The Abbeville Boys

Chapter 3: The Rise of the Third Reich

      In August of 1934 President Paul Von Hindenburg died. Within hours Hitler combined the offices of Chancellor and President. Hitler then had the parliament, which was made up partially of Nazi delegates, shout down the others to vote away their legislative powers. Hitler was now the dictator of Germany. All the pledges and oaths to Germany were now changed to give strict allegiance to Hitler. The implementation of the Nazi philosophy was swift and wide sweeping. He began disbanding workers’ unions and putting the people back to work. He continued to focus on his main target, the Jews. Workers camps were under construction to house the Jews. People still didn’t notice or think anything about it, even the Jews.

      Another Hitler priority was the military. A massive build up started. It was going against all World War l treaties. The other countries hardly noticed. When they did, Hitler placated them with another treaty he never intended to keep. A new German air force was secretly developed called the Luftwaffe. Modern planes were being developed and the recruitment for pilots was intense.

      Several years later it was 1936 and Germany was ready to invade the Rhineland, it’s the buffer between France and Germany established by the Versailles treaty after World War l. As he did, no one stopped him. Germany rolled in and took over.

      Both Kurt and Joseph were eighteen. Kurt was military age and wanted to fly. Joseph was becoming isolated. Many Jews began to contemplate leaving the country after the government started putting pressure on them.

      During this year Joseph’s visits to Kurt’s house were less frequent. Joseph and his parents would leave town to visit relatives in nearby cities. They discussed the situation and what to do. Joseph could hear talk in the parlor of his aunt’s house. At one point he heard his aunt say, “It can’t get much worse. What are they going to do, kill us all.” The remark was met with subtle smiles from everyone. There was an undertone of fear and uncertainty.

      Several of Joseph’s relatives decided to leave the country. Joseph’s parents resisted. They had a solid establishment in the area. The money for their estate came from inheritance and Joseph’s father’s wise investments. No harm could come to them because they had land and money, which at the time was power.

      When Joseph did manage to come over, he was not the happy go lucky kid from before. The pressure of school was getting to him. The teachers always telling the kids how bad the Jews were.

      Kurt tried to stay upbeat but was concerned about his friend. He wasn’t sure how to help him. He had never experienced anything like this.

      Kurt always had flying on his mind. The treaty of Versailles in World War l declared Germany could not develop any new motorized airplanes except for small time civilian use. The big thing at the time was gliders. People met in the hills around Leipzig and had glider races. Kurt began going to these races which were like festivals.

      He hung around the guys building gliders, and the pilots who flew them. They had a chair set up showing the stick and rudder movements of the glider young men could practice on. One day an older man came up to Kurt while he was on the practice seat, “Hey kid, you look like you know what you’re doing.”

      Kurt looked up, “Yes sir. It feels comfortable. I would like a chance to get into a real one though.”

      The older man said, “I’m Wilhelm, what’s your name?”

      “I’m Kurt, glad to meet you.”

      “Okay Kurt. How would you like to fly one of our gliders.”

      Kurt’s mouth dropped open, “Really? Yes, sir, I’m ready.”

      “This glider has crashed once but we’ve fixed it and worked out all the bugs.” Glider crashes were frequent but usually weren't fatal. “It doesn’t fly far or high, but it will get you some experience. You want to give it a try?”

      Kurt became enthusiastic about the prospect of getting in the air, “Yes sir! Whenever you need me.”

      “Come on, it’s right over here.”

      They walked over to a small white smooth wooden glider sitting on the ground. The plane had a sleek body from the round nose all the way back to the aerodynamically perfect tail. Kurt thought it was beautiful. The wings were smooth and long. They turned up at the ends for better control. The openair cockpit was small but had excellent visibility.

      Wilhelm explained the procedure for takeoff and landing as he pointed for Kurt to get in. He was still smiling as he crawled in and squirmed into the tight seat. Wilhelm buckled all the seat belts and showed him the controls, which were like the ones in the practice seat. Everything was secure, and Kurt was ready to go. The gliders were launched from the top of the hill into the wind by a banshee. It’s a large rubber rope that slings the craft into the air. It takes three grown men to pull the lever to release the glider.

      Wilhelm stood in front of the glider and waved at Kurt. He waved back and Wilhelm gave the signal to release the glider. Kurt sat for just a second when there was a sudden jolt, and he was off. He was quickly airborne and overwhelmed by the force. He gained control of the craft as the adrenalin coursed through his veins. Kurt’s eyes were big as he was torn between looking out at the view and working the controls. It was an amazing site even though he was only about sixteen meters (fifty feet) off the ground. He moved the controls slightly to get a feel for the glider. It was supposed to be a short flight, but the aircraft kept flying. Kurt maneuvered it higher and higher. He began performing turns with precision and continued to fly. Kurt looked out over the countryside, and it was fantastic. He could see far away hills and trees. The silence and beauty were intoxicating to him. He felt completely free. He slung the craft upward with ease to almost thirty meters.

      Wilhelm was on the ground watching in amazement. The little glider was flying great at the hands of the newcomer. The flight should’ve lasted a hundred meters. At about six hundred meters Kurt felt the wind give out and decided it was time to land per instructions. Landing was the hard part. Landing a glider is tough because there’s no landing gear and you must depend on the wind. There is no going around for another try. Kurt brought the aircraft in slowly and sat it down with almost a perfect landing.

      Everyone back at the festival site was cheering. Three men on bicycles rode towards the glider to check everything out. The craft was in good shape and Kurt was on an adrenaline high. He couldn’t contain himself as he jogged back up the hill towards the festival. He approached Wilhelm and said, “I’m ready to go again. That was amazing.”

      Wilhelm stood there smiling at him as the festival cheered, “I’ve never seen flying like that from a newcomer. I’ve never seen flying like that from a veteran flyer. The glider shouldn't have gone that far and high. How did you do it.”

      “Everything felt natural. The controls were steady, and it kept going. I’ve never had a view like it before.”

      Wilhelm said, “Let’s go get some soup from the festival and talk.”

      They walked over and got a cup of hot potato soup as Wilhelm said, “It’s getting late today. Can you come back next weekend? We want you to fly our gliders from now on.”

      “Yes sir. I’ll be back. I appreciate you giving me this chance.”

      Wilhem smiled, “Believe me, I’m glad I did.”