Lindbergh, Charles

Lindbergh, Charles
(1902–1974)
   On 20–21 May 1927, Lindbergh, then a 25-year-old U.S. Air Mail pilot, emerged from virtual obscurity to almost instantaneous world fame as the result of his Orteig Prize–winning solo nonstop flight from Roosevelt Field on Long Island to Le Bourget Field in Paris in the single-seat, singleengine airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis. Lindbergh, an army reserve officer, was also awarded the nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his historic exploit. Before the United States entered World War II in December 1941, the iconic Lindbergh had been an outspoken advocate of keeping the United States out of Europe’s conflict and he became a leader of the antiwar and isolationist America First Committee. In the aftermath of his visit to Germany in 1936, Lindbergh praised German accomplishments in aviation, and in 1938 he received a medal, the Service Cross of the German Eagle, from the German government. In the months prior to Pearl Harbor, however, Lindbergh gave a speech under the auspices of the American First Committee in Des Moines, Iowa, on 11 September 1941, where he criticized America’s involvement by way of its support of Great Britain and singled out the British, the Roosevelt administration, and the Jews as the “major agitators for war.” Although he understood the Jews’ desire for “the overthrow of Nazi Germany,” Lindbergh expressed concern over “their large ownership and influence in our motion pictures, our press, our radio, and our government.” The speech severely damaged Lindbergh’s reputation inasmuch as he had repeated the same types of stereotypes that one associated with anti-Semites. Rabbi Irving F. Reichart of Temple Emanu-El of San Francisco retorted, “Hitler himself could not have delivered a more diabolical speech.” Lindbergh claimed he was not anti-Semitic but simply responding to facts. He never apologized for his remarks because he believed that what he had said was true. President Franklin D. Roosevelt disliked Lindbergh’s outspoken opposition to intervention and his policies such as the Lend-Lease Act. Roosevelt said to Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau in May 1940, “If I should die tomorrow, I want you to know this, I am absolutely convinced Lindbergh is a Nazi.” Nonetheless, Lindbergh supported the war effort after Pearl Harbor and flew many combat missions in the Pacific theater of World War II as a civilian consultant, even though President Roosevelt had refused to reinstate his Army Air Corps colonel’s commission that he had resigned earlier in 1939.

Historical dictionary of the Holocaust. . 2014.

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  • Lindbergh,Charles Augustus — Lindbergh, Charles Augustus. Known as “Lucky Lindy.” 1902 1974. American aviator who made the first solo transatlantic flight (May 20 21, 1927). His books include We (1936) and an autobiography, The Spirit of St. Louis (1953). * * * …   Universalium

  • Lindbergh, Charles A. — ▪ American aviator in full  Charles Augustus Lindbergh  born February 4, 1902, Detroit, Michigan, U.S. died August 26, 1974, Maui, Hawaii  American aviator, one of the best known figures in aeronautical history, remembered for the first nonstop… …   Universalium

  • Lindbergh, Charles Augustus — (1902 1974)    Charles A. Lindbergh became a national hero after making the first singlehanded, nonstop transatlantic flight from New York to Paris in his airplane, The Spirit of St Louis, on 20 May 1927. He had previously flown in the Army Air… …   Historical Dictionary of the Roosevelt–Truman Era

  • Lindbergh, Charles A(ugustus) — born Feb. 4, 1902, Detroit, Mich., U.S. died Aug. 26, 1974, Maui, Hawaii Aviator who made the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. He left college to enroll in army flying schools and became an airmail pilot in 1926. He obtained… …   Universalium

  • Lindbergh, Charles A(ugustus) — (4 feb. 1902, Detroit, Mich., EE.UU.–26 ago. 1974, Maui, Hawai). Aviador que realizó el primer vuelo en solitario, sin escalas, a través del Atlántico. Abandonó los estudios universitarios para enrolarse en las escuelas de pilotos del ejército y… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Lindbergh, Charles Augustus — ► (1902 74) Aviador estadounidense. Fue el primero que efectuó el vuelo Nueva York París sin escalas, en 1927, a bordo del Spirit of St. Louis …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Charles Augustus Lindbergh — Charles Lindbergh Pour les articles homonymes, voir Lindbergh (homonymie) et Lindberg. Charles Lindbergh …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Lindbergh — Charles Lindbergh Pour les articles homonymes, voir Lindbergh (homonymie) et Lindberg. Charles Lindbergh …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Charles Lindberg — Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. (* 4. Februar 1902 in Detroit, Michigan, USA; † 26. August 1974 in Kipahulu, Maui, Hawaii), war ein US amerikanischer Pilot und Träger der Medal of Honor …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Charles A. Lindbergh State Park — Charles A. Lindbergh House and Park U.S. National Register of Historic Places U.S. National Historic Landmark …   Wikipedia

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