In 1901, Major Baron Albrecht von Richthofen together with his wife Kunigunde von Schickfuss (maiden name) moved into a villa located in today’s Wladyslaw Sikorski Street no. 19. Their oldest son Manfred born in 1892 was nine at that time and his brother Lothar was seven. Before his death on 21 April 1918, Manfred won over 80 air battles during the First World War, which makes him the best German fighter pilot ever. His name became a symbol. He was decorated with the Pour le Mérite (The Blue Max), the same as his brother Lothar. Despite serious injuries, Lothar did survive the war. However, he died on 4 July 1922 in a plane crash near Hamburg. His funeral took place on 11 July on Swidnica garrison cemetery. He was buried next to his father, who died in 1920. At present, the cemetery is a part of the park and there are no graves (the garrison cemetery was located between the streets of Armii Krajowej and Kolejowa near the bus station and bus bays – author’s note). In lasting memory of Manfred, the so-called Richthofen’s oak was planted and a erratic block with a curved inscription was placed in Sikorski Park. In 1928, the Richthofen mausoleum was built but only its remains survived to this day. Shortly after the Mausoleum was built, the mother of the two outstanding pilots decided to found a museum dedicated to her two beloved sons. The Richthofen Museum was opened on 26 April 1933. Since Prussian Prime Minister Hermann Goering and the last commander of the I Fighter Aviation Regiment named after Manfred von Richthofen, could not arrive in Swidnica at that time, his funeral speech, which was recorded on a vinyl and broadcasted by Wroclaw Radio, was directed to the pilots’ mother and the honourable guests, who gathered in large numbers. Among the guests, who made their funeral speeches, there was the head of the Silesian district of NSDAP as well as Hekmut Brueckner, the Senior President of the Silesian provinces and Edmund Heines, the head of Wroclaw Police. Goering’s visit to the Richthofen Museum was not until 13 May 1934, during his inspecting visit around Silesia together with the Minister Walther Daree. On the opening of the museum in 1933 Strzegomska Street was renamed to Manfred von Richthofen Street (now Sikorski Street). The museum consisted of five rooms on the top floor of the villa. The staircase was converted, so that it led from ground floor straight up to the museum facilities. The stairwell was decorated with over 300 antlers from all over Germany. There were also the hunting trophies of the pilots’ father, Albrecht von Richthofen, who died in 1920. His military uniform was exposed on the highest platform of the staircase. The first room was dedicated to Manfred’s younger brother, Lothar, who although seriously injured three times won over 40 air battles and got the highest military decoration Pour le Mérite. In the middle of his room, there was a model of the Albatross D III biplane. The exhibition included also different orders, a Swedish honorary sword, reports from German and foreign papers and various special press supplements. In one of the corners, there was a portrait of Lothar’s greatest opponent, the English Captain Ball. The good luck seemed to be on Lothar’s side as the bullets from his machine gun hit Ball’s plane carburettor. The parts of the shot-down plane reminded of the fight between two equal opponents. The second was the room of Manfred’s youth. There was his collection of red, white and blue parts of plane wings and side parts of the shot-down planes’ fuselages with the side numbers on. Glass cases contained Manfred’s badges, which he got during different prewar contests. Museum’s collection included also few of his portraits. As Manfred was a keen hunter and an expert shooter, the third room was reserved to his hunting trophies only. Fourth room was decorated with the portraits of Manfred’s friends and colleagues and a board with Praetorius-von Richthofen family tree. According to this genealogy, Manfred was a descendant, in a direct line, with the “Old Dessauer,” whose granddaughter married Baron von Richthofen. The fifth room was devoted to Manfred’s tragic death. Among laurels and flowers there was a simple wooden cross, which was put by the English pilots on Manfred’s first grave in Fricourt. Black velevet cushions were covered with Manfred’s orders and decorations. There were also some of the letters of condolence and pictures of Manfred’s original burial place. The museum was open Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 12:00 and from 15:00 to 18:00. Unfortunately, all the exhibit items from the Richthofen Museum went missing without any trace after the town was occupied by the Red Army on 8 May 1945.