The outdoor scenes were shot over the course of two months at the gliding center of the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS) in Rossitten. While the main site of the DFS was on top of the Wasserkuppe mountain in the Rhön Mountains, the dunes of the Curonian Spit in East Prussia in which Rossiten was located provided for a more picturesque and romantic setting. Another reason was that this location was also politically charged, as East Prussia became separated from Germany after the latter had to cede territory to Poland after World War I. The ceded provinces became known as Polish Corridor, which was a contentious issue for the German right-wing parties in the Weimar Republic and then in the Third Reich. Only the scenes showing the protagonists participating in the gliding competition were shot on the Wasserkuppe — during the actual competition.