josephine baker’s secret war: the african american star who fought for france and freedom

The full story of Josephine Baker’s wartime and intelligence work in France and North Africa

Before the Second World War, Josephine Baker (1906-1975) was one of the most famous performers in the world. She made her name dancing on the Parisian stage, but when war broke out she decided not to return to America. Instead, Baker turned spy for the French Secret Services.

In this engaging, deeply researched study, Hanna Diamond tells the full story of Baker’s actions for the French and Allied powers in World War Two. Drawing on previously unseen material, Diamond reveals the vital role Baker played throughout the war, from counterintelligence work for the Allied landings in North Africa to serving in the French Air Force in 1944-45. A woman of colour operating in a white male environment, Baker exploited her celebrity to enable her war work across France, Spain, Portugal, North Africa, and the Middle East.

This groundbreaking account is the first to reveal the full significance of Baker’s wartime contribution.

Hanna Diamond is professor of French history at Cardiff University. An expert on the social and cultural history of France during the Second World War, she is the author of Fleeing Hitler: France 1940 and Women and the Second World War in France, 1939-48.