[N 1] The film follows the story of officers of the Luftstreitkräfte (German Air Force) in the First World War who were later involved in the formation of the Luftwaffe.

[2] Pour le Mérite propagates the "stab legend", which blames the German military defeat in World War I on an alleged treason in the homeland.

After 1933, a wave of National Socialism flows in Germany with the Nazi regime attracting the discontented former officers of Jagdgeschwader 1, all of whom hold the coveted Pour le Mérite award.

[6] After the end of the Second World War, the High Command of the Allied victorious powers prohibited the screening of Pour le Mérite.

Today, the evaluation rights are held by the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation, which sanctions the screening of the film only in the context of special educational events.

Paul Hartmann was magnificent as the squadron leader, and he received much assistance from the other "flyers", Albert Hehn, Fritz Kampers and Herbert A.E.