Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg
Encyclopedia
Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg, born Melitta Schiller (9 January 1903 — 8 April 1945), was a German
aviatrix
who served as a test pilot
for the German Luftwaffe before and during World War II
. She was the second German woman to be awarded the honorary title of Flugkapitän (flight captain) and also flew over 2,500 test sortie
s in dive bomber
s, the second most of any Luftwaffe test pilot. Von Stauffenberg was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class
and the Gold Front Flying Clasp for Bombers
with diamonds, for performing over 1,500 test flights in dive bomber aircraft. In 1944, she was arrested with other Stauffenberg family members for suspicion of conspiring with her brothers-in-law to assassinate Adolf Hitler
, but she was later released to continue her test flight duties. Von Stauffenberg died after being shot down by an allied
fighter plane on 8 April 1945.
, Prussia
. Her father was Michael Schiller, son of a fur-trading family, who had become a Protestant while young. Her mother was Margaret Eberstein. She had four siblings: Marie-Luise, Otto, Jutta and Klara. The family moved to Hirschberg
in Silesia
.
and engineering
, eventually specialising in aeronautical engineering at the Technical University of Munich
. In 1927 she graduated cum laude.
in 1936. Working for Askania
in Berlin, she developed navigation and steering systems for seaplane
s such as the Blohm + Voss Ha 139
and the Dornier Do 18
. She married the historian Alexander Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
in 1937.
On 28 October 1937, she qualified as a Flugkapitän, or "aircraft captain", a rank reserved for test pilots in Germany at the time, and became only the second woman in Germany, after Hanna Reitsch
, to achieve this. She eventually gained licences for all classes of powered aircraft, the acrobatic flying licence and the glider
licence.
, Melitta wanted to work for the Red Cross but was ordered to become a test pilot
for the Luftwaffe at the central Erprobungsstelle test facility
in Rechlin
, Mecklenburg
. She did test dives in warplanes, up to 15 times a day, from a height of 4,000 metres. Her work was considered highly important for the war effort, and this saved her and the Schiller family from deportation
to concentration camps.
From 1942, Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg continued her test-flights at the Luftwaffe's technical academy in Berlin-Gatow. She was attacked by Allied aircraft, and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class
on 22 January 1943. She made her dissertation for her Masters qualification in 1944, and received an A grade. She then became technical chief of the Versuchsstelle für Flugsondergeräte, another test institute, in the same year.
Her brother-in-law, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
, frequently asked Melitta in May and June 1944, to fly him from Berlin to Hitler's Wolfschanze headquarters and back. He confessed to her his plans to assassinate Hitler, and in spite of the danger she agreed to help him. She had no suitable plane to fly on 20 July 1944, and that is why the assassination attempt took place without her.
When the coup failed, she was arrested with the rest of the Stauffenberg
family. Although her two brothers-in-law were executed and the other adult members were held in concentration camps, she was released on 2 September, because of the military importance of her work. As the name von Stauffenberg was anything but popular among the Nazis, she was now officially addressed as "Gräfin Schenk" instead of "Gräfin Schenk von Stauffenberg". Her husband and her sisters-in-law were confined in concentration camps, and the Stauffenberg children were taken away from their mothers. Melitta used her prominent position to help as much as she could.
She felt loyal to Germany, but not to the National Socialists
. She therefore supported the Luftwaffe, but she confessed in her diaries that this moral conflict tormented her.
Bü 181 Bestmann trainer to Southern Germany, Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg was shot down by a U.S. fighter near Strasskirchen, Bavaria
. She crash-landed the aircraft, but died from bullet wounds a couple hours later, in Straubing
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
aviatrix
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
who served as a test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
for the German Luftwaffe before and during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. She was the second German woman to be awarded the honorary title of Flugkapitän (flight captain) and also flew over 2,500 test sortie
Sortie
Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
s in dive bomber
Dive bomber
A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target reduces the distance the bomb has to fall, which is the primary factor in determining the accuracy of the drop...
s, the second most of any Luftwaffe test pilot. Von Stauffenberg was awarded the Iron Cross Second Class
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
and the Gold Front Flying Clasp for Bombers
Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe
The Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe was awarded in Bronze, Silver, and Gold with upgrade possible to include diamonds. Pennants suspended from the clasp indicated the number of missions obtained in a given type of aircraft...
with diamonds, for performing over 1,500 test flights in dive bomber aircraft. In 1944, she was arrested with other Stauffenberg family members for suspicion of conspiring with her brothers-in-law to assassinate Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, but she was later released to continue her test flight duties. Von Stauffenberg died after being shot down by an allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
fighter plane on 8 April 1945.
Biography
Melitta was born in KrotoschinKrotoszyn
Krotoszyn is a town in central Poland with 30,010 inhabitants . It has been part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999; it was within Kalisz Voivodeship from 1975 to 1998....
, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
. Her father was Michael Schiller, son of a fur-trading family, who had become a Protestant while young. Her mother was Margaret Eberstein. She had four siblings: Marie-Luise, Otto, Jutta and Klara. The family moved to Hirschberg
Hirschberg
The German word Hirschberg is composed of Hirsch and Berg . It may refer to:* several places in Europe, including:** Hirschberg, Thuringia, Germany.** Hirschberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany....
in Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
.
Early life
Melitta passed the diploma for university-entrance in 1922. There she studied maths, physicsPhysics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, eventually specialising in aeronautical engineering at the Technical University of Munich
Technical University of Munich
The Technische Universität München is a research university with campuses in Munich, Garching, and Weihenstephan...
. In 1927 she graduated cum laude.
Aviation experience
Melitta started working for the Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt (DVL), an experimental institute for aviation, in Berlin-Adlershof in 1928. She also took flying lessons. Because of her Jewish ancestry she was released from the German LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
in 1936. Working for Askania
Askania
Askania Cinetheodolite is a camera-based system that measures and records azimuth, elevation, and time data on 35mm film along with an image of a target. Multiple cinetheodolites generally operated together and each system is slewed in azimuth and elevation to track the target...
in Berlin, she developed navigation and steering systems for seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s such as the Blohm + Voss Ha 139
Blohm + Voss Ha 139
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 4th impression 1979, p. 78-80. ISBN 0-356-02382-6....
and the Dornier Do 18
Dornier Do 18
The Dornier Do 18 was a development of the Do 16 flying boat. It was developed for the Luftwaffe, but Lufthansa got 5 aircraft and used these for tests between the Azores and the North American continent in 1936 and on their mail route over the South Atlantic from 1937 to 1939.27–29 March 1938 a...
. She married the historian Alexander Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Alexander Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Alexander Franz Clemens Maria Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a German aristocrat and historian.Alexander was the younger twin of Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg...
in 1937.
On 28 October 1937, she qualified as a Flugkapitän, or "aircraft captain", a rank reserved for test pilots in Germany at the time, and became only the second woman in Germany, after Hanna Reitsch
Hanna Reitsch
Hanna Reitsch was a German aviator and the only woman awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the Luftwaffe Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds during World War II...
, to achieve this. She eventually gained licences for all classes of powered aircraft, the acrobatic flying licence and the glider
Glider (sailplane)
A glider or sailplane is a type of glider aircraft used in the sport of gliding. Some gliders, known as motor gliders are used for gliding and soaring as well, but have engines which can, in some cases, be used for take-off or for extending a flight...
licence.
World War II
At the beginning of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Melitta wanted to work for the Red Cross but was ordered to become a test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
for the Luftwaffe at the central Erprobungsstelle test facility
Rechlin-Lärz Airfield
Rechlin-Lärz Airfield is an airfield in the village of Rechlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, which is certified for aviation equipment up to 14 tons weight...
in Rechlin
Rechlin
Rechlin is a municipality in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. The town's airport has a long history and was the Luftwaffe's main testing ground for new aircraft designs during the Third Reich....
, Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
. She did test dives in warplanes, up to 15 times a day, from a height of 4,000 metres. Her work was considered highly important for the war effort, and this saved her and the Schiller family from deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
to concentration camps.
From 1942, Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg continued her test-flights at the Luftwaffe's technical academy in Berlin-Gatow. She was attacked by Allied aircraft, and was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
on 22 January 1943. She made her dissertation for her Masters qualification in 1944, and received an A grade. She then became technical chief of the Versuchsstelle für Flugsondergeräte, another test institute, in the same year.
Her brother-in-law, Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg
Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg commonly referred to as Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg was a German army officer and Catholic aristocrat who was one of the leading members of the failed 20 July plot of 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler and remove the Nazi Party from...
, frequently asked Melitta in May and June 1944, to fly him from Berlin to Hitler's Wolfschanze headquarters and back. He confessed to her his plans to assassinate Hitler, and in spite of the danger she agreed to help him. She had no suitable plane to fly on 20 July 1944, and that is why the assassination attempt took place without her.
When the coup failed, she was arrested with the rest of the Stauffenberg
Stauffenberg
The Schenken von Stauffenberg are an aristocratic Roman Catholic family from Swabia in Germany, whose best-known member was Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg – the key figure in the 1944 "20 July plot" to assassinate Adolf Hitler....
family. Although her two brothers-in-law were executed and the other adult members were held in concentration camps, she was released on 2 September, because of the military importance of her work. As the name von Stauffenberg was anything but popular among the Nazis, she was now officially addressed as "Gräfin Schenk" instead of "Gräfin Schenk von Stauffenberg". Her husband and her sisters-in-law were confined in concentration camps, and the Stauffenberg children were taken away from their mothers. Melitta used her prominent position to help as much as she could.
She felt loyal to Germany, but not to the National Socialists
National Socialist German Workers Party
The National Socialist German Workers' Party , commonly known in English as the Nazi Party, was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. Its predecessor, the German Workers' Party , existed from 1919 to 1920...
. She therefore supported the Luftwaffe, but she confessed in her diaries that this moral conflict tormented her.
Death
On 8 April 1945, while transferring a small BückerBucker
Bucker may refer to:* Bücker Flugzeugbau*George Bucker, also known as Adam Damlip, Protestant martyr...
Bü 181 Bestmann trainer to Southern Germany, Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg was shot down by a U.S. fighter near Strasskirchen, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. She crash-landed the aircraft, but died from bullet wounds a couple hours later, in Straubing
Straubing
Straubing is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the district of Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Bavaria, is held....
.
Awards
- Iron Cross Second ClassIron CrossThe Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
- Gold Front Flying Clasp for Bombers with DiamondsFront Flying Clasp of the LuftwaffeThe Front Flying Clasp of the Luftwaffe was awarded in Bronze, Silver, and Gold with upgrade possible to include diamonds. Pennants suspended from the clasp indicated the number of missions obtained in a given type of aircraft...
External links
- Rudolf Nadolny at www.drk.de
- Melitta Schiller (1903 - 1945), Pioneer Aviatrix at www.ctie.monash.edu.au
- Schenk von Stauffenberg