Description
Original autograph photograph of the Luftwaffe Pilot Colonel Wolfgang Falck, Knight's Cross. Printing and signature before to 1945. Illustration by Willrich. Wolfgang Falck (19 August 1910 in Berlin – 13 March 2007) was a German officer during World War II. He was one of the key organisers of the German night fighter defences of the Luftwaffe. Falck was commander of the first dedicated night fighter unit Nachtjagdgeschwader 1 in June 1940. He commanded the NJG 1 for three years and in partnership with General Josef Kammhuber developed a highly effective night fighter force. In July 1943, Falck was promoted to Oberst and transferred to the Generalstab as Kammhuber's representative at the Luftwaffenführungsstab. Falck was then sent to Berlin and appointed within the Luftwaffenbefehlshaber Mitte, as overall responsible for the day and night fighter defence of the Reich. He was then appointed Jagdfliegerführer Balkan based at Pančevo from June 1944. Falck then became General Flieger-Ausbildung, responsible for all Luftwaffe training schools, shortly after. In March 1945 he was given command of fighters based in the Rhineland, but did not take up the role, becoming a prisoner of the American Forces on 3 May 1945 in Bavaria. In 1997, Falck appeared in the last episode of the documentary The Nazis: A Warning from History, named Fighting to the end. Falck was amongst several German war veterans who explained what motivated them to continue fighting late in the war. Falck served as president of the German veterans organization Gemeinschaft der Jagdflieger from 18 October 1975 to 8 October 1977
