Editing Sigmund Jähn (section)

==Early life==

Jähn was born on 13 February 1937, in the town of [[Morgenröthe-Rautenkranz]], located within the [[Vogtland]] region of [[Saxony]], [[Nazi Germany]].<ref name="Hensel Warum ist">{{ill|Jana Hensel|lt=Hensel, Jana|de|Jana Hensel}}. {{Cite news |date=22 August 2018 |title=Sigmund Jähn: Warum ist dieser Mann kein Held? |language=de-DE |work=[[Die Zeit]] |url=https://www.zeit.de/wissen/geschichte/2018-08/sigmund-jaehn-astronaut-held-erinnerung-deutsche-einheit/komplettansicht |trans-title=Sigmund Jähn: Why Is This Man Not a Hero? |access-date=15 November 2023 |issn=0044-2070}}</ref> His father, Paul Jähn, was a [[sawmill]] worker, and his mother, Dora Jähn, was a [[housewife]].<ref name="Jähn Saxon Biography">{{Cite web |title=Biografie von Sigmund Jähn (1937-2019) - Sächsische Biografie {{!}} ISGV e.V. |url=https://saebi.isgv.de/biografie/Sigmund_J%C3%A4hn_(1937-2019) |access-date=15 November 2023 |language=de|website=[[Sächsische Biografie]]}}</ref> Sigmund attended primary school from 1943 to 1951 and then trained in an apprenticeship program as a book printer from 1951 to 1954.<ref>{{Cite web |author-last=Ebeling  |author-first=Petra |date=30 May 2014 |title=Diese Prominenten hatten Jobs in der Druckindustrie / Karrierlieter- print.de |trans-title=These Celebrities Had Jobs in the Printing Industry |language=de
|url-status=dead |url=http://www.print.de/News/Karriereleiter/Diese-Prominenten-hatten-Jobs-in-der-Druckindustrie_5544 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020220450/http://www.print.de/News/Karriereleiter/Diese-Prominenten-hatten-Jobs-in-der-Druckindustrie_5544/Diese-Prominenten-hatten-Jobs-in-der-Druckindustrie |archive-date=20 October 2014 |access-date=15 November 2023 |website={{ill|Deutscher Drucker|de}}}}</ref> Shortly after the apprenticeship, he worked as a [[:de:Pionierorganisation Ernst Thälmann|Pioneer Leader]] at the [[Hammerbrücke]] [[Central School (Hammerbrücke)|Central School]].<ref name=bio>{{cite web | url=http://www.esa.int/ger/ESA_in_your_country/Germany/Biografie_von_Sigmund_Jaehn | title=Biografie von Sigmund Jähn | publisher=[[European Space Agency]]|language=de | accessdate=26 August 2016}}</ref><ref name="Hensel">{{ill|Jana Hensel|lt=Hensel, Jana|de|Jana Hensel}}. {{cite news | accessdate = 23 September 2019 | title =Sigmund Jähn: Dort oben |trans-title= Sigmund Jähn: Up There| url = https://www.zeit.de/wissen/2019-09/sigmund-jaehn-nachruf-ddr-kosmonaut-tot/komplettansicht | date = 23 September 2019 | newspaper = [[Die Zeit]] | language = de}}</ref> Jähn (via his father's stories and memorabilia) and his father were impressed by the early rocketry pioneers of the 1920s around [[Fritz von Opel]] and the first manned rockets on land and in the air,<ref>[https://opel-tv-footage.com/v/The%20RAK%20Protocoll?p=4&c=86&l=1 German TV documentary on Opel RAK including interview with Jähn]</ref> igniting his enthusiasm for aviation, rocketry and spaceflight.

[[File:Opel RAK rocket cars bikes planes.png|thumb|left|Replica of Opel RAK rocket cars, bikes, and aircraft, originally demonstrated in the 1920s]]

On 26 April 1955, Jähn enlisted into the predecessor of the [[National People's Army|East German Army]] in the town of [[:de:Flugplatz Preschen|Preschen]] and eventually worked his way into the [[Air Forces of the National People's Army|East German Air Force]]. He finished basic training in 1956, enrolling into the [[:de:Offiziershochschule der Luftstreitkräfte/Luftverteidigung „Franz Mehring“|Officer's School in Kamenz]], and was sent to flight school in the town of [[Bautzen]], which would later become its own [[:de:Offiziershochschule der Luftstreitkräfte/Luftverteidigung für Militärflieger „Otto Lilienthal“|Officer's School for military pilots]]. Jähn returned to his squadron, the [[:de:Jagdfliegergeschwader 8|''Jagdfliegergeschwader 8'']], or ''Fighter Aviation Squad 8'', two years later and remained there until 1960, when he and his team were relocated one last time to [[Neuhardenberg|Marxwalde]]. During his flight career, he saved himself from crashing by ejecting from the [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17|MiG-17]] he was piloting.<ref name="Jähn MDR">{{Cite web |title=Kosmonaut Sigmund Jähn {{!}} MDR.DE |url=https://www.mdr.de/geschichte/ddr/politik-gesellschaft/kosmonaut-sigmund-jaehn-einer-von-uns-ddr-sandmann-100.html |access-date=16 November 2023 |date=16 February 2010 |website=[[Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk]] |language=de}}</ref> He worked as the [[Political commissar|Deputy Commander for Political Affairs]] in his squadron from 1961 to 1963, then headed the Air Tactics/Air Combat division until 1965. At the same time, Jähn passed his ''[[Abitur]]'' and was sent to the [[Gagarin Air Force Academy|J.A. Gagarin Air Force Academy]] in [[Monino]], just outside of [[Moscow]], [[Russia]]. Between 1970 and 1976, he was an inspector for fighter-pilot training and flight safety under the ''Deputy Head of the LSK/LV for Air Force Training'' of the [[Kommando LSK/LV]].

Jähn achieved the rank of [[Lieutenant colonel|Lieutenant Colonel]] and was selected for the Soviet Union's [[Interkosmos]] cosmonaut training program in November 1976, alongside three other candidates ([[Eberhard Köllner]], [[:de:Rolf Berger (General)|Rolf Berger]], and Eberhard Golbs). Jähn and Köllner were selected out of the three candidates to be included in the first Interkosmos group.<ref name="Hensel Warum ist" /> In addition to Jähn's previous flying experience and expertise with the Russian language, he was selected for his early entry into the SED<ref name="Hensel Warum ist"/> program and his success coming from a [[blue-collar]] background.<ref name="bio" />