Beate Uhse-Rotermund
| Beate Uhse-Rotermund | |
|---|---|
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Beate Uhse (1971)
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| Birth name | Beate Köstlin |
| Born |
October 25, 1919 Wargenau, East Prussia |
| Died | July 16, 2001 (aged 81) St. Gallen, Switzerland |
| Allegiance |
 Nazi Germany
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| Service/branch |
 Luftwaffe
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| Years of service | 1939–1945 |
| Rank | Hauptmann |
| Unit | Überführungsgeschwader 1 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Other work | Businesswoman |
Beate Uhse-Rotermund (German pronunciation: [beˈaːtə ˈuːzə ˈʁoːtɐmʊnt]; born Beate Köstlin [ˈkœstliːn] October 25, 1919 – July 16, 2001) was a German pilot and entrepreneur. The only female stunt pilot in Germany in the 1930s, after World War II she started the first sex shop in the world. The company she started, Beate Uhse AG, is listed on the .
Uhse was born in Wargenau (now a neighbourhood of Cranz), East Prussia. She was the youngest of three children of the farmer Otto Köstlin and the doctor Magarete Köstlin (one of the first five female doctors in Germany).
When she was eight years old, her older brother told her the myth of Icarus. Beate was fascinated by the story, and by the idea of flying—so much so that she gathered chicken feathers and glued together some wings and jumped from her parents' veranda. Beate was a wild child. Her parents did not try to control her; instead they encouraged their daughter in her interests and desires. They assisted her in getting a good education. They informed their children on sexual matters early, and spoke with them openly about sexuality and contraception. At fifteen Beate became the Hessian javelin champion.
At the age of sixteen Beate Köstlin went to England for a year, to learn English as an au pair. Afterwards, she returned to her parents' home where, to satisfy her parents, she obtained a "proper" education (in Home Economics). During a trip to Berlin, her father met a Mr. Sachsenberg, a lecturer on motor sports from the German Aero-Club (a nonprofit organization dedicated to flying), and complained to him of his "flying-crazy" daughter and the "nonsensical" concept of a female pilot. Sachsenberg was, instead, excited by the idea, and sent the seventeen-year-old Beate information about obtaining a pilot's license.
Finally her parents gave in to her demands, and in 1937 Beate joined the Rangsdorf pilot school near Berlin. In October, on her 18th birthday, she received her pilot's license. In 1938 she passed the stunt pilot exam, and shortly thereafter competed in a race in Belgium. She won in her category, and also won 2nd place overall in target landing and 3rd in "punctual flight."
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