A Bit of Personal History: My Old Man as a Young Man.

Wolfgang Leander

Click on image to enlarge

Thanks to the Internet I was able to get a hold of this photograph of my father, Wolfgang Leander (1905-1964), when he was 28 years old. At that time (1934), he was the test pilot and chief pilot of the Fieseler aircraft factory in Kassel.

What is interesting about this image is the incredibly modern design of the Fieseler Fi 5, a light training and aerobatic plane that was quite well known in Germany; however, it was not as hugely popular as the legendary Fieseler "Storch" that was developed in 1936, and was the first aircraft to boast a stunning STOL performance.

The owner of Fieseler Flugzeugbau, Gerhard Fieseler, became an international celebrity as the first aerobatic world champion. The historical championship, during which two contestants crashed and died, took place in June 1934 in Paris. My father was a member of the international jury, and represented Germany at this spectacular event - being the only Jew in the German aviation world....!

During 1934 most German Jews had already lost their jobs and were being subjected to the ever increasing state sponsored antisemitic terror.

As a pilot, Gerhard Fieseler must have held my father in the highest esteem. In a reference letter, Fieseler described my father's flying skills as being "outstanding and far above average".

In 1936, Fieseler, a member of the Nazi party, was either forced by more radical Nazis, or was himself convinced, to finally get rid of his Jewish chief pilot which was when my old, still young man emigrated to South America and eventually settled in Bolivia to join the local airline, Lloyd Aereo Boliviano. as a commercial pilot.

My dad was, thus, spared the ultimate hell that awaited the Jews in Europe only a few years later at the hands of the Germans.