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Hanna Reitsch was born on 29 March 1912 in Hirschberg, then part of the German Empire. On 30 January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg. That same year, Reitsch dropped out of medical school to become a full-time glider pilot and instructor. In 1934, Hanna Reitsch traveled to Brazil and Argentina as part of a German research expedition to test-fly gliders in extreme thermal conditions. In 1936, she became the first woman to cross the Alps in a glider and began testing brand-new airplanes for performance and safety—a life-threatening job for which she was appointed as the world's first female flight captain in 1937. Reitsch was the first female helicopter pilot and one of the few pilots to fly the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, the first fully controllable helicopter, for which she received the Military Flying Medal. In 1938, during the three weeks of the International Automobile Exhibition in Berlin, she made daily flights of the Fa 61 helicopter inside the Deutschlandhalle, which was an arena located in the Westend neighborhood of Berlin. Reitsch also tested dive brakes, and after the war began on the 1st September 1939, made dangerous attempts to cut British barrage balloons with a device attached to her aircraft's nose. When she nearly broke her neck doing this, Hitler awarded her the Iron Cross Second Class, usually reserved only for men, in March 1941. During the award ceremony, Reitsch had a chance to speak with Hitler, who made a striking impression on her. Join World History channel and get access to benefits: Disclaimer: All opinions and comments below are from members of the public and do not reflect the views of World History channel. We do not accept promoting violence or hatred against individuals or groups based on attributes such as: race, nationality, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation. World History has right to review the comments and delete them if they are deemed inappropriate. ► CLICK the SUBSCRIBE button for more interesting clips: #worldwar2videos #worldhistory #ww2
