Hanna Reitsch
German aviator (1912-1979) · Germany · On the map · Died at 67
She set over 40 altitude and endurance records in the 1930s, then flew experimental aircraft for the Third Reich - and walked out of the Führerbunker days before Hitler's suicide, one of the last to see him alive.
Hanna Reitsch is read about 855 times a day, in 38 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 1 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 400 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A life in dates
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Also in Deutsch
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Photos 8
Bundesarchiv Bild 183-B02092, Hanna Reitsch_beside_a_Motanol_F_glider_1933_Robert_Sennecke%2C_Internationaler_Illustrations-Verlag_Berlin_Narodowe_Archiwum_Cyfrowe_Public_domain.jpg?width=1200)
3 1 0 17 11317 20371 Hanna Reitsch (German female aviator WW2 test pilot 1912-79) beside a Motanol F glider 1933 Robert Sennecke, Internationaler Illustrations-Verlag Berlin Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe Public domain_in_the_cockpit_of_a_Motanol_F_glider_1934_Atlantic_Photo-Gesellschaft_mbH_Berlin_Narodowe_Archiwum_Cyfrowe_Public_domain.jpg?width=1200)
3 1 0 17 11318 20372 Hanna Reitsch (German female aviator WW2 test pilot 1912-79) in the cockpit of a Motanol F glider 1934 Atlantic Photo-Gesellschaft mbH Berlin Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe Public domain_during_a_meal_Presse_Photo_GmbH_Berlin_Narodowe_Archiwum_Cyfrowe_PD.jpg?width=1200)
3 1 0 17 3316 165008 Finnish-German glider team. Hanna Reitsch (German female aviator WW2 test pilot 1912-79) during a meal Presse Photo GmbH Berlin Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe PD
3 2 0 - 12802 179841 Hanna Reitsch German female aviator WW2 test pilot 1912-79 Iron Cross 2 class EKII Karl Hanke 1903-45 NSDAP Gauleiter Niederschlesien Ehrenburger zu Hirschberg Jelenia Góra 1941-04-04 Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe_diploma_of_Jelenia_G%C3%B3ra_(Hirschberg_i._Rsgb.)_awarded_1941-04-05_to_Flugkapit%C3%A4n_Hanna_Reitsch_(German_aviator_WW2_test_pilot_1912-79)_Werner_Blasius_NAC_archives.jpg?width=1200)
3 9 0 1.10 310 49372308 Honorary citizenship (Ehrenbürgerrecht) diploma of Jelenia Góra (Hirschberg i. Rsgb.) awarded 1941-04-05 to Flugkapitän Hanna Reitsch (German aviator WW2 test pilot 1912-79) Werner Blasius NAC archives_in_the_glider_Grunau_Baby_at_the_airfield_near_present-day_%C5%81omnicka_Street_in_Jelenia_G%C3%B3ra_Hirschberg_1935-39_Narodowe_Archiwum_Cyfrowe_Public_domain.jpg?width=1200)
3 9 0 1.8 91 48553679 Hanna Reitsch (German female aviator WW2 test pilot 1912-79) in the glider Grunau Baby at the airfield near present-day Łomnicka Street in Jelenia Góra Hirschberg 1935-39 Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe Public domain
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F051625-0295, Verleihung des EK an Hanna Reitsch durch HitlerIn their own words 1
, And what have we now in Germany? A land of bankers and car-makers. Even our great army has gone soft. Soldiers wear beards and question orders.
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About this person
Hanna Reitsch made her name in gliding during the 1930s, breaking more than 40 records in altitude and endurance for unpowered flight. She became a test pilot for Germany during World War II, flying experimental aircraft in combat conditions. In April 1945, she was among the very last people to meet Adolf Hitler in the Führerbunker before his suicide. After her capture, she gave information about her departure from Berlin and denied any role in helping Hitler escape. In the 1960s, the West German foreign office sponsored her as a technical adviser in Ghana and elsewhere, where she founded a gliding school and worked for Kwame Nkrumah. She died on 24 August 1979.