Lufthansa CEO finally addresses its dark Nazi-era history and war crimes.

Lufthansa Group has formally and publicly acknowledged its deep involvement with the Nazi regime.

CEO Carsten Spohr confirmed the airline’s predecessor was "clearly part of the system." This admission came during a press conference at Frankfurt Airport on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. The statement is part of a new, comprehensive review of the company's history.

Acknowledging the Dark Chapter

For decades, the airline maintained a legal separation from its wartime predecessor. The original Deutsche Luft Hansa AG was founded in 1926 and dissolved after World War II. The current Deutsche Lufthansa AG was founded in 1953, acquiring the name and iconic crane logo.

However, the company now explicitly connects to the 1926 founding for its 100th anniversary celebration. Spohr stated that ignoring the "difficult, dark, terrible years" would be dishonest.

Role in the Nazi War Economy

The original airline was deeply integrated into the National Socialist war effort. It participated in the initially secret rearmament of Germany. This included acting as a "clandestine air force" for the government.

Deutsche Luft Hansa was a major armaments company by 1944. Armaments contracts accounted for two-thirds of its total revenue that year. This wartime production relied heavily on forced labor.

• Over 12,000 people were exploited in the company's repair and maintenance operations.
• The forced laborers included deported Ukrainians and German Jews.
• Historians recently confirmed that children were also among those exploited.

Historian Manfred Grieger, a co-author of the new study, called the company a "protagonist and a beneficiary of the Nazi war economy."

The New Corporate History

The airline commissioned a new corporate history to critically examine this period. The forthcoming book will be published in March 2026. It is authored by historians Hartmut Berghoff, Manfred Grieger, and Jörg Lesczenski.

This new approach signals a major shift in German corporate history transparency. Previous management boards had emphasized the legal separation for liability and reputational reasons. Lufthansa now acknowledges the continuity of key personnel after the war.

An earlier study commissioned by Lufthansa over 25 years ago was not fully acknowledged or published. CEO Spohr stated that the company’s handling of that prior work hurt its reputation. The new book will be distributed to all of the company's over 100,000 employees.

This move places Lufthansa among a minority of German firms confronting their Nazi-era past. According to the Society for Business History, less than 8% of German companies have professionally reviewed their role during Nazism. Corporate responsibility demands this level of transparency. The Group’s actions set a new standard for acknowledging a difficult past. This is especially true for major global brands like Lufthansa, a founding member of Star Alliance.

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