that grateful that she also invited my mother and my younger brother to Lönö every year during holidays. I was able to experience Zarah for 25 years until she suffered a head bleeding in 1978 at her last musical “Das Lächeln einer Sommernacht“ [The smile of a summer night]. Meanwhile her husband Arne Huelphers has also died from a heart attac. Zarah has survived him only for 3 years. In the year 1981. On June 23rd, which is the wedding day of Tore and me, Zarah went to sleep forever in the Stockholm hospital Danderyd. Shortly before I had visited her. But Zarah lives on in our hearts and she became a legend. I still live happily with my Tore in Sweden giving lectures at many associations which wish to be informed about Zahrah Leander´s life. And this brings joy to me, too, through this shes lives on. Zarah was born on the 15th of March1907 in Karlstadt and had 4 brothers. Zarah was maried 3 times. At first with Pontus Leander, which became her pen name, then with Vidar Forsell and then Arne Huelphers. Zarah got 2 children with Leander, Boel und Göran, with which I am in good contact. Boel has 4 children and Göran 2. I am grateful for my fate, that I was allowed to experience all this in the 20th century."

Brigitte Anhöck-Pettersson