Deutsche Lufthansa AG, commonly known as Lufthansa, is the national airline of Germany. Along with its subsidiaries, Austrian Airlines, Swiss International Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings, it is the second-largest airline in Europe after the ultra-low-cost carrier, Ryanair. Lufthansa’s primary hub is located at Frankfurt Airport, and its secondary hub is at Munich Airport.
In 1964 and 1965, I worked for Lufthansa in the air freight department at Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport. Because of Berlin’s special status throughout the Cold War, Lufthansa was not allowed to fly to the airports of either part of the city.
Lufthansa ashtray with company logo. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2024, www.walled-in-berlin.com
The special status of Berlin
After Germany’s military defeat, France, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and the United States shared supreme authority in all administrative affairs concerning Germany, as stated in the Berlin Declaration of 1945. Until German reunification in 1990, the four allied powers decreed that only British Airways, Air France, and PanAm (carriers of the three Western Allies), were allowed to land in West Berlin while Interflug (the East German airline) was permitted to land only in East Berlin.
Why Did Lufthansa maintain offices in Berlin?
During the years when Lufthansa was not allowed to fly to Berlin, it nonetheless transported passengers and cargo within West Germany and internationally. To fulfill freight shipment orders from Berlin to their final destinations, our Berlin office booked transport from West Berlin to West Germany with any of the three Western carriers. After reaching West Germany, passengers and cargo were shifted to Lufthansa flights. The process was similar to the airline alliances we see today.
Brief History of Lufthansa
Lufthansa is a well-known airline with a long and interesting history. Its predecessor, Deutsche Luft Hansa, was established in 1926. However, the company was dissolved after World War II due to its association with Hitler’s Nazi government. In 1953, former employees of Deutsche Luft Hansa founded Luftag (Aktiengesellschaft für Luftverkehrsbedarf). It was later renamed Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft. The latter is now known as Lufthansa, the flag carrier of Germany.
Branding
The Lufthansa logo, which features a stylized crane in flight inside a circle, was originally designed by Otto Firle in 1918. In 1926, it was adopted by Deutsche Luft Hansa. When the current company, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, was established, it continued to use the logo – a yellow crane on a blue background.
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: Historical or current events, people, places or food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall, and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Tags: Berlin Declaration, Berlin Tempelhof Airport, Deutsche Luft Hansa, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Luftag, Lufthansa, Otto Firle
