Historia Magazine

The magazine of the Historical Writers Association

  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • New Books
    • TV, Film and Theatre
    • One From The Vaults
  • Latest Releases
  • Columns
    • Doctor Darwin’s Writing Tips
    • Watching History
    • Desert Island Books
  • Awards
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Historia in your inbox

Review: The Women who Flew for Hitler by Clare Mulley

20 June 2017 By Michelle Birkby

Clare Mulley has written a fascinating biography about two fascinating women.

You would have thought that two women who grew up in post-World War One Germany with a love for flying and an intense urge to succeed in becoming pilots, would have been allies, even friends. Instead, Hanna Reitsch and Melitta von Stauffenberg (nee Schiller) became bitter rivals.

This was not just a competition between the two darlings of German aviation. The two women had fundamentally different ideologies and beliefs, and their lives went down two very different paths.

As children, both Hanna Reitsch and Melitta Schiller longed to fly. Hanna would jump off tall trees, Melitta idolised the World War One pilots. After the Versailles agreement banned Germany from developing new military planes, Germany became obsessed with gliding, and this was the first path to flight for both women. Both joined gliding clubs and progressed to planes. Both were skilled pilots with natural skill and a lack of fear, and they were soon noticed by those outside the flying world. Hitler took a personal interest in them both.

Both women became symbols of a brave new Germany, being featured in magazines and newsreels. Hanna revelled in the publicity, promoting not only herself, but Hitler and the Nazi regime. Melitta preferred to work away from the limelight at the German Research Institute for Aeronautics.

Hanna, blonde and blue-eyed, was a perfect example of Aryan women. She was devoted to Germany, the Nazi Party and Hitler. She was determined to fight for Germany, even though she was not allowed to serve in the Luftwaffe. Instead she worked to test new planes, including gliders and helicopters, and advising, cajoling and even warning Goering and Hitler.

Melitta’s father had Jewish blood, though he had been baptised as a Christian. She was married to Alexander von Stauffenberg, whose brother, Claus, led the notorious Operation Valkyrie – an attempt to assassinate Hitler. Aware that she was tainted by her Jewish blood, and her opposition to Hitler, Melitta spent the war making herself invaluable through her work. She became a test pilot for dive bombers, thinking of her work as a way of saving German lives by making the planes safer.

Both women were given the Iron Cross. And yet both women ended the war in very different places.

The Women Who Flew For Hitler is an utterly compelling read. Mulley brings both women to life, so we feel we know Hanna and Melitta. Mulley manages to explore their characters and the technical aspects of the work they did, telling the stories of both women alternately, so we can place Hanna side by side with Melitta and compare their beliefs, their lives, their loves and their achievements.

At times, the story is an exciting as any war film and I was gripping the book tightly, desperate to know what happened next. At other times it was intensely  heartbreaking. And yet Mulley also manages to express the joy and freedom both women felt in flying.

Mulley doesn’t just tell us of the women themselves, but the people around them, who they were, what they thought. Their friends and colleagues and enemies were the important people of the time, and there are new insights into familiar names throughout this book. I was especially interested in the way Hanna interacted with Hitler, and how he felt about her.

Mulley has carried out an immense amount of research, and it shows. Each page is full of facts, yet the reader is never overwhelmed and never loses sight of Melitta and Hanna. The Women Who Flew for Hitler is a thrilling, moving insight into two very different, but equally amazing women.

Michelle Birkby is the author of The House at Baker Street, the first in a series written from the point of view of Sherlock Holmes’ housekeeper, Mrs Hudson, that follows Mrs Hudson and Dr Watson’s wife, Mary, as they team up together to do some detective work of their own. The second in the series, The Women of Baker Street, is out now. Read about Michelle’s Desert Island Books here.

Share this article:Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Email this to someone
email

Filed Under: New Books, Reviews Tagged With: aviation, book review, Clare Mulley, Hanna Reitsch, Hitler, Melitta von Stauffenberg, Michelle Birkby, review, Second World War, The Women Who Flew For Hitler

Search

Latest Releases

The Three Paradises by Robert Fabbri

7 January 2021

The Wolf Hunt by Tim Hodkinson

7 January 2021

A Remedy In Time by Jennifer Macaire

7 January 2021

See more new releases

Let’s stay in touch

Sign up for our monthly email newsletter:

Or follow us on social media:

Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook

Editor’s Picks

Entrance to Auschwitz

Torn from home

27 January 2019

Was America, not Wallis, the real reason Edward VIII abdicated?

23 September 2018

Mutiny on the Bounty

10 January 2018

Popular Topics

16th century 17th century 18th century 19th century 20th century 2020 Ancient Rome Anglo-Saxons author interview biography book review Catherine Hokin Competition Debut Crown Elizabeth Fremantle Emma Darwin Giveaway historical fiction Historical Writers Association history HWA HWA Crown Awards HWA Non-Fiction Crown Imogen Robertson interview Katherine Clements Matthew Harffy medieval new release paperback research review Second World War Shortlist short stories the writing life Tudors TV drama TV review Vikings World War II writing writing advice writing tips WWII

The Historical Writers’ Association

Historia Magazine is published by the Historical Writers’ Association. We are authors, publishers and agents of historical writing, both fiction and non-fiction. For information about membership and profiles of our member authors, please visit our website.

Read more about Historia or find out about advertising and promotional opportunities.

ISSN 2515-2254

Recent Additions

  • Researching the Palaeolithic
  • Books to look for in 2021
  • The Three Paradises by Robert Fabbri

Search Historia

Contact us

If you would like to contact the editor of Historia, please email editor@historiamag.com.

Copyright © 2014–2021 The Historical Writers Association