An inspiring treasure from the past

I currently have next to me, a very deteriorated object which passed the test of time and was passed down in my family from one generation to another. It belonged to a daring pioneer who overcame the gender boundaries of that era. My treasure is a leather flying helmet. Of course, perhaps she changed it a few times in her career; there are no specifications about this in her diary, but I still find it amazing to hold in hands such a historical treasure. Needless to say, for me it is a special symbol, since I would like to become a pilot as well. Knowing that somewhere along my family tree there was not only a pilot, but a living time legend who brought fame and glory not only to my relatives but also to my country is the highest form of motivation possible.

My treasure belonged to Smaranda Brăescu. She is considered a very important historical figure in Romania, and I feel so lucky to be related to her, although I am not a direct descendant of her. She was born on 21st of May 1897 in a small village. In 1923 she flew for the first time as a passenger. It was an important moment in her life, because it stimulated her passion for aviation, although her hopes of becoming a pilot were extremely low, because she was a female. Like many other people at that time, she had many brothers and sisters. One of those sisters happened to be my great-grand-mother.

In 1926 she came to the air piloting school in Tecuci with a recommendation from one of her brothers, well known in the Romanian aviation field, but she was promptly declined by the Commander of the school.

A year later, in 1927, she met, and got to know, the famous inventor and parachute jumper Otto Heinecke. Impressed by the young woman and her fascinating wish, he promised that he will help her in her quest, and invited her to Berlin.

And so, our heroine goes to Germany in 1928 and she jumped for the first time from 600 meters, after many hours of training, courses and demonstrations. On that day she broke her first record. Smaranda became the first woman to jump with a parachute from Romania and the 3rd one in Europe. But our heroine doesn’t stop here, of course. After this jump there were others, higher and higher. In 1931, in Sacramentro, Smaranda Brăescu launches herself from the height of 6000 meters beating the previous record of 4800 meters.

I remember when I was about 7 or 8 years old and I was staying with my great-grand- mother and she was reading to me about Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space. After she finished, she began talking about a less known figure, shadowed, perhaps by the communist dictature, perhaps by the passing of time, but to which we were related. And that was the first time I heard and learned about the fact that I was related to Smaranda Brăescu. Afterwards, my great-grand-mother showed me the very first time the leather helmet, and from that moment I was charmed, hooked forever to aviation. I took the helmet and started pretending I was a pilot in World War 2 blasting other planes, making them burst into flames and raising my plane in glory, imagining that my famous relative was watching over me, congratulating me silently. Needless to say, for my family, this historical familial prize and treasure is more than important, it’s vital for its pride and continuity. To me personally, the record-breaking relative is just a sign to continue on the path that I have started on and don’t stop, no matter what others say or think.

On August 23rd 1944 a coup d’état happened in Romania and we turned against our allies, the Germans. This also meant, however, that Soviets occupied, at first directly, then indirectly, through political influence, Romania. As you can imagine, for a personality like Smaranda who was against communism it wasn’t going to end well. After the war ended, the Soviets persecuted about 100 post-war personalities and war decorated heroes and veterans. They disliked the idea of other people being liked more than those in power. Apart from this,

the first years of Soviet occupation were characterized the existence of Stalinism, until Stalin’s death in 1953.

Our family’s heroine, however, escaped trial with the help of a villager from her native county. This man, worker at the national railway company, helped her board a train to Cluj and gave her a new identity. Supposedly, he is also the one who gave to my great-grand- mother the leather helmet, which was passed through generations until today.

The 20th century was extremely important, because it contains a lot of events which affect our day to day life and the way we live. It was also a century of discoveries and upgrades in industry, economy, and many other branches, one of the most important and visible today being aviation. Although aviation, like many other fields at that time, was mainly a ”men only” industry there were a few daring women, like Smaranda, that broke this unspoken law.