Deutsche Lufthansa (abbreviated DLH) was an airline serving as the

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hist ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

from 1955 to 1963. Because of the usage of the ''Lufthansa'' branding (the trademark rights were owned by West German

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding m ...

) the East German company was under constant legal pressure, and was subsequently liquidated and replaced by

Interflug Interflug GmbH (german: Interflug Gesellschaft für internationalen Flugverkehr m.b.H.; ) was the national airline of the German Democratic Republic from 1963 to 1990. Based in East Berlin, it operated scheduled and chartered flights to European ...

History

On 27 April 1955, East Germany and the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

signed an agreement by which

Berlin Schönefeld Airport Berlin Schönefeld Airport () (formerly ) was the secondary international airport of Berlin, the capital of Germany. It was located southeast of Berlin near the town of Schönefeld in the state of Brandenburg and bordered Berlin's southern bou ...

was transferred to civilian use (since 1945, it had been operated by the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

, with scheduled passenger flights having been operated by

Aeroflot PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...

). As a consequence, the

Council of Ministers of the GDR The Council of Ministers (German: ''Ministerrat der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik'') was the cabinet and executive branch of the German Democratic Republic from November 1950 until the country was reunified on 3 October 1990.Starcevi, Nesha ( ...

decided to set up a national East German airline, a move which was finalized on 1 July with the appointment of the company's initial management committee. ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' was chosen as name for the airline (previously, it had been used by

Deutsche Luft Hansa ''Deutsche Luft Hansa A.G.'' (from 1933 styled as ''Deutsche Lufthansa'' and also known as ''Luft Hansa'', ''Lufthansa'', or DLH) was a German airline, serving as flag carrier of the country during the later years of the Weimar Republic and th ...

, the German flag carrier from 1926 to 1945), even though the branding rights had been purchased by West German

in 1954. Deutsche Lufthansa acquired a fleet of

Ilyushin Il-14 The Ilyushin Il-14 (NATO reporting name: Crate) was a Soviet twin-engine commercial and military personnel and cargo transport aircraft that first flew in 1950 in aviation, 1950, and entered service in 1954. The Il-14 was also manufactured in Eas ...

aircraft, which were initially operated by Soviet crews. The first flight of the airline took place on 16 September 1955, by which East German prime minister

Otto Grotewohl Otto Emil Franz Grotewohl (; 11 March 1894 – 21 September 1964) was a German politician who served as the first prime minister of the German Democratic Republic (GDR/East Germany) from its foundation in October 1949 until his death in Septembe ...

travelled to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

for a state visit. Scheduled passenger flights were launched on 4 February 1956 with the inauguration of the East Berlin-

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

service. In the same year, the route network was expanded to include Moscow and

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

as its most remote points. On 28 March 1960, the

Ilyushin Il-18 The Ilyushin Il-18 (russian: Илью́шин Ил-18; NATO reporting name: Coot) is a large turboprop airliner that first flew in 1957 and became one of the best known and most durable Soviet aircraft of its era. The Il-18 was one of the world ...

turboprop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake and is compressed by the compressor. Fuel ...

airliner) was put into service with Deutsche Lufthansa. Because of the usage of the ''Lufthansa'' branding, the company was sued by West German Lufthansa. As a side effect, the East German airline was prevented from being admitted into the

International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...

(it could not become a member of the

International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sc ...

either, because at that time neither East nor West Germany had been accepted into the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

). As a consequence, Deutsche Lufthansa was liquidated on 1 September 1963. Its staff, fleet and route network were transferred to

, which had been founded as a state-owned charter airline in 1958 and served as East German flag carrier thenceforth.

Route network

Deutsche Lufthansa served the following destinations on a scheduled basis. As

airline code This is a list of airline codes. The table lists IATA's two-character airline designators, ICAO's three-character airline designators and the airline call signs (telephony designator). Historical assignments are also included.ht IATA airli ...

for its flight numbers, DH was used.1963 Deutsche Lufthansa timetable, at timetableimages.com
/ref>

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Klaus Breiler: ''Das große Buch der Interflug''. Das Neue, Berlin 2007, . * Helmut Erfurth: ''Das große Buch der DDR-Luftfahrt''. GeraMond, München 2004, . {{Authority control Airlines of East Germany Airlines established in 1955 Airlines disestablished in 1963 1955 establishments in East Germany East Berlin