Who was "Hauptmann Hermann" - Luftwaffe and Allied Air Forces Discussion Forum

DavidIsby · #1 18th November 2012, 03:57

"Hauptmann Hermann" was the nom de plume of the author of THE LUFTWAFFE: ItS RISE AND FALL, published by GP Putnam in New York in 1943.

He claimed to have flown in the German air service in the Great War. He later reported he worked for Dr. Hugo Junkers and was out of Germany when the Nazis moved against him. During the war, he was apparently in the US.

Has anyone ever identified him?

thanks,
david isby

Col Bruggy · #2 18th November 2012, 04:54

Hello,

Hauptmann Hermann, was the pseudonym of Hermann Steiner.

The rise and demise of the Luftwaffe is a theme that has caught the fancy of a number of writers. First to use the theme was the emigre from the German aviation industry, Hauptmann Hermann with his 1943 book, The Luftwaffe:Its Rise and Fall.

Associated with the Junkers firm, Hermann had a good view of the internal problems and squabbles that bothered the industry in the pre-war days. His information on the wartime period seems to be derived largely from newspaper accounts which are distorted. He badly misjudges the role of Udet in development and underestimates the abilities and influence of Milch.

See:
German Military Aviation:A Guide to the Literature.
Homze,Edward L.
New York:Garland Publishing,1984
pp.75 & 114.

Col.

DavidIsby · #3 18th November 2012, 17:53

Many thanks.

Knew I had seen it somewhere. Homze' book is a valuable guide to the earlier generation of sources. Unfortunately, the Library of Congress has lost the copy that used to be on their reference shelves.

Homze' view is correct. the author disliked Milch because of his Nazi politics and role in the campaign against Hugo Junkers and so underestimated him.