Josephine Baker

Date of Birth- June 3^rd, 1906[1]

Birthplace- ST Louis, Missouri

Known as a performer, World War two spy and an activist for racial rights.

Josephine made her debut as an actress in 1927 with the film, Siren of the Tropics.

Her initial career of a performer was based on African themes and styles to embrace her culture but also to go against the certain ideals of America during the time based on discrimination and white supremacy. Her career later shifted during World War 2 when Hitler had invaded France- she used to use her performances to spy on the enemy like the Nazis and the Italians.[2]

Key actions which proved worthy to the contribution of the war-[3] (Burton, 2020)

·       Writing with invisible ink on music sheets.

·       She attended parties and diplomatic functions that brought her to higher ranking officials.

·       She housed resistance fighters and supplied them with Visas.

·       She collected information about Nazi troop movements and the harbours and airfields used by the soldiers.

Not only did she embrace her culture through her performances and fight against inequality, but she also used these performances to serve as a spy for German Occupied France. It could be said that she has some recognition for helping the allied forces to win the war by providing information from top tier officials.

Pictures from: 

1,  2

Want to know more? Use these links: 

The Josephine Baker Story :   https://archive.org/details/the-josephine-baker-story

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[1] Norwood, A.R. (2017). Josephine Baker. [online] National Women’s History Museum. Available at: https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/josephine-baker.

[2] Ibid., 

[3] Burton, K.D. (2020). Siren of the Resistance: The Artistry and Espionage of Josephine Baker. [online] The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. Available at: https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/siren-resistance-artistry-and-espionage-josephine-baker.