Roedel recounted the little-known story of JG-53. During the battle for Britain in spring 1940, Goering had discovered that the wife of JG-53’s commander was Jewish. So Goering made the commander and his staff strip the spade crests from their planes. In its place, Goering made them paint a red stripe, a mark of shame. To get back at Goering, the commander and his staff painted over the swastikas on their tails and flew that way all summer. Finally Goering could stand it no longer. He sacked the commander and replaced him. But he allowed the commander’s men to repaint the spades on their
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