Independence and Modernity. The Lives of the first Polish Female Pilots - Instytut Pileckiego

Lecture by Hanna Radziejowska as part of the event series accompanying our exhibition "Doppelt Frei"

24.04, 18.00 | Pariser Platz 4A, 10117 Berlin  | Registration: https://forms.gle/KPmYvMKa1GcZEBoD9

The history of aviation in the Polish Second Republic was inextricably linked with the dream of modernity and the dream of flying at the beginning of the 20th century. In Poland, aviation became a national passion turning engineers and aviators into the pop stars of that time. The female aviators, glider and aeroplane pilots of the pre-war period, the Second World War and the post-war period also played their important part in this era of technological breakthroughs.

Wanda Modlibowska was an outstanding Polish aviator who broke all world records and completed the longest flight at the time in a glider - i.e. without an engine - in 1937: 24 hours and 14 minutes. This event will also feature short portraits of Polish female aviators who fought in the ranks of the British Air Force. The life story of the best female glider pilot in the world, Pelagia Majewska, will also be discussed. Until this very day an international medal named after her, bearing resemblance to the Lilinethal Medal, is still being awarded to the best female aviators in the world.