Luft Hansa – Wings of the Third Reich
One hundred years ago, on January 6, 1926, the airline Deutsche Luft Hansa AG was founded in Berlin, which after the Second World War in 1953 was resurrected again in the form of today's Lufthansa (Deutsche Lufthansa AG), starting regular flights around the world in 1955.
Necessary note
All photographs, posters, and quotes containing Nazi symbols are included in this article for historical and informational purposes only. The materials used are taken from official, open internet sources from various countries and do not constitute Nazi propaganda or a justification of Nazi ideology.
All photographs, posters, and quotes containing Nazi symbols are included in this article for historical and informational purposes only. The materials used are taken from official, open internet sources from various countries and do not constitute Nazi propaganda or a justification of Nazi ideology.
Revival of the Air Fleet
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles effectively deprived Germany of military aviationThe structure that later became known as the Luftwaffe simply did not exist in Germany at that time—neither organizationally nor legally. However, this did not mean that the country abandoned pilot training. On the contrary, as early as the 1920s, a system of covert personnel accumulation had been established, which subsequently became the basis for the rapid growth of German aviation. A key role in this process was played by the officially "civilian" airline, Deutsche Luft Hansa AG.
Under the guise of civil aviation, pilot training was conducted, developing skills in navigation, equipment operation, and flight management. At the same time, a network of flying clubs and, most importantly, gliding schools was actively developing. The Versailles restrictions did not apply to non-motorized aircraft, and Germany was able to turn this into a strategic advantage.
Sports aviation clubs were established in many cities. At the same time, academic flight teams—the so-called "Akaflieg"—were formed among students and faculty at technical colleges and universities, dedicated to the development of gliding and motor aviation.
Berlin, late 30s. Akaflieg Berlin B5 gliders with gull-wings, Akaflieg Berlin B6 with Junkers flaps and retractable landing gear, and Akaflieg Berlin B8, designed for the planned 1940 Olympic Games.
Under the guidance of instructors, numerous types of gliders, as well as individual sport aircraft, were designed and built. The mass training of glider pilots allowed them, future motorized aircraft pilots, to acquire an excellent "feel for the machine" while minimizing the resource consumption of equipment and reducing the required flight hours.
After 1935, the designation "Akaflieg" was replaced by "FFG" (Flugtechnische Fachgruppe) or "FAG" (Flugtechnische Arbeitsgemeinschaft).
The strategic goal was to create the best air force in the world in the future, so the civil aviation of Germany in the 1930s and the training of formally civilian pilots outside the military system were limited and largely conditional.
A typical photograph of cadets from one of the German glider schools in the 1930s.
Along with the flying clubs, the core of this program was the airline Deutsche Luft Hansa AG, which operated scheduled passenger and mail services. The existence of a developed route network required an expanded flight training program, but by the middle of the decade, this activity had been closely integrated into the overall military development system.
After the creation of the Luftwaffe in 1935, the distinction between civil and military aviation gradually lost its practical significance. Government policy called for the utilization of all available aviation resources for the benefit of a future war. Under these circumstances, civilian structures served a dual function: on the one hand, they ensured the functioning of air transport, and on the other, they served as a channel for preliminary and specialized training of military aviation personnel.
Deutsche Luft Hansa AG's involvement in training pilots in areas critical to military service was particularly important: instrument flying, night navigation, and multi-engine aircraft operation. These skills were directly applicable to the Luftwaffe and complemented the basic flight training received in other organizations.
Lufthansa advertising poster from 1936
Paramilitary and formally civilian structures also played a significant role, primarily the Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps. They provided mass initial training, including instruction in the basics of piloting, discipline, and ideological indoctrination. This system allowed for the identification and selection of candidates suitable for further training within the military aviation.
A poster for the Nationalsozialistisches Fliegerkorps, a Nazi glider and air training organization that actually served as a covert training system for the Luftwaffe.
As a result, by the end of the 1930s, Germany had become one of the world's leading aviation powers, with a strong engineering and piloting school, and Deutsche Luft Hansa was one of the largest airlines in Europe.
Reich Air Lines
The airline's route network was not simply a set of radial lines originating from Berlin, but a complex multi-node network, in which three hubs played a key role: Berlin, Frankfurt am Main and Munich.
Berlin remained the administrative and organizational core of the entire system. Route management, schedule planning, and coordination of international routes were concentrated here. However, the actual operational structure was more distributed and relied on regional hubs.
Frankfurt am Main served as a major Western European transit hub. Lines connecting Germany with France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland passed through it. A steady flow of passengers and freight was generated here, redistributed between northern, southern, and eastern destinations. Frankfurt effectively served as a "transfer station" for the entire western part of the network.
Munich, in turn, served as a southern hub. Routes diverged from here to Austria, Switzerland, and northern Italy. Through it, Germany's air network was connected to the Alps and Mediterranean, giving the network a geographically complete southern connection.
Internal flights between Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich ensured the integrity of the system, turning it into a connected infrastructure rather than a collection of individual lines.
As a result, by the end of the 1930s, Germany had become one of the world's leading aviation powers, with a strong engineering and piloting school, and Deutsche Luft Hansa was one of the largest airlines in Europe.
Thus, the German aviation network in the late 1930s was a three-node structure:
• Berlin — administrative and international center
• Frankfurt am Main — Western European transit hub
• Munich - southern direction and connection with the Alpine-Mediterranean region
Against this backdrop, international destinations, including long-haul routes outside Europe, complemented the system and expanded its geographic reach. South America became a particularly important destination, where Lufthansa operated not only directly but also through partner structures and joint ventures.
In Brazil, the key instrument of influence was cooperation with Syndicato Condor, which served domestic routes and international connections. In Colombia, Lufthansa was affiliated with SCADTA, which provided access to the Andean region and the Caribbean.
Regular transatlantic mail and passenger flights began in the late 1930s, including those using long-range Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor aircraft. These flights connected Germany with Brazil and marked a significant technological advance in the development of intercontinental civil aviation.
Thus, the South American route became an external extension of the three-hub European system, expanding it to a global scale and turning Lufthansa into one of the key operators of the international aviation network of the pre-war period.
The scale of the air fleet and its hidden function
By the late 1930s, German civil aviation, centered around Deutsche Luft Hansa AG, had reached a scale that was increasingly difficult to conceptualize solely as a transportation system. Formally, it remained a network of passenger and mail routes, but in reality, it represented a diversified aviation infrastructure closely linked to the Luftwaffe's mobilization reserve training system.
The total civil aviation fleet by 1938–1939 amounted to approximately 300–400 aircraft. However, this figure did not reflect a fixed structure, but rather a transitional state of the fleet. Approximately 250–300 aircraft were in actual service, while the remainder were considered reserves, training stock, or dual-use aircraft.
The Junkers Ju.52 remained the dominant type, with approximately 150–180 aircraft in service. It formed the backbone of the European route network, ensuring the regularity of flights and connectivity of the three-hub Berlin–Frankfurt–Munich system. The aircraft's versatility allowed it to be used on passenger, cargo, and auxiliary routes.
The Junkers Ju.52, the main workhorse of European airlines in the late 30s. It had a capacity of 14–17 passengers and a practical range of 800–900 km with passengers at a cruising speed of 170–190 km/h.
On long-haul routes, more complex and limited in number types were used.
The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor (approximately 20–30 aircraft) provided intercontinental flights, including transatlantic routes. The first Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor reached New York in 1938, completing a demonstration flight from Berlin-Staaken lasting approximately 25 hours. In this configuration, the aircraft was maximally lightened and fueled for long-range flights, allowing it to cross the Atlantic without landing.
Focke-Wulf Fw.200 Condor. Under standard conditions, it was used over ranges of up to 1500 km and carried about 30 passengers at an average cruising speed of 280 km/h.
Flying boats, particularly the Dornier Do.18 (approximately 15-25 aircraft), were used in conjunction with it, serving ocean and coastal routes in areas with limited ground infrastructure. The aircraft featured two Junkers Jumo 205 diesel engines, each producing approximately 600-700 hp. In passenger configuration, the flying boat carried 6-8 passengers over a range of approximately 1800-2300 km at a cruising speed of approximately 240-250 km/h.
In a lightweight ferry configuration, the range could reach approximately 3000 km or more. In 1938, long-distance demonstration flights across the Atlantic were carried out, achieving a total range of over 8000 km with a minimum payload and maximum fuel capacity.
Do.18 A (V1) D-AHIS in flight. Photo taken in September 1935, shortly before the aircraft's delivery to Lufthansa.
The Junkers G 38 occupied a special place—one of the largest passenger aircraft of its time. Despite its technical uniqueness, its operational role remained limited: only two examples were built, used on a limited number of routes. The aircraft had no significant impact on the structure of mass transportation, remaining more a demonstration of the capabilities of the German aviation industry—a kind of "flying propaganda poster"—than a fully-fledged mass-produced transport vehicle.
Later versions (D-AZUR / D-APIS) could carry up to 30–34 passengers. In actual commercial service, the cruising speed was approximately 175–185 km/h, and the practical range was approximately 1800–2300 km. The maximum range of 3400 km was achieved only with a reduced load and increased fuel capacity.
A group of NSDAP "comrades" in front of a Junkers G 38. Munich, August 17, 1931, Oberwiesenfeld Airport.
The high-speed and transitional segment, represented by the civilian versions of the Heinkel He.111 (Blitz), included dozens of machines and demonstrated the duality characteristic of that time: formally they were used for civilian purposes, but structurally they were already in close proximity to military aviation technology.
In passenger configuration, these aircraft typically carried around 8–10 passengers with luggage or up to 1–1,5 tons of mail and cargo. Cruising speeds were approximately 300–340 km/h, and range could reach approximately 2500–3100 km, depending on load and fuel capacity.
[The first He 111 V-2 (Blitz) built for civilian use was named "Rostock" and flew mail routes to Africa until 1937.
The entire system existed in a state of constant operational readiness to switch between modes of use. The same aircraft could simultaneously serve as a transport, a training platform, or a mobilization reserve. Therefore, by the late 1930s, German civil aviation was not an autonomous industry, but a dual-use aviation structure integrated into the Third Reich's military-economic and mobilization system.
System breakdown
With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the system described ceased to exist as a civilian one in the previous sense. The transition was not gradual, but virtually instantaneous: a significant portion of the air fleet, infrastructure, and flight personnel were integrated into the Luftwaffe. Civilian routes were drastically reduced, then completely reassigned to military missions and subsequently discontinued. The three-node Berlin-Frankfurt-Munich network lost its transport function, becoming an element of the Reich's operational air logistics.
Thus, by the early 1940s, German civil aviation as an independent system effectively ceased to exist—not as a result of formal liquidation, but due to its complete absorption into the military structure. Aircraft, crews, and ground infrastructure continued to operate, but within a different framework—the framework of total war.
The combination of highly trained and ideologically inspired pilots with the achievements of German technical expertise enabled the Germans to achieve their goal of creating one of the world's most powerful air forces in an extremely short time. It's worth noting that in the 1930s, long-distance and record-breaking pilots were perceived as national figures.
Pilots such as Elly Beinhorn, Hans Bertram, and Hanna Reitsch gained widespread notoriety thanks to press coverage of their long-distance flights, emergency situations, and achievements in testing new technology. Their successes were presented as the embodiment of the "superman" ideals characteristic of Nazi ideology.
The Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, headed by Dr. Joseph Goebbels from 1933, actively used the images of pilots for ideological purposes, presenting their achievements as the embodiment of German technical progress, personal endurance, and national superiority.
Objectively speaking, many of these pilots were truly outstanding representatives of their profession. And although their activities were formally classified as civil or sport aviation, in the public perception, they contributed to the growing prestige of the flying profession and indirectly stimulated an influx of personnel into the aviation structures of the Third Reich.
At the same time, the effectiveness of such an interpretation was largely based on real, truly outstanding achievements: long-distance flights carried out in difficult conditions and the successful overcoming of emergency situations gave these images credibility and ensured their perception not only within Germany, but also beyond its borders.
Let's take a look at who they were and what they represented in their professional and historical In this context, these three pilots are taken as an example.
Elly Beinhorn - a beauty in a flying wooden box
Elly Beinhorn was born on May 30, 1907, in Hanover, the daughter of a hat shop owner. At the age of 21, she began training at the German Aviation AG sports flight school in Berlin and earned her pilot's license in 1929, followed by an aerobatic pilot's license in Würzburg.
After obtaining her license, Beinhorn entered the German sport aviation scene and regularly participated in aerial demonstrations, public air shows, and competitions that included aerobatics. This experience allowed her to hone her piloting technique, accumulate the necessary flight hours, and thereby establish herself in the aviation community. Her fees, as well as income from advertising and courier flights, allowed her to earn a living.
Ellie Beinhorn (05/30/1907 – 11/28/2007)
Continuing to improve her professional skills, Beinhorn managed to buy her own Messerschmitt M23b aircraft on credit. And when Ernst Udet himself became her friend and patron, both performance bookings and commercial flights increased, and her name began appearing more and more frequently in the press.
Beinhorn gained wide fame in 1931 after a solo flight from Germany to West Africa in a light Klemm Kl.25 (“Bubi”) aircraft with a 40 hp engine.
The Klemm 25, a record-breaking aircraft and one of the most successful training airplanes of the 30s
The flight took off on January 4, 1931, from Berlin's Staaken airfield (Flugplatz Staaken). The route passed through France and Spain, then across the Mediterranean to North Africa and further along the West African coast.
Remarkably, the flight was carried out without radio communication, relying on visual navigation and weather conditions. There were virtually no pre-prepared landing sites.
The route descriptions were something like this:
"You fly along the coast, over the foothills of the Anti-Atlas Mountains. Then, an hour and a half into the flight, you come across an abandoned plane on the sand. Another hour later, two more planes appear, one of whose crews is no longer known—and the first building you see, about five hours later, is Cap Juby."
After approximately 70 hours of flight and covering approximately 7,000 kilometers, as well as several stopovers, on February 1, 1931, the pilot reached her destination - the city of Bolama, which now belongs to modern-day Guinea-Bissau.
Beinhorn spent several weeks conducting aerial photography in Africa, and on the return trip, a burst oil pipeline forced her to make an emergency landing in the Sahel/Sahara desert. She escaped with only a bitten-off tongue and bruises.
But then she had to walk for four days in 45-degree heat across the desert for 50 kilometers in the direction of Timbuktu, until she met the local Tuaregs.
In total, during this trip the pilot flew about 8,000 km.
Pilot and national heroine Elly Beinhorn (Elly Maria Frida Rosemeyer-Beinhorn)
When she returned to Germany, she was greeted in Berlin as a national heroine:
"The Reich Minister of Transport himself greeted the brave, fearless pilot, along with high-ranking officials of the Reich, Lufthansa, and thousands of people. A magnificent reception, honor upon honor!" the newspapers wrote.
The next stage was the intercontinental flight from December 4, 1931 to July 26, 1932, often considered a round-the-world trip.
Ellie Beinhorn's round-the-world itinerary
During this period, Beinhorn covered approximately 31,000 km in a modernized aircraft from the Klemm family (most often referred to as the Klemm Kl.26), with an 80 hp engine.
Klemm Kl.26 at the National Aviation Day in Hamburg in 1933
The route passed through the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, Australia and America.
The pilot celebrated Christmas 1931 in the air, right above zero latitude between Singapore and Sumatra, taking a couple of sips of cognac from a small bottle she had prepared in advance.
However, a "dragonfly" like Klemm could not overcome the ocean expanses, so the plane covered the distances between continents while on board a steamship.
Photo taken in Port Darwin, northern Australia, during a round-the-world flight. "Beauty in a Flying Wooden Box" — that's what Australians called Ellie Beinhorn
After completing her round-the-world flight, Reich President Paul von Hinderburg presented the pilot with a commemorative cup and 10,000 Reichsmarks, which is equivalent to 100,000–120,000 euros today.
This was followed by repeated flights to Africa and America. She flew the American flights in light single-engine aircraft, including the Messerschmitt Bf.108 Taifun, using routes with stopovers on Atlantic islands.
Messerschmitt Bf.108 Taifun
Her record-breaking achievements also included a one-day flight on August 13, 1935, from Gleiwitz to the Bosphorus region (Constantinople) to Gleiwitz, continuing to Berlin, completed in approximately 12–14 hours. This flight became one of her most famous records and also brought her widespread fame.
In addition to aviation, Beinhorn was involved in literary work and published books about her flights, while in all her public statements of that time she openly promoted the ideology of National Socialism and the idea of white racial superiority.
Having passed the 70-year mark in life and having accumulated more than 5000 flight hours, the legend of the Third Reich surrendered his pilot's license.
Elly Beinhorn died at the age of 100 on November 28, 2007, in a nursing home in Ottobrunn.
Hans Bertram - Flight to Hell
Hans Bertram, the son of an innkeeper, was born on February 26, 1906. He completed flight school and received his pilot's license in 1926. Subsequently, while studying at the Technical University of Munich, he advanced his pilot's qualifications by passing an aerobatics exam and receiving a license to fly seaplanes.
From 1928 to 1934, Hans Bertram served as an aviation advisor and instructor to the Chinese Naval Aviation under the government of Chiang Kai-shek. Flying in the poor aviation infrastructure of East and Southeast Asia, with limited navigation and high dependence on weather conditions, testing and ferrying various types of aircraft, he gained invaluable experience in piloting in unusual situations.
These missions were often carried out at the limits of flight range, using visual references and a compass, and errors in fuel calculations or sudden changes in weather led to emergency landings, including the loss of the aircraft.
Hans Bertram (02/26/1906 – 01/08/1993)
In 1932, pilot Hans Bertram and flight mechanic Adolf Klausmann intended to fly around the world in an open-cockpit Junkers JU W 33 seaplane called Atlantis.
On the night of May 14-15, they departed Kupang (Timor Island, Dutch East Indies) bound for Australia. Their final destination was Darwin, approximately 463 kilometers away, or approximately seven hours of flight time. They estimated they had ample fuel reserves. Planning to have breakfast after landing, they had not brought any food supplies.
Junkers Ju W.33
During the flight, the crew encountered a severe tropical storm, lost visual orientation, and found themselves off course. Due to excessive fuel consumption, the pilots were forced to make an emergency landing in northwestern Australia, near Wyndham, on the desolate Kimberley coast.
In this region of Australia in 1932, there was virtually no developed radio network, so the onboard radio could not provide stable communication and was virtually useless in an emergency.
After ten days of intensive searching, rescue teams concentrated in the Darwin area failed to find any trace of the missing plane, and the official search was called off.
But the Germans turned out to be a stubborn bunch, and simply dying somewhere on the edge of the world wasn't in their plans. Soberly assessing their situation, without food or fresh water, they dismantled the float from their seaplane, equipped it with a semblance of a sail, and attempted to reach some place where they could be spotted.
After five days and nights of grueling rowing, having failed to attract the attention of a coastal steamship that passed just a few hundred meters from their homemade boat, the pilots returned to shore. To make matters worse, the bow of the floatboat had been smashed on the rocks, rendering it unfit for further navigation.
They then made several attempts to meet someone by walking along the shore, but found no sign of human habitation. They then made another attempt to escape by sea, using the stern half of the float as a boat, but to no avail.
An archive photo of the Junkers Ju W.33 Atlantis without its left float.[/ Center]
Forty days after the crash landing, they were discovered by a search party of Australian Aborigines. Both pilots were practically on the verge of death. Bertram had lost several teeth, and Klausmann, as they would say today, had "gone nuts." Both were so weak from hunger that they could only swallow food after it had been chewed by their Aborigine rescuers.
A photo taken immediately after the rescue. From left to right: Adolf Klausmann, Hans Bertram, police officer Gordon Marshall, and local residents.
But after just 12 days, Bertram recovered and, using a float taken from another seaplane, retrieved Atlantis from the landing site.
It's worth noting that throughout this ordeal, the pilots continued to take photographs, which have survived to this day. Upon returning to Germany, Bertram wrote a book, "Flight to Hell," in which he described his and Adolf Klausmann's experiences.
This marked the beginning of another of his professions: as a writer, and later as a film director and screenwriter.
Having become a member of the SA – the NSDAP storm troopers (Sturmabteilung) – in 1934, by the end of the 30s he had transferred to serve in the film and propaganda unit of the Luftwaffe, where he shot and supervised propaganda aviation films about the Luftwaffe, popularizing his experiences as an aviator to create a heroic image of German aviation.
In total, Hans Bertram published six books and was directly involved in the production of eleven films. He did not take direct part in military operations.
After the war, in 1954, Hans Bertram founded Bayerischer Flugdienst (Bavarian Air Service), which began operating regional air services in 1970. That same year, Hans Bertram GmbH, an aerial photography company, spun off from this air service. Incidentally, this company still exists today.
Hans Bertram died on January 8, 1993 in Munich, having lived almost 88 years.
Hanna Reitsch: "In the name of Hitler, I flew through hell"
In short, Hanna Reitsch was one of the most famous and successful female aviators in Germany in the 20th century. She held over 40 records in various classes and types of aircraft and gliders of the time. And because she was a fanatical supporter of the Nazi regime, her name was literally celebrated throughout Germany.
Hanna Reitsch. On the ribbon is the Iron Cross 2nd Class, next to the gold Glider Badge with diamonds.
Hanna Reitsch was born on March 29, 1912, in Hirschberg, Silesia, to Dr. Willi Reitsch, who ran an eye clinic. This is now the Polish town of Jelenia Gora.
In 1932, she began studying medicine in Berlin and Kiel and, in parallel, in the same year, she received her glider and airplane pilot's license. in 1932 yeary, she set her first world record among women for the duration of a glider flight (5,5 hours in the air).
Since 1933, Reitsch began working as an instructor at a gliding school. 25 September 1933 She once again set a world record for continuous flight for women, lasting 7 hours and 58 minutes.
From June 1934 onwards, Hanna Reitsch worked as a test pilot at the German Gliding Research Institute (Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug, DFS) in Griesheim.
And then, simply in chronological order:
1934 — world altitude record in a glider among women (2000 m)
1934 — world record for distance in gliding among women (160 km)
1935 — successful test flights of the DFS Seeadler seaplane, including launches from the water surface of Lake Constance
Seaplane DFS (Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug) Seeadler
1936 — world record for distance in gliding among women (350 km)
1937 — the first ever crossing of the Alps in a glider piloted by a woman
1937 — the first woman in the world to be awarded the title of "Captain of a Civil Aircraft." The title was personally awarded by the Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe and Reich Minister of Aviation, Hermann Göring.
1937 — the first woman in the world to pilot a helicopter (Focke-Wulf Fw.61); also performed a flight indoors (Deutschlandhalle) in Berlin
Focke FW.61 piloted by Hanna Reitsch in the spring of 1938. The world's first helicopter flight took place indoors at the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin.
1937 — world record for helicopter flight range (109 km)
1938 — a world record in gliding: a route flight with a return to the departure airfield (250 km)
Hanna Reitsch and Captain Knoetsch with a DFS Habicht glider in 1938 at Kassel-Waldau airfield.
1938 — victory in the German glider flight distance competition on the route Sylt (North Sea) — Breslau (Silesia), with the completion of an interregional flight across Germany
1939 — a world record among women in a glider flight to a given target (Zielflug), with a precise exit to the designated route point
1943 —Hanna Reitsch, a test pilot at the Rechlin Center, carried out test flights on the Messerschmitt Me.163A (in glider mode and under tow), becoming one of the first women to work with a prototype aircraft equipped with a liquid-propellant rocket engine.
1944 — the first woman in the world to perform familiarization and test flights on Messerschmitt Me.262 and Heinkel He.162 jet aircraft
If you delve into the period from 1932 to 1945, it becomes difficult to imagine how a very young woman, 150 centimeters tall, managed to carry out tasks that were unlikely to be within the capabilities of even the most seasoned aces of the Luftwaffe.
In September 1937, Reitsch was assigned as a test pilot to the Luftwaffe test center at Rechlin, where she tested Junkers Ju.87 dive bombers, as well as various other types of bombers and fighters.
Beginning in 1937, Hanna Reitsch tested one of the world's first helicopters, the Focke-Wulf Fw.61. On one flight, she reached an altitude of over 2300 meters.
Her November 1938 flight on the Horten brothers' Horten H II flying wing (registration number D-11-187) is also documented. In her test report, she noted that due to her small stature, she had difficulty operating the landing gear lever—in short, she could barely reach it.
Horten Ho II L glider
In 1939, test pilot Reitsch flew the large DFS 230 troop glider, and in 1941 she participated in testing the Me.321 heavy transport glider.
The DFS 230 assault glider from Deutsche Forschungsanstalt
The largest military transport glider of its time, the Me.321 Gigant
Reitsch also participated in tests of a device for cutting British barrage balloon cables, mounted in front of the nose of Dornier Do.17 and Heinkel He.111 aircraft, to test its effectiveness under real-life flight conditions. During such a test in March 1941, she nearly died, and the Führer himself, Adolf Hitler, awarded her the Iron Cross Second Class—an award usually given only to men.
Award ceremony for the Iron Cross, 2nd class
"His (Hitler's) relaxed and simple manner radiated a confidence that was transmitted to everyone around him. Göring was also present, beaming like a father allowed to show off his well-behaved child," wrote Hanna Reitsch in her memoirs.
In 1942, Reitsch flew the prototype of the future Messerschmitt Me.163 liquid-propellant interceptor, but only in tow mode, without an engine or fuel. She was prohibited from flying with the engine on by orders "from above" due to her high propaganda value and the increased risk of accidents during takeoff.
However, during an emergency landing in an Me.163B, she suffered a serious head injury when her face hit the collimator sight. This wasn't the first or last incident—Reitsch suffered serious injuries on numerous occasions during test flights.
Messerschmitt Me.163B
In addition to flying the Me.163, she participated in testing the manned version of the winged missiles The Fieseler Fi.103 (Reichenberg) was a modification of the V-1 designed for kamikaze attacks. In February 1944, she presented this design to Hitler, and although the Luftwaffe command never made a decision to carry out such operations, she was nevertheless authorized to conduct test flights and began training pilots for such missions. However, the Allied landings in Normandy disrupted these plans.
Hanna Reich at a test of the Fieseler Fi.103 (Reichenberg) manned cruise missile.
But Hanna Reitsch's most famous and risky operation was her flight to besieged Berlin at the end of April 1945. Taking off from the Munich area in a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch light liaison aircraft, she delivered Luftwaffe Field Marshal Robert Ritter von Greim almost directly to Adolf Hitler's bunker.
On approach to the city, the plane came under heavy fire from Soviet anti-aircraft guns. artilleryThe plane was damaged and von Greim was seriously wounded in the leg, but Reitsch managed to land the plane right in the city center in the Tiergarten area on an improvised airstrip.
Fieseler Fi.156 Storch
On the same day, Adolf Hitler appointed the wounded von Greim as Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe to replace Hermann Göring.
According to the memoirs of Rochus Misch, Adolf Hitler's personal telephone operator and bodyguard, and one of the last witnesses to the events in the Führer's bunker, Hanna Reitsch tried to persuade Magda Goebbels to leave Berlin with her children.
“My God, Frau Goebbels, even if I have to fly twenty times to get the children out, they must not stay here,” Misch recalled Reitsch saying.
In response, Magda Goebbels stated:
"My children would rather die than live in shame and ridicule."
She then poisoned her six children with cyanide and then committed suicide along with Joseph Goebbels.
By this time, Hanna Reitsch was already in the air again. She later learned that her parents, sister, and other relatives had also committed suicide in the lead-up to the Red Army's arrival in Silesia.
It's worth noting: despite being a literal icon of Nazi propaganda, a fanatical supporter of the Hitler regime, a fervent adherent of the Führer, personally acquainted with SS Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler since 1943, and a favorite of Hermann Göring, Hanna Reitsch was not a member of the NSDAP. She even declined honorary membership in the Bund Deutscher Mädel (Bund Deutscher Mädel), a women's youth organization that was part of the Hitler Youth.
Nevertheless, Reitsch voluntarily and selflessly served the Nazi regime. At the outbreak of war, the pilot gave patriotic lectures throughout Germany, describing her work as a test pilot and urging young people to serve their country. To promote propaganda and boost morale, she also visited the Eastern Front in late 1943. Until the very end of the war, she fanatically refused to believe that Nazi Germany was already inevitably defeated.
For her services to the Third Reich, personal heroism and courage, she was recognized and awarded the distinctive military pilot badge, the gold observer pilot badge with diamonds, the Iron Cross of the 2nd and 1st degree, and the Silesian Eagle badge.
A few days after the Berlin mission, Reitsch was captured by the Americans and spent 18 months in displaced persons camps. Beginning in the mid-50s, she resumed active flying as a pilot, flying gliders, airplanes, and helicopters, setting over a dozen records.
Hanna Reitsch passed away on August 24, 1979, at the age of 67, in Frankfurt am Main.
Germany from the mid-1920s until the early 1940s was rich in outstanding pilots who were not formally part of the air force.
Among them we can note:
Erich Klöckner — a test pilot, glider pilot, and participant in the DFS experimental programs. In 1940, he set an altitude record of 11,460 meters in a DFS Kranich glider.
Liesel Bach — a pilot, aerobatics master, flight instructor and test pilot, one of the most famous female pilots in Germany in the 1930s.
Wolf Hirth - one of the most important figures in German gliding: a pilot, designer, popularizer and organizer, who played a fundamental role in the development of soaring flight in Germany.
Magda von Etzdorf - one of the most famous German pilots of the pre-war period, the first female Lufthansa pilot to complete a record-breaking solo flight from Germany to Japan.
Melitta Schenk, Countess von Stauffenberg — a German aerodynamic engineer and outstanding test pilot who participated in the testing of dive bombers; one of the most qualified female test pilots of her time, with thousands of dives during her career.
Above, I spoke in more detail about three outstanding pilots and extraordinary personalities only to use their example to once again demonstrate what results can be achieved by the fusion of professionalism, iron will, unbending character, faith and idea – sometimes verging on fanaticism.
Germany in those distant years was very proud of its pilots, and Deutsche Luft Hansa AG, the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, and the Reich Aviation Ministry (Reichsluftfahrtministerium) did everything to ensure that German pilots set more and more records, and that their names thundered not only throughout the country, but also far beyond its borders.
This is how the personnel foundation of the Luftwaffe was created – the air force of the Third Reich, whose power, in the eyes of the German leadership at the time, was supposed to be all-crushing.
And Germany was very close to this until, first in Spain, our pilots showed the Germans that "not everything is Shrovetide," then the British in the Battle of Britain really gave Goering's fledglings a beating, and from 1941 to 1945, Stalin's falcons from the East and the Allies from the West finally broke the wings of the Luftwaffe, whose forerunner in the 1920s and 1930s was Deutsche Luft Hansa AG. But it didn't come easy...
From Luft Hansa to Lufthansa
After Germany's defeat in 1945, the aviation system was completely dismantled. However, in the post-war period, a gradual restoration of civil aviation began. In the divided Germany, it was the western zone that became the basis for new aviation development.
With the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949, a national airline was essentially re-established, inheriting the historical name—Deutsche Lufthansa. The new Lufthansa was not a direct continuation of the pre-war structure: it was created under different political and legal conditions, under strict international supervision, and without integration with military objectives.
Nevertheless, the symbolic continuity was obvious.
The revived Deutsche Lufthansa AG once again linked Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin into a single civilian network, but this time within a fundamentally different model—commercial, rather than mobilized and military. Thus, decades after the collapse of the pre-war system, German civil aviation returned to its former self, but in a completely changed historical context.
The next article will cover the Third Reich's Luftwaffe in detail, including its selection criteria, pilot training, and how it fought.
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