Lufthansa was founded in 1926 as Deutsche Luft Hansa and later became Germany’s principal flag carrier.
Deutsche Luft Hansa was established on 6 January 1926 through the merger of Deutscher Aero Lloyd and Junkers Luftverkehr. The company’s name was written as Deutsche Luft Hansa, with a space, during its original period.
The present Deutsche Lufthansa AG was founded in 1953 and began operations in 1955 after the postwar Allied restrictions on German aviation had been relaxed. It adopted the historic crane emblem and the Lufthansa name associated with the earlier company.
The modern airline is therefore historically connected to Deutsche Luft Hansa, but it was not simply an uninterrupted legal continuation. This distinction is why references often describe Lufthansa as having been founded in 1953 while tracing its brand heritage to 1926.