For Beate Uhse, sex was not merely one of life's pleasures. It was initially a precious lifeline, then the key to success and wealth. Born in East Prussia in 1919, Beate Kostlin (her maiden name) left school at sixteen and soon after married Hans Jurgen Uhse, a Luftwaffe colonel pilot. Beate also obtained her pilot's license and became the only female pilot in the German aviation. World War II broke out, and both spouses fought in the skies over half of Europe. Hans Jurgen was shot down by British anti-aircraft fire, and Beate found herself both a Luftwaffe officer and a war widow. On April 30, 1945, with the Russians at Berlin's doorstep, Beate fled north in a twin-engine aircraft with her two children. At Lech, she surrendered to the British and got away with a few months in prison. Life for a war widow with two children was extremely tough in post-war devastated Germany. Beate had an idea that changed her life and that of many other Germans.
