Early Fascination with Flight

Hanna Reitsch developed an intense fascination with flying in her youth. Born in 1912 in Hirschberg, then part of the German Empire, she discovered gliding as a teenager. After completing secondary school, she entered aviation training at a time when flying was almost entirely male-dominated.

In her autobiography, she described being openly mocked for her size and gender. Her early flight training ended in repeated failures. She persisted. At twenty, she earned her pilot’s license and soon demonstrated exceptional endurance and technical control.

In 1931, she remained airborne for more than five hours, setting her first women’s world gliding record.

Record-Breaking Achievements

Reitsch’s rise was rapid. In 1934, she set the women’s world altitude record. In 1936, she achieved the women’s world distance record in gliding. In 1937, she set the overall distance world record for helicopters, surpassing all previous pilots regardless of gender. These achievements brought national recognition and institutional support from Germany’s aviation authorities.

Aviation Under National Socialism

After 1933, aviation was redefined as preparation for service in the Luftwaffe. Official policy emphasized flying as a male sphere, while women were pushed out of public life. Despite this, Reitsch became a test pilot. Her technical skill made her indispensable. At the Luftwaffe testing center in Rechlin, she flew bombers, fighters, and experimental aircraft under extreme risk.

Contemporaries described her as intensely ambitious and driven by a strong sense of honor. Her stated goal was to prove that she could fly as well as any man.

Propaganda and Public Image

The Nazi regime quickly recognized Reitsch’s propaganda value. Her helicopter flight inside Berlin’s Deutschlandhalle in 1938 was staged to demonstrate German technological superiority and received international attention. Although she never joined the Nazi Party, she accepted her role as a public symbol of the Luftwaffe.

War, Speed, and Injury

During World War II, Reitsch tested experimental aircraft. On October 30, 1942, she flew the Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, the first aircraft capable of exceeding 1,000 kilometers per hour. The test flight ended in a severe crash during landing. She suffered multiple skull fractures, facial fractures, and a crushed nose. In her autobiography, she wrote that her priority was documenting the technical cause of the accident before addressing her injuries.

Honors from Hitler

Adolf Hitler awarded Hanna Reitsch the Iron Cross, First Class, making her the only woman to receive the decoration. Though not a party member, she embraced her status as an icon of the Luftwaffe and retained access to senior Nazi leadership.

“Wonder Weapons” and Suicide Missions

Reitsch also tested Nazi “wonder weapons,” including the Fieseler Fi 103 flying bomb, later known as the V-1. She actively promoted a manned version of the weapon. The concept involved suicide missions. Pilots would guide the bomb to its target and die on impact. The project was tested but never deployed operationally.

Historians disagree on her motivation. Some argue ideological commitment. Others emphasize extreme patriotism. What is undisputed is that she crossed a moral threshold by advocating missions that required the deliberate sacrifice of others.

The Final Days of the Third Reich

In April 1945, Reitsch flew General Ritter von Greim into besieged Berlin at Hitler’s request. Soviet forces had encircled the city, and the aircraft came under fire. They arrived on April 26 and escaped on April 29. On April 30, Hitler committed suicide. Contemporary accounts describe the atmosphere in Berlin as grim and fatalistic even before his death.

Arrest and Postwar Classification

Reitsch fled to Tyrol, where she was arrested by American forces. In 1947, she was classified as “not affected” during denazification proceedings and released, based on her lack of formal Nazi Party membership. This decision remains contested in historical scholarship.

Legacy and Controversy

After the war, Reitsch maintained contact with former Nazi figures and appeared publicly wearing her Iron Cross. She never clearly distanced herself from National Socialism. Despite this, she continued flying. Shortly before her death in 1979, she set another women’s gliding world record at the age of sixty-seven. Her legacy remains technically extraordinary and morally unresolved.

The Passport

This is Hanna Reitsch’s passport from 1932 showing her occupation as flight captain.

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