A Nazi pilot will not be honoured after all at a women in aviation event tomorrow in Lachute, northwest of Montreal.
Organizers have decided against paying tribute to Hanna Reitsch as the first women to ever pilot a helicopter. She was a Luftwaffe instructor and a personal friend of Adolph Hitler.
The Jewish group B'nai Brith had protested the tribute, calling Reitsch an unrepentent Nazi and accusing the Institute for Women of Aviation Worldwide of being insensitive to Holocaust survivors and their families.
Organizers of Saturday's conference were contacted by the City of Lachute, which registered its strong objection to any Nazi-promoting activity in its jurisdiction.
Lachute says is has now received reassurances from organizers that Reitsch will not be honoured or even mentioned in any context during the event, which is expected to draw up to 800 people.