Flights into Exile: Lufthansa and the Escape from Nazism

It is little known that airplanes also became a means of escape for many persecuted people.

Especially after 1938, when the situation deteriorated dramatically and leaving the country became increasingly urgent, Jewish refugees in particular used international flights to leave Germany.

Lufthansa Flight 22 from Berlin, for example, reached the port of Lisbon, which for many served as a gateway to further exile. Route 3 to Moscow shortened the journey to exile in the East, such as to Shanghai or Harbin.

Carolin Liebisch-Gümüş’s lecture sheds light on this hitherto little-known history of flight by air during the “Third Reich.” The focus is on the routes and experiences of the refugees as well as the ambivalent role of Lufthansa, both as the Nazi flag carrier and as a provider of an escape route.

Carolin Liebisch-Gümüş is a historian at the Center for Contemporary History in Potsdam. In her current project, she is researching the history of migration by air.

Moderator: Laura Haßler

IN GERMAN