A Cold War treasure featuring a "fake" Lufthansa

Description

There is more to this mid-century pictorial world map than meets the eye! A quick, first glance at it shows an airline route network covering the globe, with “Deutsche Lufthansa” featuring as the main title, towards the bottom of the map. This is even accompanied by the airline’s well-known logo – a stylised crane – incorporated into a compass rose. A closer look, however, reveals a continuation of the title, in smaller, less legible font, almost as if to be kept secret, showing “Deutsche Demokratische Republik”, i.e. German Democratic Republic or, simply, former East Germany.

This seems an oxymoron – an airline which, during the time of the post-war division of Germany, was founded in, and operating from, former West Germany, portrayed as East German. How is this possible? The answer is hidden in peculiarities only possible during the Cold War.

The very original Lufthansa was founded in 1926 as “Deutsche Luft Hansa AG”, i.e. a public limited company / joint-stock company according to German law. It served as German flag carrier until the outbreak of World War II, then coming under the command of the Luftwaffe, and eventually ceasing operations just a few days before Germany’s surrender in 1945.

Following the war, during Allied occupation of Germany, all German aircraft were seized and the Deutsche Luft Hansa AG liquidated. For a period of about 10 years, there were no German airlines, and all aviation in Germany was controlled by the Allied forces.

In the early 1950s, following the separate foundation of two German states in 1949, West Germany started working towards reestablishing a German airline. The resulting legal entity adopted the branding of the former Deutsche Luft Hansa AG by acquiring its name, logo, and colours (without being considered its legal successor otherwise), and started calling itself Deutsche Lufthansa AG. In 1955, it commenced scheduled flights and has been operating as the German flag carrier and commonly known airline to this day.

With West Germany having its own airline, East Germany did not want to be left behind. It established and commenced operating its own national airline, in the same year as West Germany did, calling it … Deutsche Lufthansa GmbH! This meant that two airlines of the same name existed now, just in a different legal form, with “GmbH” representing a limited liability company in German law.

The present map was published by this East German copycat Lufthansa in 1962. It shows a route network that integrates the airline’s own destinations with those of its partners – all Eastern Bloc flag carriers, listed on the map’s verso, along with descriptions of the respective capital cities that served as their home bases. The map is adorned with the image of a Soviet-made Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop airliner, the airline’s main aircraft model at the time, along with pictorial representations of key sights and typical architecture of major destinations as well as caricature-style depictions of natives of these places. Various ships, some reminiscent of those often rendered in 17^th century Dutch maps, complete the picture.

In the very same year the map was published, the East German Lufthansa lost protracted legal undertakings by its West German counterpart over its company name and logo. One year later, in 1963, the airline was liquidated, with Interflug taking over as East Germany’s flag carrier.

Created by G. Bormann. Published by the press and marketing department of the [East German] Deutsche Lufthansa, Berlin-Schönefeld Central Airport.

An intriguing relic from the time of Germany’s division.

Condition

Fine.

A bright print on a clean sheet. Issued folding (folds to 10.0 x 21.3 cm / 3.9 x 8.4 in). Printed colour. No visible flaws, and no repairs.

Reference

Rumsey #11587

As time flies by. n.d. Lufthansa Group. https://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/chronicle.html

Deutsche Luft Hansa. (2025, January 30). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Luft_Hansa

Deutsche Lufthansa (East Germany). (2024, December 23). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Lufthansa_(East_Germany)

Interflug. (2025, February 14). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interflug

Lufthansa. (2025, February 14). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufthansa

Mit der Interflug ans Schwarze Meer. (2022, August 12). MDR.de. https://www.mdr.de/geschichte/ddr/alltag/reisen-freizeit/interflug-fluglinie-airline-100.html

Pattke, J. (2012, March 31). Deutsche Lufthansa 1952-1963 (East Germany). FOTW Flags Of The World. https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/de$dlh.html

Item #: 02536

US $550.00

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