Lindbergh's secret second family?

Charles A. Lindbergh's sympathy for the Nazi regime in prewar Germany has long been a stain on his gilded legacy — a puzzling detour in a life of heroic aviation and adventure.

Now, a prominent German newspaper contends that Lindbergh had more personal ties to Germany long after World War II, through a relationship with a woman in Munich with whom he had three children. In an article to be published Saturday, Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that on a visit to Germany in 1957, Lindbergh, then 55, met and fell in love with Brigitte Hesshaimer, a 31-year-old hat maker.

For the next 17 years, the paper says, Ms. Hesshaimer was an intimate companion to Lindbergh and gave birth to three children who now range in age from 36 to 45. They discovered their father's identity only after his death in 1974. . .

Ms. Hessheimer died in 1999, having sworn her children to an oath that they not disclose their father's identity while she was alive.

From today's NY Times. The Süddeutsche Zeitung article -- auf Deutsch, natürlich -- is here.

Posted by David on August 2, 2003 1:16 PM