Richthofen and the Creation of a Legend

On 13 May, Dr Nicholas Martin of the University of Birmingham will discuss 'The Red Baron: Manfred von Richthofen and the Creation of a Legend' as part of the RAF Museum's First World War in the Air Lunchtime Lecture series.

TALK OUTLINE

The lecture will examine Manfred von Richthofen’s memoir The Red Battle Flyer (1918) and attempt to establish the part played by Richthofen himself in creating and promoting the myth of the invincible, ruthless yet gentlemanly “Red Baron”.

Richthofen’s presentation of his philosophy of aerial combat, his thoughts on the meaning of heroism and sacrifice, and his view of the role of air power on the Western Front will be outlined and discussed.

Dr Martin will also briefly compare The Red Battle Flyer to other German ‘aerial’ memoirs of WW1 and trace the ‘afterlife’ of the Red Baron, both during the Nazi period and in contemporary popular culture.

LOCATION AND TIME

This lecture will be held in the RAF Museum lecture theatre at 12:30PM on Friday 13 May 2016.

TICKETS

This lecture is free of charge however we do ask that you pre-book a free ticket as seats are limited. Booking is quick and easy, we just need some basic contact information.

BOOK YOUR TICKET HERE TODAY

ABOUT DR NICHOLAS MARTIN
Dr Nicholas Martin is Reader in European Intellectual History in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Birmingham, and Director of the University’s Institute for German Studies. He is Editor-in-chief of the academic journal Forum for Modern Language Studies. His research interests are in modern German intellectual history and in the cultural history of war and political violence in twentieth-century Germany