Aviation event scrubs reference to woman who flew for Nazis
The city of Lachute says it has received a written promise from organizers of an event promoting women in aviation that there will be no mention of Hanna Reitsch, who in 1937 became the world’s first female helicopter pilot and has been described by some historians as an unrepentant Nazi until her death in 1979.
“We first heard about the controversy after a report ... on (Wednesday),” said city spokesperson Alexandra Montminy, referring to the adverse reaction to a decision by the organizers of the local edition of Women of Aviation Worldwide Week — which promotes the presence of women in aviation — to acknowledge the 70th anniversary of Reitsch’s groundbreaking flight in a helicopter. “We were only involved in logistical support for the event; we had nothing to do with its content.”
The event is set to take place Saturday on municipal property and at the city’s municipal airport.
Late Thursday, the city of Lachute and the MRC Argentueil, the administrative government of the region, issued a joint communique that noted, “we wish to reiterate that we would never offer logistical support nor permit any event to be held that vaunted the merits of a person associated with Nazism or any other extremist movement.”
Lachute Mayor Carl Péloquin acknowledged on Friday that the last 48 hours had convinced his administration to take a closer look at the events they support.
“We’ll be a little more aware,” he said. “But really, these situations don’t really happen that often.”
Meanwhile, event organizers issued a statement on Friday saying: “Contrary to news reports, no ‘honour’ will be rendered to Hanna Reitsch at Lachute airport on March 11.”
Several groups, including B’nai Brith’s League for Human Rights and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, had objected to Reitsch’s inclusion in the event, noting that her place in the Nazi movement — she was a test pilot for the Luftwaffe, awarded the Iron Cross by Adolf Hitler himself and flew to Berlin in the final days of the Second World War to see the dictator in the besieged city — overshadowed her achievements.