I was thinking today about an experience I had about 25 years ago, which some #Histodons might know something about and which might be of interest to others. I grew up in Pforzheim, a town in Southern Germany that was destroyed in an air raid in 1945. (1/🧵)
Around February 23, the day of the town's destruction in 1945, there are commemorative events, as well as a shameful vigil with torches conducted by neo-Nazis. The local newspaper "Pforzheimer Zeitung", which reports on this, had a display case near my school, and one day I stood in front of it and read the daily edition. (2/🧵)
An old woman was standing next to me and after a while she engaged me in conversation. She told me that as a teenager she experienced the last months of World War II as a "Luftwaffenhelferin" (basically a child soldier in the Luftwaffe). (3/🧵)
She told me that in the final months the Luftwaffe still had fighter planes, but no more pilots - and that she and other Luftwaffenhelferinnen were given a crash course and then put into fighter-interceptors. The aim of this was not that they score kills, but to feign strength and still-existing capacities. (4/🧵)
She described how she (in a very frightened state of mind) took part in several missions in Baden, was then transferred with her unit to the Rhine-Main area and continued to fly missions until there was no more fuel left. She also experienced the end of the war there. (5/🧵)
At the time, I had no idea that I would one day become a historian, so I listened to the story with interest, but made no effort to secure contact details. In recent years, I have occasionally thought about the story and made a cursory search on the internet - but have not found any mention of female child soldier pilots at the end of the Second World War. (6/🧵)
My question to you: How plausible is this story? Are you aware of similar cases? Has the old woman been pulling my leg - or have I possibly received a testimony of something that has not yet been particularly researched? (7/7, end of 🧵)
Given how many "impossible" things became possible in and around the german "Volkssturm" initiative towards the end of the war, I guess this in particular is also completely in the realm of possible, without having any factual proof myself.
For more context see also https://www.zeit.de/kultur/2015-05/wehrmacht-frauen-geschichtsschreibung-hagemann
@werner_habel@goldenassam@histodons@histodon@tag-histodons There were some female pilots - look up Hanna Reitsch, Beate Uhse (don't do this at work or in public ;) ) or Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg.
You also should take a look into this book, which should answer your question. The reviews are mentioning that female pilots were used at the end of the war