Dunja Rajter, born 3 March 1946 in Našice, SR Croatia, emerged from a musical family where her father, Rudolf Rajter, a music teacher in Zagreb, sang with her in a children’s choir. After studying at the Theater Academy in Zagreb and graduating as an actress, she joined the Zagreb theater ensemble in 1963 and appeared on television in 1962, with music composed by guitarist Mario Nardelli. Her relocation to Germany in 1964, prompted by producer Horst Lippmann, marked the beginning of her recording career; she released Lieder Aus Jugoslawien in 1965, followed by Slawische Seele in 1968 and the eponymous album Dunja in 1969. The early 1970s saw the single "Was Ist Schon Dabei" in 1970 and the album Starportrait in 1972, while "Salem Aleikum" in 1971 and "Chiribi, Chiriba, Chiribu" in 1971 added to her repertoire. Her 2021 work, "Ich will das Leben spüren", entered the German album charts at Number 94. Throughout her career, Rajter performed in television shows such as Vergißmeinnicht and Der Goldene Schuß, appeared in films including Winnetou I and Der Beginn, and toured Europe with Ivan Rebroff, thereby establishing a sustained presence in German popular music and theatre.
