Salka Viertel

About the Author

Salka Viertel was a multifaceted figure in the golden age of Hollywood, renowned as an Austrian-born screenwriter, actress, and hostess whose salon in Santa Monica became a haven for European émigré intellectuals fleeing the Nazis. Born Salome Lieselotte Breslauer in 1889 in what is now Poland, she moved to Berlin as a child and later to Hollywood in the 1930s, where she collaborated with luminaries like Greta Garbo and Erich von Stroheim. Her memoir, The Kindness of Strangers, offers an intimate glimpse into this vibrant expatriate community, blending personal anecdotes with reflections on resilience and creativity amid exile. Viertel's writing captures the elegance and melancholy of a bygone era, highlighting the bonds of friendship that sustained artists in turbulent times. She passed away in 1978, leaving behind a legacy of warmth and cultural bridging.