GHOSTWRITING 'DER ROTE KAMPFFLIEGER'
The autobiography of Manfred von Richthofen is often held to be a reliable account of the Rittmeister’s war, but Dr Immanuel Voigt examines the truth behind the ‘Red Baron’s’ published story.
Across the decades, the ‘Red Baron’ narrative has been driven by the text of Manfred von Richthofen’s ‘autobiography’. Dr Immauel Voigt looks at the backstory to this world-famous book, revealing some remarkably surprising facts.
If asked which First World War book the wider public might have heard of, then a likely answer might be ‘Im Westen nichts Neues’ (‘All Quiet on the Western Front’) by Erich Maria Remarque. Without doubt the most famous Great War book, it never made it to number one as a bestseller of German war literature, only managing second place. That top slot rests with ‘Der Rote Kampfflieger’ by Manfred von Richthofen, published by Ullstein of Berlin in 1917.
By 1939, a staggering 1,226,000 copies of Richthofen’s book had been sold an unbelievable commercial success for the period. Even recently, during the centenary of the First World War, several new editions were published, resulting in over 15 editions since 1917. After the initial publication, the most important German editions were published in 1920, 1933, 1977 and 1990.
The book was created within a short time frame, and by 1917 several publishers had already enquired whether Manfred would be interested in writing of his experiences. He repeatedly declined, saying he neither had time nor talent to write. In the spring of 1917, though, he accepted an offer from Ullstein to write a war diary for their ‘Kriegsbücher’ series, 29 of which had been published. ‘Der Rote Kampfflieger’ would be number 30.
These little books were extremely popular, not least because they could be bought for just one Mark and covered the latest war topics; thus, the flying hero with 50 victories to his credit fitted the genre perfectly.
CONSIDERED ‘A RELIABLE SOURCE’
In mid-may 1917, during home leave in Schweidnitz, Manfred began work on the manuscript and Ullstein sent a young female shorthand typist to assist. Work progressed quickly, a first edition proof (today stored in Ullstein’s archives) being ready by 19 July. By early August, German newspapers published extracts with news that the book would be published in the middle of the month. By 1920, over half a million copies of the first edition had sold.
In biographies and other writings about Manfred - and the air war in general - ‘Der Rote Kampfflieger’ was, and still is, commonly used as what is often considered a ‘reliable source’. It is, next to Richthofen’s ‘Experiences in Air Combat’ [see page 54], the only substantial text apparently written by the ‘Red Baron’ himself.
Occasionally, subsequent works reference his simple writing style. Indeed, Joachim Castan published a Richthofen biography in Germany in 2007, describing the text as ‘simple and unsophisticated’, ruling out the hand of any ghostwriter. Neither were the precise circumstances of the book’s creation pursued by other authors Peter Kilduff’s ‘The Red Baron: Beyond the Legend’ being one such example. All this, despite the fact that German historian, René Schilling, pointed out in 1999 that Richthofen’s book, to a very large extent, was demonstrably not written by him.
FAR-REACHING CONTRACT
As proven by Ullstein’s archive, Manfred empowered ex-officerturned-journalist, Erich von Salzmann, to edit his work. In 2011, German historian Fernando Esposito in ‘Mythische Moderne. Aviatik, Faschismus und die Sehnsucht nach Ordnung in Deutschland und Italien’, published details of the contract between Ullstein, Richthofen and Salzmann, with Richthofen guaranteed a one-off payment of at least 10,000 Marks and 8% of each copy sold. In addition, Richthofen signed a far-reaching contract authorising
Salzmann thus:
‘…with respect to the company Ullstein & Co in matters relating to Der Rote Kampfflieger, to be published by said company, to make all changes or improvements deemed necessary by him without having to question me in advance and, in addition, to represent my interests towards Ullstein & Co. or such other relevant persons as regards to completion of my book. As regards to this, Mr. Salzmann is entitled to act in my name.’
In §3 of the contract, Manfred also agreed:
‘Herr Hauptmann von Salzmann is empowered to agree the final version of the text with the publisher.’
Consequently, it is unclear which parts of the book (if any) were written by the ‘Red Baron’ or which were added, embroidered, or completely changed at Salzmann’s discretion. Sadly, the original manuscript has not survived. In addition, the book would have passed through censorship before publication.
As such, Schilling and Esposito rightly concluded that ‘Der Rote Kampfflieger’ cannot be considered a true and faithful autobiography of Manfred von Richthofen.
A PUBLISHING DISASTER
After Richthofen’s death in April 1918, Ullstein planned a second edition: ‘Richthofen, Ein Heldenleben’. To enable this, a contract was drawn up with Lothar von Richthofen, and signed on 15 September 1918. Again, Salzmann acted for the Richthofen family.
Published in 1920, only 26,000 copies sold: a publishing disaster. The text was cut by a good third of its original length and complemented with a new section, ‘Hinterlassene Papiere’ (Remaining Records), including extracts from Richthofen’s letters to his mother, reports about his brother, Lothar, and of Manfred’s last combat etc. With this, Salzmann tried to present Richthofen in a multifacetted manner, not only as a war hero but an important character in German history.
The next edition followed the rise to power of the National Socialists in 1933 – again published by Ullstein. Furnished with introductions by Hermann Göring and Bolko von Richthofen, Manfred’s youngest brother, it had a circulation of 175,000 copies. The co-author, though, was not Salzmann but Hans Rudolf Berndorff, already a popular fiction author for Ullstein.
Thus, ‘Der Rote Kampfflieger’ was adapted to fit National Socialist expectations by turning past war heroes into protagonists of National Socialist ideology. At the same time, focus was placed on the war by presenting it as a necessary evil requiring personal and national sacrifice. Richthofen fitted nicely into the picture; not only had he been wounded, but he ultimately gave his life ‘for the Fatherland’. To achieve the required aim, Berndorf cut any content deemed ‘unsuitable’ for the NS agenda.
AN ‘ALIGNMENT’ TO THE PERIOD
In 1977, a new edition with commentary by German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Korff presented a more nuanced view. The Germanist Nadine Seidel attested that Korff presented ‘fitting observations’, but in the end that the philosopher still confirmed the traditional image of Richthofen.
Finally, there is a 1990 edition with former NATO Secretary-general, Manfred Wörner, writing a foreword. Again, this edition is truncated although the copyright page claims it follows the text of the first edition. It did, however, contain what the National Socialists published in 1938 as Manfred von Richthofen’s ‘Military Testament’: his rules for air combat. Wörner, though, conjured up the oft propagated ‘virtues’ of the fighter pilot, turning Richthofen into a ‘figure symbolic of chivalry, impeccable behaviour and aeronautical skill’, further attesting the ‘Red Baron’ never ‘needlessly destroyed life’.
It is noteworthy, then, that the book in its various editions was always furnished with an ‘alignment’ best suiting the period of publication. However, modern editions (after 1990) are usually based on the 1917 edition.
READ BY THE ENEMY
In January 1918, two British entities, Cassel & Co. and ‘The Aeroplane’ (General Publishing Co.), submitted applications to publish a translated ‘Der Rote Kampfflieger’ in the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. German editions of the book, acquired in the Netherlands and Sweden, were presented to the court who ruled that it was of ‘great public and professional interest’, portraying ‘the methods of German military aviators’. The court allowed an English edition to be printed. However, the text had to first pass censorship.
In June 1918, the ‘The Red Air Fighter’, translated by James Ellis Barker, was published in Britain. The first US edition was published in July of that year by Robert M. Mcbride & Co of New York as ‘The Red Battle Flyer’. It is unclear whether this broke copyright with no permission apparently having been sought in Germany. However, publication did take place under wartime conditions. Both English language editions have since been reprinted several times.
It is important, therefore, that the circumstances behind the writing and publication of ‘Der Rote Kampfflieger’ be considered. Further, it must be borne in mind that it is effectively the only source material to which subsequent generations of historians and authors have invariably turned.
Reliance upon it as authoritative must thus be tempered with caution.