Description:

HANNA REITSCH, ROBERT VON GREIM, AND THE SURRENDER OF GERMANY
FRITZ EDELHOFF German pilot, assigned to Aufklarungsstaffel 1.(F)/Nacht, who took Field Marshal Robert Ritter von Greim and Hanna Reitsch on the final leg of their escape from Berlin to Austria following their last ditch effort to convince Hitler to flee. Although it is known Reitsch and von Greim were romantically involved it was also suggested that she and Edelhoff were lovers and quite possibly engaged. Edelhoff started his military career with the 4th Mounted Battalion of the 3rd Prussian Artillery Regiment as a Kanonier. He later transferred to the Luftwaffe, logging his first fight on June 7th, 1939 in a Junkers 52 multi-engined transport/bomber. His career would last through the very end of the war, seeing him rise through the enlisted ranks to become an officer in his own right, earning a wide variety of German awards including a German Cross in Gold, an Ehrenpokal, and Iron Crosses, First and Second Class. Offered here are two flight logs for Leutnant Edelhoff, covering a period from 1939 to 1945, with 701 flights listed. Edelhoff spent most of his listed flights in Dornier Do217 and Heinkel He 111 aircraft, though a number of other craft are listed. The entries are untranslated, but certainly include his many bombing missions and related flights. Of the greatest importance is his last flight. The final listed flight is May 7, 1945, 8:00 PM to 9:05 PM, from Koeniggraz (now Hradec Kralove, Poland) to Graz, Austria. This would be Hanna Reitsch's last military-related flight, and her last flight of the war! Until now, von Greim's and Reitsch's movements immediately following their departure from the bunker have not been widely known, if at all. Edelhoff's notes beside this final entry indicate that he carried 'Gen. Feldm. Ritter v. Greim Hanna Reitsch u[nd] Dr. Heiler...' on the journey. Reitsch also details this flight in her autobiography 'Flying is my Life' stating 'the night of April 30th...we heard the radio announcement of Hitler's death and the formation of the new German Government under Donitz. Greim was impatient to get to his command in Bohemia and after another short visit to Plon to see Donitz, we flew in a Dornier 217 to Koniggratz...' Of course, von Greim and Reitsch had only a few days earlier attempted to convince Hitler to flee Berlin with them in the Arado Ar 96 Reitsch had bravely landed on an improvised airstrip near the bunker. Hitler refused their offer, and they departed via the same airstrip, now it is clear making their way to Koeniggraz where Edelhoff received them for the trip to their ultimate destination, Austria. Von Greim would be arrested the very next day by American soldiers, having in his possession Donitz's explicit orders to him to cease all hostilities. Shortly thereafter, fearing his execution following a prisoner exchange with the Soviets, von Greim took his own life. An important set of logbooks, worthy of a full translation. Sold with this lot is a massive photograph album compiled by Edelhoff and documenting much of his important military career in the Luftwaffe, 18 x 14 in., containing about 550 photographs. About two-thirds of the images, all 2.5 x 3.5 or larger, are military in nature, the balance showing him and various sites he visited in France, Munich, the German mountains, etc. while on leave. Aufklarungsstaffel 1.(F)/Nacht, formed June 1, 1941, served in Poland, Russia, Norway, Hungary, Romania, Germany and ended the war in Denmark. The album opens with a printed image of the unit's insignia and photos of many of his fellow officers, a good many killed during the war as indicated by crosses beside their names. Other images show: Do-217 bombers in Russia, planes wrecked on the runway, pilots in the cockpit, funeral services and cemeteries, interior and exterior views of a radio truck, convoys and field quarters in Russia, a wrecked train, life in the field, airplane maintenance, captured Soviets, celebratory dinners, inspections, destroyed Russian aircraft and armor, frigid conditions in Norway and Rostov, destruction in Kharkiv, starving civilians, a Carpathian mass funeral, wartime Budapest, occupied Paris, and much more. Overall in fine condition.

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January 25, 2023 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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