Hitler's Heroine: Hanna Reitsch (31 page)

To Harald Quandt, 28 April 1945, as remembered by Hanna Reitsch; written in the Führer’s bunker

My Dear Harald,

We are now confined to the Führer’s bunker in the Reich Chancellery and are fighting for our lives and our honour. God alone knows what the outcome of this battle will be. I know, however, that we shall only come out of it, dead or alive, with honour and glory. I hardly think that we shall see each other again. Probably, therefore, these are the last lines you will ever receive from me. I expect from you that, should you survive this war, you will do nothing but honour your mother and me. It is not essential that we remain alive in order to continue to influence our people. You may well be the only one able to continue our family tradition. Always act in such a way that we need not be ashamed of it.

Germany will survive this fearful war but only if examples are set to our people enabling them to stand on their feet again. We wish to set such an example. You may be proud of having such a mother as yours. Yesterday the Führer gave her the Golden Party Badge which he has worn on his tunic for years and she deserved it. You should have only one duty in future: to show yourself worthy of the supreme sacrifice which we are ready and determined to make. I know that you will do it. Do not let yourself be disconcerted by the worldwide clamour which will now begin. One day the lies will crumble away of themselves and truth will triumph once more. That will be the moment when we shall tower over all, clean and spotless, as we have always striven to be and believed ourselves to be.

Farewell, my dear Harald. Whether we shall ever see each other again is in the lap of the gods. If we do not, may you always be proud of having belonged to a family which, even in misfortune, remained loyal to the very end to the Führer and his pure sacred cause.

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L
ETTER
FROM
M
AGDA
G
OEBBELS

To Harald Quandt, 28 April 1945, as remembered by Hanna Reitsch; written in the Führer’s bunker

My beloved Son,

We have now been here, in the Führer’s bunker, for six days – Papa, your six little brothers and sisters and I – in order to bring our National-Socialist existence to the only possible and honourable conclusion. I do not know whether you will receive this letter. Perhaps there is still one human soul who will make it possible for me to send you my last greetings. You should know that I have remained here against Papa’s will, that only last Sunday the Führer wanted to help me escape from here. You know your mother – we are of the same blood, so I did not have to reflect for a moment. Our splendid concept is perishing and with it goes everything beautiful, admirable, noble and good that I have known in my life. The world which will succeed the Führer and National Socialism is not worth living in and for this reason I have brought the children here too. They are too good for the life that will come after us and a gracious God will understand me if I myself give them release from it. You will go on living and I have one single request to make of you: never forget that you are a German, never do anything dishonourable and ensure that by your life our death is not in vain.

The children are wonderful. They make do in these very primitive conditions without any help. No matter whether they sleep on the floor, whether they can wash or not, whether they have anything to eat and so forth – never a word of complaint or a tear. Shell-bursts are shaking the bunker. The grown-ups protect the little ones, whose presence here is to this extent a blessing that from time to time they can get a smile from the Führer.

Yesterday evening the Führer took off his Golden Party Badge and pinned it on me. I am happy and proud. God grant that I retain the strength to do the last and most difficult thing. We have only one aim in life now – to remain loyal to the Führer unto death; that we should be able to end our life together with him is a gift of fate for which we would never have dared hope.

Harald, my dear – I give you the best that life has taught me: be true – true to yourself, true to mankind, true to your country – in every respect whatsoever.

[
new sheet
]

It is hard to start a fresh sheet. Who knows whether I shall complete it but I wanted to give you so much love, so much strength and take from you all sorrow at our loss. Be proud of us and try to remember us with pride and pleasure. Everyone must die one day and is it not better to live a fine, honourable, brave but short life than drag out a long life of humiliation?

The letter must go – Hanna Reitsch is taking it. She is flying out once more. I embrace you with my warmest, most heartfelt and most maternal love.

My beloved son

Live for Germany!

Your Mother

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S
ELECTED
W
ORLD
R
ECORDS
AND
A
WARDS
E
ARNED
BY
H
ANNA
R
EITSCH

1932  Women’s Gliding Endurance Record (5.5 hours’ gliding time)

1936  Women’s Gliding Distance Record (305km)

1937  First woman to cross the Alps (accidentally)

1937  Given rank of flugkapitän, first woman to receive such a promotion

1937  World Distance Record in a helicopter (109km)

1938  First person to fly a helicopter inside an enclosed space (debatable which of the two helicopter pilots present earned this)

1939  Women’s World Record in gliding (for point-to-point flying)

1943  First woman to fly a rocket plane (Messerschmitt 163b)

1943  Awarded the Iron Cross, First Class

1955  German Gliding Champion

1956  German Gliding Distance Record (370km)

1957  German Gliding Altitude Record (6,848m)

1970  Earned the Diamond Badge (FAI)

1971  First in Women’s Class at the World Helicopter Championship

1972  Made an honorary member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (America)

1972  Won Pilot of the Year (Arizona, US)

1978  Women’s World Record for flying over the Alps (10 hours)

B
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P
LATES

1 The Grunau Baby was one of the first gliders Hanna flew. It was Wolf Hirth’s personal Grunau that she took on a misadventure into a storm cloud, narrowly escaping with her life. In later years she was presented with her own Grunau.

2 The early days of gliding required a great deal of manual effort on the part of the students, but it also generated camaraderie, unless you were a woman – as Hanna discovered. Gliding with male students such as these was fraught with difficulties. (Joost J. Bakker)

3 The Wasserkuppe became synonymous with competitive gliding during the 1920s and 1930s and Hanna longed to fly there. Her first attempt at the Rhön soaring competition held at the Wasserkuppe was a disaster – she failed even to take off. (Marco Kluber)