1935 to 1945: Dresden Airport established in Klotzsche

In March 1934 a decision was made in favour of Dresden-Klotzsche, and the construction work started four months later. After one year of construction, the Airport Dresden-Klotzsche was officially opened on 11 July 1935. A modern airport building called Hansa House accommodated a restaurant with a large café hall and bars, a skittle club and a roof terrace restaurant with 750 seats. There were even a few hotel rooms. Daily connections to Chemnitz, Leipzig, Berlin, Breslau and Prague were offered.

The dominance of the military in Dresden-Klotzsche became more and more apparent: The headquarters of a military airfield commandant of the Deutsche Luftwaffe took over the administration of the airport in July 1937. Even before this, buildings for an aerial warfare training centre were erected at the eastern edge of the airfield. However, commercial air traffic continued for a while, but nearly came to a standstill when World War II broke out in 1939.

The strategically important air base was not targeted during the war. The Deutsche Wehrmacht tried to destroy the airfield and technical equipment when retreating in April 1945, but German workers managed to prevent at least the Hansa House from being blown up. The Wehrmacht moved out of the airfield on 7 May 1945, leaving an incredible chaos behind.