From Nazi Test Pilot to Hitler's Bunker [Hardcover]

Dennis Piszkiewicz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0275954560 | ISBN-13: 978-0275954567 | Publication Date: 1997 | Edition: First

This is the amazing story of Hanna Reitsch, a woman who excelled in an environment that for most was extremely repressive--Germany before and during World War II. She achieved personal success when she escaped the culturally defined role of wife and mother in Nazi Germany to live her passion for flying. Reitsch began her career flying gliders, setting both distance and endurance records in the 1930s. As the war approached she became a test pilot for new and dangerous aircraft for the Luftwaffe. The aircraft she flew included a large number of gliders and military aircraft, including Focke-Achgelis FW 61 Hubschrauber (the first practical helicopter), the jet-powered piloted version of the V-1 buzz bomb, and the rocket-powered Messerschmitt 163. Her achievements as a test pilot made her a celebrity in Nazi Germany and earned her an Iron Cross and the friendship of Hitler. As a friend of the Fuehrer, she became an eyewitness to the fall of the Third Reich. In the final days of World War II, she flew with her friend and lover, Luftwaffe General Robert Ritter von Greim--to join Hitler in his bunker. Minutes before Hitler was to marry Eva Braun, Reitsch and von Greim--on Hitler's orders--flew from Berlin to Rechlin in a desperate attempt to rally the Luftwaffe and save the Reich. After the war, Reitsch was interviewed as a potential witness for the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. Her interviewer stated that "[Hanna's] account of the flight into Berlin to report to Hitler and of her stay in the Fuehrer's bunker is probably as accurate a one as will be obtained of those last days." It has remained so for half a century. This book also recounts a vivid and remarkable encounter in a cemetery in Kitzbuehel, Austria, in June of 1945, between Leni Riefenstahl, the filmmaker, perhaps the only other woman to be so successful in the Third Reich, and Hanna Reitsch. During this chance encounter, Hanna shows the letters of Josef and Magda Goebbels to Riefenstahl and the reader shares their shocking contents. Hanna Reitsch found in the Nazi establishment opportunities and rewards for her achievements. Consorting with the devil paid well; yet, in the end, she was called on to pay back more than she had received. Her story shows how hard it is for a woman to excel in a repressive society, and how that success can lead to defeat and misery.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“'Stratosphere' was the nickname her classmates in flying school gave to Hanna Reitsch for her daring and often reckless exploits--caught up in a storm, she flew a glider higher than that plane had ever been flown before. In this fast-paced biography, Piszkiewicz charts the career of the diminutive (barely five feet tall) pilot who abandoned her medical studies in 1934 to concentrate on training as a pilot. Reitsch rose quickly to become a renowned test pilot and came to the attention of Hitler himself. One of the most dramatic moments in the book occurs when the outspoken Reitsch, as a meeting in Berchtesgaden, openly contradicts the Fuhrer.”–Publishers Weekly

“Piszkiewicz presents the singular career of German test pilot Hanna Reitsch.... In spite of family opposition and the social climate, she pursued her love [of flying] and at one time held, unofficially, most of the glider endurance, range, and altitude records. Shifting to powered aircraft, she became one of the best-known women of the Third Reich... Her ability was outstanding, her political judgement less so, though her cultivation of top-ranking Nazis seems to have been done as much to secure mentors as to support Nazi ideology. Proof that historically 'lost' women come in all shapes, sizes, and political colorations, this biography is a worthwhile addition to the literature of aviation.”–Booklist

“The biography of this remarkable woman makes fascinating reading.”–American Aviation Historical Society Newsletter

About the Author

DENNIS PISZKIEWICZ was educated as a scientist and became interested in Hanna Reitsch while researching The Nazi Rocketeers (Praeger, 1995).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: Praeger Trade; First edition (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0275954560
• ISBN-13: 978-0275954567
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #876,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sophomorically written, poorly researched, biased, June 6, 2004

By 

Gloria Thurman "Alpha Control Press" (Dunlap, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From Nazi Test Pilot to Hitler's Bunker (Hardcover)

A poor book. Sophomorically written, better suited to youngsters. The author has a poor knowledge of the Third Reich and is heavily biased against Germans of that era. If you are interested in Hanna Reitsch find a copy of her autobiography FLYING IS MY LIFE.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Personal Commentary Included, March 25, 2008

By 

Ryan C. Johnson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From Nazi Test Pilot to Hitler's Bunker (Hardcover)

I found this book to be biased against Hanna. It is quite useless. It's more of an attack on Hanna than anything else. It has personal commentary occasionally throughout the book that ruins the reading of Hanna's achievements, and is not recommended for first time Hanna readers.

It is "flying is my life" her original book, with added commentary. There is nothing really different. It ruined my Hanna experience.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not up to even the loosest scholarly standard, March 24, 2010

By 

Dietrich (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Nazi Test Pilot to Hitler's Bunker (Hardcover)

As other readers have noted, this work is little more than a poorly written and biliously annotated version of Hannah Reitsh's memoir "Sky My Kingdom". Anyone with even a passing interest in either the subject or the era (or in good writing in general) would be far better off purchasing SKY MY KINGDOM, THE: Memoirs of the Famous German World War II Test Pilot, which is available here on Amazon.