Hans Baur

Hans Baur
Hans Baur in the 1950s
Born	19 June 1897 Ampfing, German Empire
Died	17 February 1993(1993-02-17) (aged 95) Herrsching, Germany
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Rank	Gruppenführer and Generalleutnant of the Police
Unit	Die Fliegerstaffel des Führers
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War

Hans Baur (19 June 1897 – 17 February 1993) was Adolf Hitler's pilot during Hitler's political campaigns of the early 1930s. He later became Hitler's personal pilot and leader of the Reichsregierung squadron. Apprehended by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II in Europe, he was imprisoned in the USSR for ten years before being extradited to France on 10 October 1955, where he was imprisoned until 1957. He died in Herrsching, Bavaria, in 1993.

World War I and interwar period

Baur was born in Ampfing, Bavaria. He was called up to the Bavarian Army in 1915, and trained in field artillery. He then joined the Luftstreitkräfte (air force) as an artillery spotter. After the war, Baur joined the Freikorps under Franz von Epp. He went on to became a courier flier for the Bavarian airmail service. Beginning in 1922, Baur was a pilot for Bayrische Luftlloyd, and then Junkers Luftverkehr.

In 1926, Baur became a pilot of Deutsche Luft Hansa. In the same year, Baur also became a member of the NSDAP (Nazi Party No. 48,113). On 1 April 1931 Baur flew the opening flight of the Berlin-Munich-Rome route, known as the Alpine flight, whose passengers included Nuntius Eugenio Pacelli, Arturo Toscanini and Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria.

Hitler's personal pilot

On 10 March 1943, under heavy security, Hitler flew in to Army Group South's headquarters at Zaporozh'ye, Ukraine. Erich von Manstein is greeting Hitler; on the right are Baur and Wolfram von Richthofen.

Hitler was the first politician to campaign by air travel, deciding that travel by plane was more efficient than travel by railway. Baur first piloted him during the 1932 General Election.

Hitler obtained his first private aeroplane, a Junkers Ju 52/3m with registration number D-2600 (Werk Nr. 4021), in February 1933, on becoming German Chancellor. Powered by BMW 132 licence-built Pratt and Whitney radial engines, it was named Immelmann II after the First World War pilot Max Immelmann. Baur was personally selected by Hitler to be his official pilot in 1933 and thereby released from service by Luft Hansa.

Fliegerstaffel des Führers

Baur was appointed head of the Hitler's personal squadron, initially based at Oberwiesenfeld, Munich. As the Luftwaffe was not yet officially established, Hitler wanted Baur to be able to command sufficient power and respect to assure his security, therefore, Baur was commissioned a Standartenführer (colonel) in the Schutzstaffel (SS No. 171,865) by Heinrich Himmler in October, 1933.

Adolf Hitler's personal Fw 200 Condor, bearing the insignia of the Fliegerstaffel des Führers on its nose

In 1934, after the death of von Hindenburg, Hitler reorganised the government and created the Regierungsstaffel (Government squadron), making Baur the head. That same year, Baur was promoted to the rank of SS-Oberführer. After Hitler became Führer, he increasingly relied on Baur for advice about air war policy and technical developments. He allowed Baur to fill his squadron with experienced Luft Hansa pilots, including Georg Betz who became co-pilot for Hitler's aircraft and Hans Baur's substitute.

Although he tried to convert Baur to vegetarianism, Hitler also invited him to the Reich Chancellery for his favourite meal of pork and dumplings for his 40th birthday, and gave him a Mercedes Benz to replace his personal Ford. In September 1939, the squadron was renamed Die Fliegerstaffel des Führers.

Führerbunker and Soviet detention

On 31 January 1944, Baur was promoted to SS-Brigadeführer (brigadier general) and major general of the police; and on 24 February 1945 became an SS-Gruppenführer (major general) and Generalleutnant of the Police.

During the last days of the war, Baur was with Hitler in the Führerbunker. Baur had devised a plan to allow Hitler to escape from the Battle of Berlin; a Fieseler Fi 156 Storch was held on standby which could take off from an improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten, near the Brandenburg Gate. However, Hitler refused to leave Berlin. On 26 April 1945, the improvised landing strip was used by Hanna Reitsch to fly in Colonel-General Robert Ritter von Greim, appointed by Hitler as head of the Luftwaffe after Hermann Göring's dismissal. During the evening of 28 April, Reitsch flew von Greim out on the same road-strip to Plon.

On 29 April 1945, the Soviet Red Army launched an all-out attack on the centre of Berlin. The Soviet artillery opened up with intense fire in and around the Reich Chancellery area. That evening in the bunker complex below the Chancellery garden, Hitler said his farewell to his personal pilots, Baur and Betz. Baur pleaded with Hitler to leave Berlin. The men volunteered to fly Hitler out of Germany in a Ju 390 and to safety. It was in vain as Hitler turned Baur down, stating he had to stay in Berlin.

Baur stayed in the bunker complex until Hitler committed suicide on the afternoon of 30 April. After Hitler's suicide, Baur found the improvised road-strip too pot-holed for use and overrun by the Soviet 3rd Shock Army. A plan was devised to escape out from Berlin to the Allies on the western side of the Elbe or to the German Army to the North. SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke split up the Reich Chancellery and Führerbunker soldiers and personnel into ten main groups. Baur, Betz and Martin Bormann left the Reich Chancellery as part of one of the groups. During the escape attempt, Baur was shot in the legs, and the wound was so serious that his right lower leg was later amputated in Posen on 10 June 1945.

Captured by the Soviet forces in a hospital, Baur was of great interest to his captors, who believed he might have flown Hitler to safety before the fall of Berlin. They also believed he had information concerning stolen art, specifically about the plundering of the Amber Room (Bernsteinzimmer) in Leningrad. He was imprisoned for ten years in the USSR before being released on 10 October 1955. The French then imprisoned him until 1957.

Later life and book

Baur returned to West Germany and in 1957 wrote his autobiography Ich flog mit Mächtigen, which liberally translates as "I flew with [the] mighty." The book was later lengthened and the title was changed to Mit Mächtigen zwischen Himmel und Erde, which translates as "Between Heaven and Earth with [the] Mighty." The French translation is more softly titled J'étais pilote de Hitler: Le sort du monde était entre mes mains, which translates to "I was Hitler's pilot: The fate of the world was in my hands."

The book contains a collection of eyewitness accounts of Hitler's daily activities and conversations and is unique because Hans Baur, as his private pilot and personal friend, was in Hitler's presence practically every day from 1933 to 1945. The book contains an account of the events surrounding the arrest of Ernst Roehm, by Hitler himself, on 30 June 1934 at Bad Wiessee in which Baur took part. The book also tells of Baur's dislike for Hermann Göring (whom Baur describes as a "thick headed glutton"). Hans Baur was one of the few people who was truly close to Hitler. Baur was one of the last persons to see Hitler alive in the Berlin bunker. The book has since been translated into English and is an insider look into Hitler's daily life and doings as leader of the German Reich.

Baur died in Germany on 17 February 1993.

Personal life

Hans Baur married Elfriede Braur in 1923. Their only daughter Ingeborg was born the following year. After Elfriede Baur's death from cancer in 1935, Baur married again, with Hitler as his best man. His second wife Maria, by whom he had two daughters, died while he was in captivity in the Soviet Union. His third wife, Cresentia, survived him.

References

Bibliography

• Fischer, Thomas (2008). Soldiers of the Leibstandarte: SS-Brigadefuhrer Wilhelm Mohnke and 62 Soldiers of Hitler's Elite Division. Winnipeg: J.J. Fedorowicz. ISBN 978-0-921991-91-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Hoffmann, Peter (2000). Hitler's Personal Security: Protecting the Führer 1921–1945. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0-30680-947-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Joachimsthaler, Anton (1999) [1995]. The Last Days of Hitler: The Legends, the Evidence, the Truth. Trans. Helmut Bögler. London: Brockhampton Press. ISBN 978-1-86019-902-8. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Kershaw, Ian (2008). Hitler: A Biography. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06757-6. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• O'Donnell, James P. (1978). The Bunker: The History of the Reich Chancellery Group. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-25719-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)