Erich Hartmann "the Blonde Knight of Germany" was born on April 19th, 1922 in Weissach near Wurttemberg Germany. His mother was a licensed pilot and his father was a respected physician who had been an Army Doctor in the First World War. He wanted both his sons to follow him into medicine but it was Erich's younger brother Alfred (ww2 stuka gunner then POW) who would become a doctor after the war. In the twenty's the German economy was suffering heavily under the Treaty of Versailles, so Erich's father's cousin, who was a diplomat in China, invited the family to move there. Dad went first, establishing his medical practice in Changsha Province and getting things ready for the rest of the Hartmann family that was soon to follow.
Erich's father bought an island in the middle of the Xiang River and on it, had a beautiful house built. They enjoyed many happy and care-free times there and, throughout his life, Erich would think back to those days. He cherished those memories for the rest of his life.
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