Bettger, Lyle S (1934) | Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust

Name: Bettger, Lyle S (1934)

Historical Note: The poster in this collection was torn from a storefront window in Munich, Germany on August 19, 1934 by Lyle S. Bettger.  The date of the incident is handwritten on the reverse side, “Torn off store window in Munich, Germany on August 19, 1934.”  Bettger and his band mates stopped off in Germany while providing entertainment on an Atlantic cruise from the U.S. to Europe.  After a run in with German police, Bettger tore down the poster “due to anger toward the police and general contempt for the regime.”  He then smuggled it from Germany.  In the 1950s Bettger returned to Munich while shooting the 1954 film, Carnival Story.  He returned to the same police station where his band mates had spent a night in jail during their 1934 trip.  The station still stood, although completely destroyed, rat infested, and abandoned.  Lyle noted the scene in the early 1950s stood in stark contrast to the intimidating environment of the 1930s.