The Red Baron
I just came home from a 7-day trip to Germany. We fly into the Frankfurt airport,and stay at a hotel in Wiesbaden. While there I went to visit the grave of the most famous air ace of World War I, Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen. He was born on 2 May 1892 in Breslau, which is now part of Poland. He was commissioned in April 1911 and he started out in the cavalry, but transferred to the German Air Force in May 1915.
Richthofen was appointed commander of the Flying Circus in June 1917. This new unit was comprised of Germany's top fighter pilots. It highly mobile and could be quickly sent to any part of the Western Front where it was most needed.
His success in his brightly painted red aircraft, a Fokker DR-1 Dridecker led to his being named der Rote Kampfflieger by the Germans, le petit rouge by the French, and the Red Baron by the British.
This is the family plot.
The "Red Baron" was here in the front.
Somebody placed a very small airplane on the site:
The cemetery had many interesting and elaborate graves and I found myself browsing as I walked back out. I was surprised this famous ace's grave was so understated.
Richthofen was appointed commander of the Flying Circus in June 1917. This new unit was comprised of Germany's top fighter pilots. It highly mobile and could be quickly sent to any part of the Western Front where it was most needed.
His success in his brightly painted red aircraft, a Fokker DR-1 Dridecker led to his being named der Rote Kampfflieger by the Germans, le petit rouge by the French, and the Red Baron by the British.
After scoring 80 confirmed kills, Richthofen was finally shot down as he flew deep into British lines. Buried in France by the British with full military honours, Richthofen's body was later exhumed and reburied in the Invaliden Friedhof Cemetery in Berlin. After World War II, the Berlin Wall passed directly over this grave site, and the family had the remains moved to the family plot at Südfriedhof cemetery at Wiesbaden.
This is the entrance to the cemetery:
This is the family plot.
The "Red Baron" was here in the front.
Somebody placed a very small airplane on the site:
The cemetery had many interesting and elaborate graves and I found myself browsing as I walked back out. I was surprised this famous ace's grave was so understated.
posted by Notsocranky Yankee at 3:16 PM
6 Comments:
could it be a simple grave because it was moved? I expect the later generations are not quite as emotional about it all
Mal: I read that there was some ceremony when he was moved, but the Germans seem to down play the war history. Many people don't even know he is there. (Just read wikipedia on him.)
I had no idea that he'd been moved so often!
I wish my German was better. When I read those city names I try to imagine it in my Grandmothers voices!
So cool. I seem to remember reading that he had suffered a relatively severe blow to the head shortly before taking his final flight, and some believe that if he hadn't been concussed, he wouldn't have been shot down.
The only bad thing about reading this blog entry is I've got that stupid 'Snoopy vs. the Red Baron' song by the Buckinghams going through my brain.
10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and more
The bloody Red Baron was rolling up the score
80 men died trying to end the spree
Of the bloody Red Baron of Germany...
yeharr
There is something humbling, no matter the person or the marker, about visiting the grave of someone with such an impact on the world.
Reminds me of the profound sadness when I visited the St. Louis gravestone of Dred Scott.
Keep up the good work.
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