Hans Baur SS - Gruppenführer Hans Baur ( 19 June 1897 – 17 February 1993 ) was the Nazi German leader Adolf Hitler ' s pilot during his political campaigns of the 1920s and 1930s . He later became Hitler ' s personal pilot and leader of the " Reichsregierung " squadron . Captured by the Soviets at the end of World War II in Europe , he endured ten years of imprisonment in the USSR before being released on 10 October 1955 to the French , who then imprisoned him until 1957 . He died in Herrsching , Bavaria in 1993 . Early life . Baur was born Johann Peter Baur in Ampfing , Bavaria and educated at the Erasmus - Grasser - Gymnasium in Sendling - Westpark , Munich . World War I . Baur was called up to the Imperial German Army in 1915 , and trained in field artillery at the airfield in Augsburg . He then joined the Luftstreitkräfte ( air force ) as an artillery spotter . During the war he claimed 6 victories , with 3 additionally unconfirmed . During one flight , Baur ' s aircraft experienced engine failure and was forced to descend , but he was able to restart the engine . For his victories , Baur was awarded the Iron Cross first class for bravery . Between the wars . Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles , Germany had to disband its military air force . Baur joined the Freikorps under Franz von Epp , and in the same year became a courier flier for military airmail in Fürth . From 1921 to 1923 he was a pilot for Bayrische Luftlloyd , and then Junkers Luftverkehr . In May 1923 , Baur flew the opening flight of the Munich - Vienna route in a Junkers F 13 . In 1926 , Baur became one of the first six pilots of Deutsche Luft Hansa , and in May 1928 flew the opening flight of the Munich - Milan - Rome route . In 1926 , Baur became a member of the NSDAP ( No . 48 , 113 ) . On April 1 , 1931 Baur flew the opening flight of the Berlin - Munich - Rome route , known as the Alpine flight , whose passengers included Nuntius Eugenio Pacelli , Arturo Toscanini and tsar Boris III of Bulgaria . Pilot to Hitler . Hitler was the first politician to campaign by air travel , deciding that travel by plane was more efficient than travel by railway . Baur first piloted him during the 1932 General Election . Hitler obtained his first private aeroplane , a Junkers Ju 52 / 3m with registration number D - 2600 ( Werk Nr . 4021 ) , in February 1933 , on becoming German Chancellor . Powered by BMW 132 license - built Pratt and Whitney radial engines , it was named " Immelmann II " after World War I pilot Max Immelmann . The " Fuehrermaschine " had a small folding table in Hitler ' s favourite seat on the right , with a clock , altimeter and airspeed indicator on the bulkhead just in front . Baur had just became an " air millionaire " of Luft Hansa , having flown his millionth kilometre for the airline . As a result of his combination of experience and capability to restart a plane engine in combat , which Hitler took as a sign of fate , Baur was personally selected by Hitler to be his official pilot in February 1933 . Die Fliegerstaffel des Führers . Baur was appointed head of the Hitler ' s personal squadron , initially based at Oberwiesenfeld , Munich . As the Luftwaffe was not yet established , Hitler wanted Baur to be able to command sufficient power and respect to assure his security , and therefore commissioned Baur a Standartenführer ( Colonel ) in the Schutzstaffel ( No . 171 , 865 ) . Upon his arrival in Berlin in 1933 , Baur ' s first task was to expand Hitler ' s squadron and implement new security procedures . With the approval of then Luft Hansa Director Erhard Milch , an additional Ju 52 / 3m was designated to meet with Baur ' s security requirements , named " Richthofen . " In 1935 , 4021 was replaced by 4053 , taking the latter ' s name " Buddecke ; " while 4053 was designated " Immelmann II " with tail number D - 2600 . In 1934 , after the death of von Hindenburg , Hitler reorganised the government and created the " Regierungsstaffel " ( Government squadron ) , making Baur the head . Headquartered at Berlin - Tempelhof Airport , Baur was charged with providing flights and pilots for the Führer ' s cabinet and for his generals . There were eight planes able to carry 17 passengers each at his disposal . D - 2600 remained Adolf Hitler ' s primary aircraft . After Hitler became Führer , he increasingly relied on Baur for advice about air war policy and technical developments . He allowed Baur to fill his squadron with experienced Luft Hansa pilots , and train them in military procedures in preparation for the forthcoming war : Although he tried to convert Baur to vegetarianism , Hitler also invited him to the Reich Chancellery for his favourite meal of pork and dumplings for his 40th birthday , and gave him a Mercedes Benz to replace his personal Ford . In September 1939 , the squadron was renamed " Die Fliegerstaffel des Führers . " Hitler ' s personal squadron now had a special insignia that was painted on the nose of all planes : a black eagle head on a white background , surrounded by a narrow red ring . In early 1939 , Baur felt that the Führer would be much safer flying in the newly designed Focke - Wulf Fw 200 Condor . Originally configured as a 26 - passenger Luft Hansa transport aircraft ( Werk Nr . 3099 ) , the plushed - up Condor was named " Immelmann III " registered as D - 2600 , and it served Hitler until it was destroyed in an Allied bombing raid on July 18 , 1944 . Führerbunker and Soviet detention . On 31 January 1944 , Baur was promoted to SS - Brigadeführer ( Major General ) and major general of the police ; and on February 24 , 1945 became an SS - Gruppenführer ( Lieutenant General ) and Generalleutnant of the Police . During the last days of the war , Baur was with Hitler in the Führerbunker . Baur had devised a plan to allow Hitler to escape from the Battle of Berlin ; a Fieseler Fi 156 " Storch " was held on standby which could take off from an improvised airstrip in the Tiergarten , near the Brandenburg Gate . However , Hitler refused to leave Berlin . On 26 April 1945 , the improvised landing strip was used by Hanna Reitsch to fly in Colonel - General Robert Ritter von Greim , appointed by Hitler as head of the Luftwaffe after Hermann Göring ' s dismissal . During the evening of 28 April , Reitsch flew von Greim out on the same road - strip and Hitler suggested to Baur that he evacuate himself and Martin Bormann the same way . Baur stayed with him until Hitler committed suicide on the afternoon of 30 April . After Hitler ' s suicide , Baur found the improvised road - strip too pot - holed for use and overrun by the Soviet 3rd Shock Army . A plan was devised to escape out from Berlin to the Allies on the western side of the Elbe or to the German Army to the North . SS - Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke , split up the Reich Chancellery and Führerbunker soldiers and personnel into ten main groups . Baur and Bormann left the Reich Chancellery as part of one of the groups . During his escape , after losing touch with Bormann , Baur was shot in the legs , and the wound was so serious that his right lower leg was later amputated in Posen on 10 June 1945 . Captured by the Soviets in a hospital , Baur was of great interest to his captors , who believed he may have flown Hitler to safety before the fall of Berlin . They also believed he had information concerning stolen art . They especially wanted information concerning the plundering of the Amber Room , ( Bernsteinzimmer ) , in Leningrad . He endured ten years of imprisonment in the USSR before being released on 10 October 1955 to the French where he was kept prisoner until 1957 . Later life and book . Baur returned to West Germany and in 1957 wrote his autobiography " Ich flog mit Mächtigen " , which liberally translates as " I flew with [ the ] mighty . " The book was later lengthened and the title was changed to " Mit Mächtigen zwischen Himmel und Erde " , which translates as " Between Heaven and Earth with [ the ] Mighty . " The French translation is more softly titled " J ' étais pilote de Hitler : Le sort du monde était entre mes mains " , which translates to " I was Hitler ' s pilot : The fate of the world was in my hands . " The book contains a collection of eye witness accounts of Hitler ' s daily activities and conversations and is unique because Hans Baur , as his private pilot and personal friend , was in Hitler ' s presence practically every day from 1933 to 1945 . The book contains an account of the events surrounding the arrest of Ernst Roehm , by Hitler himself , on June 30 , 1934 at Bad Wiessee in which Baur took part . The book also tells of Baur ' s dislike for Hermann Goering ( whom Baur describes as a " thick headed glutton " ) . Hans Baur was one of the few people who were truly close to Hitler and was one of the people assigned by Hitler to cremate his remains . Baur was one of the last persons to see Hitler alive in the Berlin bunker . The book has since been translated into English and is a rare insider look into Hitler ' s daily life and doings as leader of the German Reich . Baur died in Herrsching , Bavaria , of old age ailments in 1993 . For a time , his house in Herrsching served as a place of pilgrimage for many veterans of the war . He is interred in the family plot in the Westfriedhof in Munich . Portrayal in the media . Hans Baur has been portrayed by the following actors in film and television productions . He is also the subject of an episode of the television series " Hitler ' s Bodyguard " , entitled " Hitler ' s Aircraft and Flights of Fear " . Personal life . Hans Baur married Elfriede Braur in 1923 . Their only daughter Ingeborg was born the following year . After Elfriede Baur ' s death from cancer in 1935 , Baur married again , with Hitler as his best man . His second wife Maria , by whom he had two daughters , died while he was in captivity in Russia . His third wife , Cresentia , survived him .