1. Overview
Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg, born Melitta Schiller on January 3, 1903, and passing away on April 8, 1945, was a distinguished German aviator and test pilot who rendered significant service to the Luftwaffe before and during World War II. Renowned for her exceptional skill and bravery, she became only the second German woman to attain the prestigious honorary title of Flugkapitän (Flugkapitänflight captainGerman). Her contributions included over 2,500 test flights in dive bomber aircraft, marking her as the second most active test pilot in the Luftwaffe. Despite her critical role in military aviation, her life was marked by complexities arising from her Jewish paternal ancestry and her family's deep involvement in the 20 July Plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. She was arrested following the plot but later released due to the indispensable nature of her work. Von Stauffenberg navigated a profound moral conflict, torn between her loyalty to Germany and her opposition to the Nazi regime, a struggle documented in her personal writings. She tragically died in April 1945 after her aircraft was shot down by an American reconnaissance plane.
2. Early life and education
Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg's early life was shaped by her family's background and the geopolitical shifts of her time, leading her to pursue a rigorous academic path in engineering.
2.1. Childhood and family background
Melitta Schiller was born on January 3, 1903, in Krotoschin, a town then located in Prussia. Her father, Michael Schiller, was of Jewish heritage, having converted to Christianity at the age of 18. Her mother was Margaret Eberstein. Melitta was one of five children, with four siblings: Marie-Luise, Otto, Jutta, and Klara. The end of World War I brought significant changes to the region, as Krotoschin became part of Poland. In October 1919, Melitta began attending boarding school across the new border in Hirschberg, Silesia, to continue her education in a German-speaking environment.
2.2. Academic background
In 1922, Melitta successfully completed her diploma, qualifying her for university entrance. She subsequently enrolled at the Technical University of Munich, where she pursued a challenging curriculum. Her studies encompassed mathematics, physics, and general engineering, before she chose to specialize in aeronautical engineering. She demonstrated exceptional academic aptitude, graduating cum laude in 1927.
3. Aviation career
Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg's career in aviation began in research and steadily progressed to a prominent role as a test pilot, despite significant personal challenges posed by the political climate.
3.1. Entry into aviation and early career
Following her graduation, Melitta began her professional journey in 1927 at the Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt (DVL), an experimental institute for aviation located in Berlin-Adlershof. Her passion for flight soon led her to take flying lessons at Staaken in July 1929. Within a few months, she successfully obtained her provisional flying license, followed by her full license by mid-1930. Her early career at DVL established her as an engineer in aviation, laying the groundwork for her future as a test pilot.
3.2. Personal life and challenges
On August 11, 1937, Melitta married the historian Alexander Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg in Berlin-Wilmersdorf. Prior to her marriage, in 1936, she faced a significant setback in her career due to the Nazi regime's discriminatory policies. Despite her father's conversion to Christianity at age 18, her paternal grandfather's Jewish origins led to her forced removal from her position as an Ingenieurflugzeugführerinaeronautical engineerGerman. This discrimination highlighted the severe challenges faced by individuals deemed "Mischling" under the Nazi racial laws. However, her exceptional skills and dedication to aviation were undeniable. On October 28, 1937, she was granted the honorary rank of Flugkapitänin (Flugkapitäninflight captainGerman), a prestigious title at the time reserved for test pilots in Germany. This achievement made her only the second woman in Germany, after Hanna Reitsch, to receive such an honor. Her proficiency in aviation further expanded as she eventually acquired licenses for all classes of powered aircraft, along with an aerobatic flying license and a glider license.
4. World War II activities
During World War II, Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg served as a crucial test pilot for the Luftwaffe, a role that brought her into dangerous situations and into direct conflict with the Nazi regime through her family's resistance efforts.
4.1. Test pilot duties and contributions
At the onset of World War II, Melitta initially desired to work for the Red Cross. However, her exceptional skills were deemed too valuable, and she was instead ordered to serve as a test pilot for the Luftwaffe. She was officially seconded from Askania Werke in Berlin to the central Erprobungsstelle test facility in Rechlin, Mecklenburg. Despite remaining a civilian, her work was highly dangerous and demanding. She routinely performed test dives in warplanes, often undertaking up to 15 such flights a day from altitudes of 13 K ft (4.00 K m). Her extensive work included over 2,500 test flights in dive bombers, making her the second most prolific test pilot in the Luftwaffe. Her bravery and dedication to this perilous work were recognized with the Iron Cross Second Class and the Gold Front Flying Clasp for Bombers with Diamonds for completing more than 1,500 test flights in dive bomber aircraft.
4.2. Academic and professional advancements during the war
Even amidst the pressures of war, Melitta continued to pursue her academic and professional growth. From 1942, she continued her vital test-flights at the Luftwaffe's technical academy in Berlin-Gatow. Her academic pursuits culminated in 1944 when she successfully defended her dissertation for a Master's qualification, earning an "A" grade. In the same year, she was appointed as the technical chief of the Versuchsstelle für Flugsondergeräte, another critical test institute, further cementing her influence in German aviation technology.
4.3. Connection to the 20 July Plot
Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg's life took a dramatic turn with the failure of the 20 July Plot, an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler in 1944. Due to her familial ties, she was arrested along with other members of the Stauffenberg family. Her brothers-in-law, Claus von Stauffenberg and Berthold Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, who were central figures in the conspiracy, were executed. Melitta, her husband Alexander, and other adult family members were subsequently sent to concentration camps. However, her indispensable military importance as a test pilot led to her release on September 2, 1944. Given the negative connotations of the "von Stauffenberg" name among the Nazis, she was subsequently officially addressed as "Gräfin Schenk" instead of "Gräfin Schenk von Stauffenberg." Her sisters-in-law, including one who was pregnant, remained confined in concentration camps, and the Stauffenberg children were forcibly separated from their mothers. Melitta leveraged her prominent position and remaining influence to provide as much assistance as she could to her incarcerated family. She maintained contact with them, and their status, coupled with the potential for their use as bargaining chips with the Western Allies, ensured they were moderately looked after. In March 1945, upon learning that her husband was imprisoned at Buchenwald concentration camp, she flew there several times to visit him. As Soviet forces advanced, research facilities in Berlin were dispersed, and Melitta's activities were relocated to Wurzberg, where she discovered her own house had been destroyed in an RAF raid. Melitta's personal diaries revealed her profound moral conflict: while she felt a deep loyalty to Germany, she held no allegiance to the Nazis, and this internal struggle tormented her despite her continued service to the Luftwaffe.
5. Death
Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg's life ended tragically in the final weeks of World War II while she was still actively engaged in her critical duties.
On April 4, 1945, accompanied by her assistant pilot Hubertus, she departed for Buchenwald. Upon discovering that the special prisoner compound was empty-the prisoners having been moved to Regensburg-she flew back to Weimar. From Weimar, they transported personnel in an overloaded Siebel Si 204 to Pilsen, where, on April 6, they exchanged the Siebel for a two-seater Bü 181 Bestmann trainer aircraft. At Marienburg, Hubertus disembarked, continuing on to Straubing and then Regensburg in search of her husband. By this point, her husband and the other prisoners had been relocated again. Melitta secured Gestapo authorization to visit the commandant at Schönberg, where the prisoners had been taken.
Early on April 8, 1945, Melitta took off, flying low along a railway line for navigation. Near Straßkirchen, Bavaria, her aircraft was attacked by an American F-6D reconnaissance airplane. This aircraft was piloted by First Lieutenant Norbourn Thomas, who was engaged in hunting Ju 87 aircraft. Melitta crash-landed her plane and was conscious when civilians arrived to assist. She requested help to exit the aircraft and was successfully extracted alive, with civilians reporting her most severe injury appeared to be a broken leg. A local doctor, Hans Siegl from Straßkirchen, arrived at the scene, but his services were not required as a Luftwaffe doctor and other military personnel were already present. She was then transported away in an ambulance. Although her injuries did not initially appear life-threatening, Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg died two hours later. Her remains were taken to the hospital in Straubing, where the town mortuary book recorded her cause of death as "skull base fracture, tearing of the left thigh, fracture of the right ankle." Her husband was informed of her death a few days later.
She was initially buried on April 13, 1945, in St. Michaels Cemetery in Straubing, with arrangements made by the Straubing airbase commander's assistant. In September 1945, her husband Alexander arranged for her exhumation and transport to the Stauffenberg estate at Lautlingen, where she was reinterred in the family crypt on September 8, 1945.
6. Awards and honors
Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg received several prestigious military decorations for her courageous and extensive service as a test pilot during World War II. Her accolades include:
- Iron Cross Second Class
- Gold Front Flying Clasp for Bombers with Diamonds
7. Legacy and evaluation
Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg's life and career represent a remarkable and complex legacy, standing out as a pioneering female aviator amidst one of history's most tumultuous periods.
7.1. Historical significance
Her contributions to aviation, particularly her extensive and dangerous test flights for the Luftwaffe, underscore her remarkable skill and bravery. As only the second German woman to achieve the honorary title of Flugkapitänin, she broke significant barriers in a male-dominated field. Her unique role as a woman in aviation during Nazi Germany, a regime that simultaneously elevated traditional gender roles while exploiting individual talents for its war efforts, makes her story particularly compelling. Beyond her professional achievements, her moral conflict between loyalty to Germany and opposition to the Nazi regime, as well as her efforts to aid her family after the 20 July Plot, highlight a profound human dimension to her life. She stands as an example of an individual navigating impossible choices in a totalitarian state, demonstrating personal integrity even while serving a military apparatus.
7.2. Posthumous recognition and memory
Melitta Schenk Gräfin von Stauffenberg is remembered for her exceptional courage as a test pilot and her connection to the German resistance. Her life story, marked by both professional excellence and personal struggle against an oppressive regime, continues to be a subject of historical study and recognition. She is often highlighted in discussions about the complex roles of individuals during World War II and the often-overlooked contributions of women in male-dominated professions during that era. Her posthumous reinterment in the Stauffenberg family crypt at Lautlingen ensures her place within the history of one of Germany's most prominent resistance families.