Hans Baur
Encyclopedia
General
Hans Baur (19 June 1897 – 17 February 1993) was German
dictator
Adolf Hitler
's pilot
during his political campaigns of the 1920s and 1930s. Appointed Gruppenführer
in the SS, Baur was later Hitler's personal pilot and leader of the "Reichsregierung" squadron.
in Bavaria
and educated at the Erasmus-Grasser-Gymnasium in Sendling-Westpark
, Munich
.
at the airfield in Augsburg
. He then joined the Luftstreitkräfte (air force)
as an artillery spotter. During the war he claimed 6 victories, with 3 additionally unconfirmed. During one flight, Baur's plane experienced engine failure and subsequently started to nose dive, but he was able to restart the engine. For his victories, Baur was awarded the Iron Cross first class
for bravery.
, Germany had to disband its military air force. Baur joined the Freikorps
under Franz von Epp, and in the same year became a courier flier for military airmail in Fürth
.
From 1921 to 1923 he was a pilot for Bayrische Luftlloyd, and then Junkers Luftverkehr
. In May 1923, Baur flew the opening flight of the Munich-Vienna
route in a Junkers F 13. In 1926, Baur became one of the first six pilots of Deutsche Luft Hansa
, and in May 1928 flew the opening flight of the Munich-Milan
-Rome
route.
In 1926, Baur became a member of the NSDAP (No. 48,113). On April 1, 1931 Baur flew the opening flight of the Berlin
-Munich-Rome route, known as the Alpine flight, whose passengers included Nuntius Eugenio Pacelli, Arturo Toscanini
and tsar Boris III of Bulgaria
.
Hitler obtained his first private aeroplane, a Junkers Ju 52/3m
with tail number DC-2600 (Werk Nr. 4021), in February 1933, on becoming German Chancellor. Powered by BMW 132
license-built Pratt and Whitney radial engine
s, it was named Immelmann I after World War I pilot Max Immelmann
. The Fuehrermaschine had a small folding table in Hitler's favourite seat on the right, with a clock, altimeter and airspeed indicator on the bulkhead just in front.
Baur had just became an "air millionaire" of Luft Hansa, having flown his millionth kilometre for the airline. As a result of his combination of experience and capability to restart a plane engine in combat, which Hitler took as a sign of fate, Baur was personally selected by Hitler to be his official pilot in February 1933.
was not yet established, Hitler wanted Baur to be able to command sufficient power and respect to assure his security, and therefore commissioned Baur a Standartenführer
(Colonel) in the Schutzstaffel
(No. 171,865).
Upon his arrival in Berlin in 1933, Baur's first task was to expand Hitler's squadron and implement new security procedures. With the approval of then Luft Hansa Director Erhard Milch
, an additional Ju 52/3m was designated to meet with Baur's security requirements, named Richthofen
. In 1935, 4021 was replaced by 4053, taking the latter's name Buddecke
; while 4053 was designated Immelmann II with tail number D-2600.
In 1936, after the death of von Hindenburg
, Hitler reorganised the government and created the Regierungsstaffel (Government squadron), making Baur the head. Headquartered at Berlin-Tempelhof Airport, Baur was charged with providing flights and pilots for the Führer's cabinet and for his generals. There were eight planes able to carry 17 passengers each at his disposal. D-2600 remained Adolf Hitler's primary aircraft.
After Hitler became Führer, he increasingly relied on Baur for advice about air war policy and technical developments. He allowed Baur to fill his squadron with experienced Luft Hansa pilots, and train them in military procedures in preparation for the forthcoming war:
Although he tried to convert Baur to vegetarianism
, Hitler also invited him to the Reich Chancellery
for his favourite meal of pork and dumplings for his 40th birthday, and gave him a Mercedes Benz to replace his personal Ford. In September 1939, the squadron was renamed Die Fliegerstaffel des Führers. Hitler's personal squadron now had a special insignia that was painted on the nose of all planes: a black eagle head on a white background, surrounded by a narrow red ring.
In early 1939, Baur felt that the Führer would be much safer flying in the newly designed Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor
. Originally configured as a 26-passenger Luft Hansa transport aircraft (Werk Nr. 3099), the plushed-up Condor was named "Immelmann III" registered as D-2600, and it served Hitler until it was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid on July 18, 1944.
(Major General) and major general of the police; and on February 24, 1945 became an SS-Gruppenführer
(Lieutenant General) and Generalleutnant of the Police.
During the last days of the war, Baur was with Hitler in the Führerbunker
. Baur had devised a plan to allow Hitler to escape from the Battle of Berlin
; a Fieseler Fi 156
Storch was held on standby which could take off from an improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten
, near the Brandenburg Gate
. However, Hitler refused to leave Berlin. On 26 April 1945, the improvised landing strip was used by Hanna Reitsch
to fly in Colonel-General Robert Ritter von Greim
, appointed by Hitler as head of the Luftwaffe after Hermann Göring's dismissal. During the evening of 28 April, Reitsch flew von Greim out on the same road-strip and Hitler suggested to Baur that he evacuate himself and Martin Bormann
the same way.
Baur stayed with him until Hitler committed suicide
on the afternoon of 30 April. After Hitler's suicide, Baur found the improvised road-strip too pot-holed for use and overrun by the Soviet 3rd Shock Army
. A plan was devised to escape out from Berlin to the Allies on the western side of the Elbe or to the German Army to the North. SS-Brigadeführer
Wilhelm Mohnke
, split up the Reich Chancellery
and Führerbunker soldiers and personnel into ten main groups. Baur and Bormann left the Reich Chancellery as part of one of the groups. During his escape, after losing touch with Bormann, Baur was shot in the legs, and the wound was so serious that his right lower leg was later amputated in Posen on 10 June 1945.
Captured by the Soviets in a hospital, Baur was of great interest to his captors, who believed he may have flown Hitler to safety before the fall of Berlin. They also believed he had information concerning stolen art. They especially wanted information concerning the plundering of the Amber Room, (Bernsteinzimmer), in Petersburg. He endured ten years of imprisonment in the USSR before being released on 10 October 1955 to the French where he was kept prisoner until 1957.
and in 1957 wrote his autobiography Ich flog mit Mächtigen, which liberally translates as "I flew with [the] mighty." The book was later lengthened and the title was changed to Zwischen Himmel u. Erde mit Mächtigen, which translates as "Between Heaven and Earth with [the] Mighty." The French translation is more softly titled J'étais pilote de Hitler: Le sort du monde était entre mes mains, which translates to "I was Hitler's pilot: The fate of the world was in my hands."
The book contains a collection of eye witness accounts of Hitler's daily activities and conversations and is unique because Hans Baur, as his private pilot and personal friend, was in Hitler's presence practically every day from 1933 to 1945. The book contains an account of the events surrounding the arrest of Ernst Roehm, by Hitler himself, on June 30th 1934 at Bad Wiessee in which Baur took part. The book also tells of Baur's dislike for Hermann Goering (whom Baur describes as a "thick headed glutton"). Hans Baur was one of the few people who were truly close to Hitler and was one of the people assigned by Hitler to set fire to his ashes. Baur was one the last persons to see Hitler alive in the Berlin bunker. The book has since been translated into English and is a rare insider look into Hitler's daily life and doings as leader of the German Reich.
Baur died in Herrsching
, Bavaria, of old age ailments in 1993. For a time, his house in Herrsching served as a place of pilgrimage for many veterans of the war. He is interred in the family plot in the Westfriedhof
in Munich.
He is also the subject of an episode of the television series "Hitler's Bodyguard", entitled Hitler's Aircraft and Flights of Fear.
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Hans Baur (19 June 1897 – 17 February 1993) was German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
during his political campaigns of the 1920s and 1930s. Appointed Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
in the SS, Baur was later Hitler's personal pilot and leader of the "Reichsregierung" squadron.
Early life
Johann "Hans" Peter Baur was born in AmpfingAmpfing
Ampfing is a municipality in the district of Mühldorf in Bavaria in Germany.- History :The Battle of Mühldorf was fought on September 28, 1322 between Bavaria and Austria in Ampfing Heath. The Bavarians were led by Louis the Bavarian, while the Austrians were led by his cousin Frederick I of Austria...
in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
and educated at the Erasmus-Grasser-Gymnasium in Sendling-Westpark
Sendling-Westpark
Sendling-Westpark is the 7th borough of Munich.- Location :Sendling-Westpark is located south west of Munich and expands into the North/South extension from the 8th borough Schwanthalerhöhe as far as Obersendling . The eastern border contains the S-Bahn line to Wolfratshausen, which connects...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
World War I
Baur was called up to the Imperial German Army in 1915, and trained in field artilleryField artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, long range, short range and extremely long range target engagement....
at the airfield in Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
. He then joined the Luftstreitkräfte (air force)
Luftstreitkräfte
The Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte , known before October 1916 as Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches , or simply Die Fliegertruppen, was the air arm of the Imperial German Army during World War I...
as an artillery spotter. During the war he claimed 6 victories, with 3 additionally unconfirmed. During one flight, Baur's plane experienced engine failure and subsequently started to nose dive, but he was able to restart the engine. For his victories, Baur was awarded the Iron Cross first class
Iron Cross
The Iron Cross is a cross symbol typically in black with a white or silver outline that originated after 1219 when the Kingdom of Jerusalem granted the Teutonic Order the right to combine the Teutonic Black Cross placed above a silver Cross of Jerusalem....
for bravery.
Between the wars
Under the terms of the Treaty of VersaillesTreaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
, Germany had to disband its military air force. Baur joined the Freikorps
Freikorps
Freikorps are German volunteer military or paramilitary units. The term was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of the 18th century onwards. Between World War I and World War II the term was also used for the paramilitary organizations that arose during...
under Franz von Epp, and in the same year became a courier flier for military airmail in Fürth
Fürth
The city of Fürth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....
.
From 1921 to 1923 he was a pilot for Bayrische Luftlloyd, and then Junkers Luftverkehr
Junkers
Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG , more commonly Junkers, was a major German aircraft manufacturer. It produced some of the world's most innovative and best-known airplanes over the course of its fifty-plus year history in Dessau, Germany. It was founded there in 1895 by Hugo Junkers,...
. In May 1923, Baur flew the opening flight of the Munich-Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
route in a Junkers F 13. In 1926, Baur became one of the first six pilots of Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa
Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G. was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and throughout the Third Reich.-1920s:Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded on 6 January 1926 in Berlin...
, and in May 1928 flew the opening flight of the Munich-Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
-Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
route.
In 1926, Baur became a member of the NSDAP (No. 48,113). On April 1, 1931 Baur flew the opening flight of the Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
-Munich-Rome route, known as the Alpine flight, whose passengers included Nuntius Eugenio Pacelli, Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
and tsar Boris III of Bulgaria
Boris III of Bulgaria
Boris III the Unifier, Tsar of Bulgaria , originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver , son of Ferdinand I, came to the throne in 1918 upon the abdication of his father, following the defeat of the Kingdom of Bulgaria during World War I...
.
Pilot to Hitler
Hitler was the first politician to campaign by air travel, deciding that travel by plane was more efficient than travel by railway. Baur first piloted him during the 1932 General Election.Hitler obtained his first private aeroplane, a Junkers Ju 52/3m
Junkers Ju 52
The Junkers Ju 52 was a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1932 to 1945. It saw both civilian and military service during the 1930s and 1940s. In a civilian role, it flew with over 12 air carriers including Swissair and Deutsche Luft Hansa as an airliner and freight hauler...
with tail number DC-2600 (Werk Nr. 4021), in February 1933, on becoming German Chancellor. Powered by BMW 132
BMW 132
|-See also:-External links:...
license-built Pratt and Whitney radial engine
Radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel...
s, it was named Immelmann I after World War I pilot Max Immelmann
Max Immelmann
Max Immelmann was the first German World War I flying ace. He was a great pioneer in fighter aviation and is often mistakenly credited with the first aerial victory using a synchronized gun...
. The Fuehrermaschine had a small folding table in Hitler's favourite seat on the right, with a clock, altimeter and airspeed indicator on the bulkhead just in front.
Baur had just became an "air millionaire" of Luft Hansa, having flown his millionth kilometre for the airline. As a result of his combination of experience and capability to restart a plane engine in combat, which Hitler took as a sign of fate, Baur was personally selected by Hitler to be his official pilot in February 1933.
Die Fliegerstaffel des Führers
Baur was appointed head of the Hitler's personal squadron, initially based at Oberwiesenfeld, Munich. As the LuftwaffeLuftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
was not yet established, Hitler wanted Baur to be able to command sufficient power and respect to assure his security, and therefore commissioned Baur a Standartenführer
Standartenführer
Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...
(Colonel) in the Schutzstaffel
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
(No. 171,865).
Upon his arrival in Berlin in 1933, Baur's first task was to expand Hitler's squadron and implement new security procedures. With the approval of then Luft Hansa Director Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch was a German Field Marshal who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe as part of the re-armament of Germany following World War I, and served as founding Director of Deutsche Luft Hansa...
, an additional Ju 52/3m was designated to meet with Baur's security requirements, named Richthofen
Richthofen
Richthofen is the surname of a prominent German aristocratic family. The most famous member is the air ace Manfred von Richthofen , also known as the "Red Baron", but a number of other members of his family are also notable for various reasons....
. In 1935, 4021 was replaced by 4053, taking the latter's name Buddecke
Hans Joachim Buddecke
Hans-Joachim Buddecke was a German Flying Ace in World War I, credited with thirteen victories. He was the third, after Max Immelmann and Oswald Boelcke, to earn the Blue Max...
; while 4053 was designated Immelmann II with tail number D-2600.
In 1936, after the death of von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
, Hitler reorganised the government and created the Regierungsstaffel (Government squadron), making Baur the head. Headquartered at Berlin-Tempelhof Airport, Baur was charged with providing flights and pilots for the Führer's cabinet and for his generals. There were eight planes able to carry 17 passengers each at his disposal. D-2600 remained Adolf Hitler's primary aircraft.
- Kurt Schuhmann - personal pilot of Deputy Führer Rudolf HessRudolf HessRudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party during the 1930s and early 1940s...
- Max von Mueller - personal pilot of Reichs Propaganda Minister Dr. Joseph GoebbelsJoseph GoebbelsPaul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
- Peter Strasser - personal pilot for Admiral Erich RaederErich RaederErich Johann Albert Raeder was a naval leader in Germany before and during World War II. Raeder attained the highest possible naval rank—that of Großadmiral — in 1939, becoming the first person to hold that rank since Alfred von Tirpitz...
- Graf Schilly - personal pilot for the Chiefs of Staff General Werner Frengel and General Walther von BrauchitschWalther von BrauchitschHeinrich Alfred Hermann Walther von Brauchitsch was a German field marshal and the Oberbefehlshaber des Heeres in the early years of World War II.-Biography:...
- Georg BetzGeorg BetzGeorg Betz was a SS officer, who rose to the rank of SS-Obersturmbannfuhrer during World War II. Betz served as Adolf Hitler's personal co-pilot and Hans Baur's substitute. Betz was present in the Führerbunker in Berlin in late April 1945. On 1 May 1945, Betz took part in the break-out from the...
- co-pilot for Hitler's aircraft and Hans Baur's substitute
Although he tried to convert Baur to vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
, Hitler also invited him to the Reich Chancellery
Reich Chancellery
The Reich Chancellery was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany in the period of the German Reich from 1871 to 1945...
for his favourite meal of pork and dumplings for his 40th birthday, and gave him a Mercedes Benz to replace his personal Ford. In September 1939, the squadron was renamed Die Fliegerstaffel des Führers. Hitler's personal squadron now had a special insignia that was painted on the nose of all planes: a black eagle head on a white background, surrounded by a narrow red ring.
In early 1939, Baur felt that the Führer would be much safer flying in the newly designed Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor
Focke-Wulf Fw 200
The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner...
. Originally configured as a 26-passenger Luft Hansa transport aircraft (Werk Nr. 3099), the plushed-up Condor was named "Immelmann III" registered as D-2600, and it served Hitler until it was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid on July 18, 1944.
Führerbunker and Soviet detention
On 31 January 1944, Baur was promoted to SS-BrigadeführerBrigadeführer
SS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank....
(Major General) and major general of the police; and on February 24, 1945 became an SS-Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer
Gruppenführer was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party, first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA.-SS rank:...
(Lieutenant General) and Generalleutnant of the Police.
During the last days of the war, Baur was with Hitler in the Führerbunker
Führerbunker
The Führerbunker was located beneath Hitler's New Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex which was constructed in two major phases, one part in 1936 and the other in 1943...
. Baur had devised a plan to allow Hitler to escape from the Battle of Berlin
Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin, designated the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, was the final major offensive of the European Theatre of World War II....
; a Fieseler Fi 156
Fieseler Fi 156
The Fieseler Fi 156 Storch was a small German liaison aircraft built by Fieseler before and during World War II, and production continued in other countries into the 1950s for the private market...
Storch was held on standby which could take off from an improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten
Tiergarten
Tiergarten is a locality within the borough of Mitte, in central Berlin . Notable for the great and homonymous urban park, before German reunification, it was a part of West Berlin...
, near the Brandenburg Gate
Brandenburg Gate
The Brandenburg Gate is a former city gate and one of the most well-known landmarks of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city centre at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstraße, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which...
. However, Hitler refused to leave Berlin. On 26 April 1945, the improvised landing strip was used by Hanna Reitsch
Hanna Reitsch
Hanna Reitsch was a German aviator and the only woman awarded the Iron Cross First Class and the Luftwaffe Combined Pilots-Observation Badge in Gold with Diamonds during World War II...
to fly in Colonel-General Robert Ritter von Greim
Robert Ritter von Greim
Robert Ritter von Greim was a German Field Marshal, pilot, army officer, and the last commander of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War.-Early years:...
, appointed by Hitler as head of the Luftwaffe after Hermann Göring's dismissal. During the evening of 28 April, Reitsch flew von Greim out on the same road-strip and Hitler suggested to Baur that he evacuate himself and Martin Bormann
Martin Bormann
Martin Ludwig Bormann was a prominent Nazi official. He became head of the Party Chancellery and private secretary to Adolf Hitler...
the same way.
Baur stayed with him until Hitler committed suicide
Death of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler committed suicide by gunshot on Monday, 30 April 1945 in his Führerbunker in Berlin. His wife Eva , committed suicide with him by ingesting cyanide...
on the afternoon of 30 April. After Hitler's suicide, Baur found the improvised road-strip too pot-holed for use and overrun by the Soviet 3rd Shock Army
3rd Shock Army (Soviet Union)
The 3rd Shock Army was a field army of the Red Army formed during the Second World War. The 'Shock' armies were created with the specific structure to engage and destroy significant enemy forces, and were reinforced with more armoured and artillery assets than other combined arms armies...
. A plan was devised to escape out from Berlin to the Allies on the western side of the Elbe or to the German Army to the North. SS-Brigadeführer
Brigadeführer
SS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank....
Wilhelm Mohnke
Wilhelm Mohnke
SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke was one of the original 120 members of the SS-Staff Guard "Berlin" formed in March 1933. From those ranks, Mohnke rose to become one of Adolf Hitler's last remaining generals.Mohnke saw action with the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler in France, Poland...
, split up the Reich Chancellery
Reich Chancellery
The Reich Chancellery was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany in the period of the German Reich from 1871 to 1945...
and Führerbunker soldiers and personnel into ten main groups. Baur and Bormann left the Reich Chancellery as part of one of the groups. During his escape, after losing touch with Bormann, Baur was shot in the legs, and the wound was so serious that his right lower leg was later amputated in Posen on 10 June 1945.
Captured by the Soviets in a hospital, Baur was of great interest to his captors, who believed he may have flown Hitler to safety before the fall of Berlin. They also believed he had information concerning stolen art. They especially wanted information concerning the plundering of the Amber Room, (Bernsteinzimmer), in Petersburg. He endured ten years of imprisonment in the USSR before being released on 10 October 1955 to the French where he was kept prisoner until 1957.
Later Life and Book
Baur returned to West GermanyWest Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and in 1957 wrote his autobiography Ich flog mit Mächtigen, which liberally translates as "I flew with [the] mighty." The book was later lengthened and the title was changed to Zwischen Himmel u. Erde mit Mächtigen, which translates as "Between Heaven and Earth with [the] Mighty." The French translation is more softly titled J'étais pilote de Hitler: Le sort du monde était entre mes mains, which translates to "I was Hitler's pilot: The fate of the world was in my hands."
The book contains a collection of eye witness accounts of Hitler's daily activities and conversations and is unique because Hans Baur, as his private pilot and personal friend, was in Hitler's presence practically every day from 1933 to 1945. The book contains an account of the events surrounding the arrest of Ernst Roehm, by Hitler himself, on June 30th 1934 at Bad Wiessee in which Baur took part. The book also tells of Baur's dislike for Hermann Goering (whom Baur describes as a "thick headed glutton"). Hans Baur was one of the few people who were truly close to Hitler and was one of the people assigned by Hitler to set fire to his ashes. Baur was one the last persons to see Hitler alive in the Berlin bunker. The book has since been translated into English and is a rare insider look into Hitler's daily life and doings as leader of the German Reich.
Baur died in Herrsching
Herrsching
Herrsching am Ammersee is a municipality in Upper Bavaria, Germany, on the east shore of the Ammersee, southwest of Munich. Population is some 8,000 in winter, increasing to 13,000 in summer....
, Bavaria, of old age ailments in 1993. For a time, his house in Herrsching served as a place of pilgrimage for many veterans of the war. He is interred in the family plot in the Westfriedhof
Westfriedhof
Westfriedhof is an U-Bahn station in Munich on the U1 line of the Munich U-Bahn system, it opened on 24 May 1998, the extension onwards to Georg-Brauchle-Ring was completed in 2003...
in Munich.
Portrayal in the media
Hans Baur has been portrayed by the following actors in film and television productions.- Karl Held in the 1981 United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television production The BunkerThe Bunker (1981 film)The Bunker is a 1981 CBS television film, Time/Life production based on the book The Bunker. The movie makes significant deviations from James O'Donnell's book--published in 1978. The deviations are mainly due to an effort to clarify the events, and allowing the actors license to interpret some of...
. - August SchmölzerAugust SchmölzerAugust Schmölzer is an Austrian actor and writer.-Sources:*http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0773590/...
in the 2004 film Der Untergang.
He is also the subject of an episode of the television series "Hitler's Bodyguard", entitled Hitler's Aircraft and Flights of Fear.