Hugo Eckener (10 August 1868 – 14 August 1954) Schwensen

Thomas Adam Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

. p. 289 ostsee.de was the manager of the

Luftschiffbau Zeppelin Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturing company. It is perhaps best known for its leading role in the design and manufacture of rigid airships, commonly referred to as ''Zeppelins'' due to the company's prominence. The name ...

during the inter-war years, and also the commander of the famous '' Graf Zeppelin'' for most of its record-setting flights, including the first

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

flight around the world, making him the most successful airship commander in history. He was also responsible for the construction of the most successful type of airships of all time. An anti-Nazi who was invited to campaign as a moderate in the German presidential elections, Social Democratic Party of Germany 18 February 1932 p. 12

. p. 290 he was blacklisted by that regime and eventually sidelined.

Background

Eckener was born in Flensburg as the first child of Johann Christoph Eckener from Bremen and Anna Lange, daughter of a shoemaker. As a youth he was judged an "indifferent student", and he spent summers sailing and winters ice skating. Nevertheless, by 1892 under Professor Wilhelm Wundt, Eckener had earned a doctorate "magna cum laude" in what today might be deemed experimental psychology. at

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

. Eckener then began his military service in the Infantry Regiment 86 in Flensburg. Eckener's early career was as a journalist and editor; by August 1893 he was working for the '; in October 1897 he married Johanna, daughter of the publisher family Maaß. He later became a correspondent for the Frankfurter Zeitung in 1905 and 1906, whilst writing a book on the social effects of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

Pre-war airship activities

Asked to cover the first flights of the

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

s LZ 1 and

LZ 2 The '' LZ 2'' was a German experimental airship constructed by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin and first flown in 1906. It was the true ancestor of later Zeppelin airship designs. The major mistakes made by Kübler in the design of the ''LZ 1'' were n ...

, Eckener was critical of both airships' marginal performances, but praised

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Ferdinand von Zeppelin Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin (german: Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin; 8 July 1838 – 8 March 1917) was a German general and later inventor of the Zeppelin rigid airships. His name soon became synonymous with airships a ...

's dedication to his cause. Because several scientists and engineers had criticized his airship plans, the Count sought to speak to Eckener. Eckener was so impressed by him that during October 1908 he agreed to be a part-time publicist for the Zeppelin Company. He became extremely interested in airships, and joined the company on a full-time basis. His aptitude at flying was noticed early on in his career, and he became an airship captain, obtaining his airship license in 1911. However, when Eckener attempted his first flight on 16 May 1911 in the LZ 8, christened ''Deutschland II'', he decided to launch it in a strong wind, which pushed the craft into the hangar wall, damaging it seriously. Brandes 2004 Nonetheless, he became a very successful airshipman.

World War I

Eckener was responsible for training most of Germany's airship pilots both during and after World War I. Despite his protestations, he was not allowed on operational missions due to his value as an instructor.

Head of the Zeppelin Company

Bundesarchiv Bild 102-00645, Probefahrt des Zeppelin-Luftschiffes Z

After the War, Eckener succeeded Count

, who had died on 8 March 1917. After considerable conflict with Zeppelin's business manager, Alfred Colsman, who wanted to replace the production of airships with production of other (and likely more profitable) products, Eckener was able to keep the Zeppelin factory at Friedrichshafen on Bodensee (

Lake Constance Lake Constance (german: Bodensee, ) refers to three Body of water, bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, ca ...

) in

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

, southern Germany, from being retooled. Colsman left the company soon afterwards. The

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

had forbidden Germans to construct airships of the size needed to operate the profitable trans-Atlantic service that was Eckener's goal. However, after much skillful lobbying, he persuaded the U.S. and German governments to allow the company to build LZ 126, later rechristened the USS ''Los Angeles'' (ZR-3), for the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as part of Germany's war reparations. Eckener captained the airship on its delivery flight to

Lakehurst, New Jersey Lakehurst is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 2,654, The ''Los Angeles'' became the longest-serving rigid airship ever operated by the United States Navy.

The golden age of the rigid airship

Bundesarchiv Bild 102-12053, Rudolf Lasarewitsch Samoilowitsch und Hugo Eckener

Refused funds by the penniless

Weimar government The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...

, Eckener and his colleagues began a nationwide fund-raising lecture tour in order to commence construction of '' Graf Zeppelin'', which became the most successful rigid airship ever built. The first flight to America was fraught with drama. Near Bermuda on the outbound flight the airship was nearly lost after becoming caught in a severe storm during which fabric was ripped off the left fin. The ship was saved only by Eckener's skilled piloting and the courage of his son, Knut Eckener, and other crew members who climbed out onto the fin to repair the damage. Upon arrival in America, a country which Eckener grew to love, he and the crew were subject to the first of two New York ticker tape parades. Eckener captained ''Graf Zeppelin'' during most of its record-setting flights, including the 1928 first intercontinental passenger airship flight, the 1929 flight around the world (the only such flight by an airship, and the second by an aircraft of any type) and the 1931 Arctic flight. Interrupted Flight 1929

A master of publicity as well as a master airship captain, Eckener used the ''Graf Zeppelin'' to establish the Zeppelin as a symbol of German pride and engineering. After these flights the public treated Eckener as a national hero. During the early 1930s, Eckener was one of the most well-known and respected figures in Weimar Republic Germany. In the 1932 presidential election Eckener was a potential unity candidate against Adolf Hitler, encouraged to campaign by leaders of both the SPD and the Zentrum, but he bowed out when

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fr ...

decided to run for a second term. However, his potential candidacy had already angered the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

. de Syon, p.176 "opponent of the economic policy of autarky and of the regime's Jewish policies" ... "incensed by the new flag order" In supposed anger and fear of Eckener, Hitler's de facto deputy,

Hermann Esser Hermann Esser (29 July 1900 – 7 February 1981) was an early member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP). A journalist, Esser was the editor of the Nazi paper, ''Völkischer Beobachter'', a Propaganda Leader, and a Vice President of the Reichstag. In the ...

, once called him the "director of the flying

Weisswurst A Weisswurst (German ''Weißwurst'' , literally ''white sausage''; bar, Weißwuascht) is a traditional Bavarian sausage made from minced veal and pork back bacon. It is usually flavored with parsley, lemon, mace, onions, ginger and cardamom, ...

", a greyish-white

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

Sidelined

The Nazis came to power in January 1933. A planned arrest of Eckener in 1933 was blocked by Hindenburg. Hitler met Eckener only once, in July 1933, but the two barely spoke. Eckener did not make any secret of his dislike of the Nazis and the disastrous events he foresaw. He criticised the regime frequently, and refused to allow the Nazis to use the large hangars at

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

for a rally. Eventually the Nazis declared Eckener to be '' persona non grata'' and his name was no longer allowed to appear in print. During the 1930s, the Nazi government

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to p ...

the Zeppelin operation under the name Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei GmbH (DZR). The Nazis sidelined Eckener in favour of men who were more compliant with their wishes. In their haste to please the Nazi regime, these newly promoted airshipmen did not always obey Eckener's safety procedures. For example, the maiden voyage of the ''Hindenburg'' nearly resulted in disaster when Captain Ernst A. Lehmann brought the ship out in strong winds in order to undertake a Nazi propaganda flight. The ship was damaged, and there was an argument between Eckener, Lehmann and the Nazi propaganda ministry. Hugo Eckener had always made safety his absolute priority during his many years managing airship operations. With Eckener's management, the Zeppelin company had a perfect safety record with no passenger ever sustaining a serious injury on any of the more than 1 million air miles that the rigid airships flew, until the ''Hindenburg'' disaster of 1937. . Eckener was in

Graz, Austria Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...

when he heard news of the

Hindenburg disaster The ''Hindenburg'' disaster was an airship accident that occurred on May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States. The German passenger airship LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' caught fire and was destroyed during its attemp ...

on 6 May 1937. In the official inquiry he concluded that a static spark ignited leaking hydrogen in the aft section of the ship. The leak would have been caused by a sharp turn, which he believed overstrained a bracing wire, causing it to snap and rip open an adjacent gas cell. After the destruction of the ''Hindenburg'', the nearly-completed LZ-130 ''Graf Zeppelin II'' was redesigned as a helium-filled ship, although, owing to geo-political considerations, the American helium was not available.. Thus the ship never began commercial service. However, under the command of Captain Albert Sammt, who had previously survived the fiery destruction of the ''Hindenburg'', albeit with severe burns, the ship performed an espionage mission off the coast of Great Britain, intended to investigate the radar defences. Eckener, however, had by this time little influence on the Zeppelin Company.

After World War II

Eckener survived World War II despite his disagreements with the Nazis. Post war, he was involved in a plan by the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation to build large rigid airships. However, nothing came to pass of this project. In 1945, Johannes Weyl and Eckener co-founded the ' regional newspaper and Eckener started writing for German-French co-operation. In November 1945 Eckener was confronted with the charge of collaboration with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. In 1947 the French occupying powers fined him . Many personalities lobbied for Eckener's

rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...

. de Syon, p.207 "convicted of helping the war effort ... lost civil privileges in 1948 for five years ... 100,000-mark fine" The judgement was rejected in July 1948 and Eckener was rehabilitated. Eckener's home town of Flensburg had a Danish-oriented majority in its council since 1945, with the goal of unification with Denmark. Eckener remained active in local politics campaigning for a German majority in Flensburg, while at the same time, during a "thundering" one-hour speech in 1951, warning against small-mindedness in border concerns. Eckener died in Friedrichshafen on 14 August 1954 just after his 86th birthday.

Legacy

Eckener was responsible for many innovative aviation developments, notably the trans-Atlantic passenger services offered by the airships ''Graf Zeppelin'' and ''Hindenburg''. Since his death his achievements have been remembered by airship enthusiasts and historians. Additionally, the town of

Friedrichshafen Friedrichshafen ( or ; Low Alemannic: ''Hafe'' or ''Fridrichshafe'') is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance (the ''Bodensee'') in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (''K ...

, scene of his many triumphant homecomings in ''Graf Zeppelin'', has recognised his memory by naming a large new conference centre after him.

Bibliography

Eckener wrote or contributed to 24 publications, including two books in English: Nina Nustede : Eckener, Hugo: Count Zeppelin. The Man and his Work. London: Massie Publishing Company, Ltd. 1938. : Eckener, Hugo: My Zeppelins. London: Putnam 1958.

In popular culture

Eckener features as a character in the 2004 short story "The Eckener Alternative" by James L. Cambias, the 2012 novel ''Flight from Berlin'' by David John, and in the novels ''Vango: Between Sky and Earth'' (2010) and "A Prince Without Kingdom" (2011) by Timothée de Fombelle. Eckener also appears as a character in the 2018 novel 'Beneath Gray Skies', by Hugh Ashton.

Notes

References

* * * * - select English-language bibliographic list on the Zeppelin * * - scans of original

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

press publication, translation: Esser makes provisions. The Nazi Esser vented his anger on Dr. Eckener because Eckener has stood up for Hindenburg. Esser also fears Eckener because he was once named as a candidate against Hitler. Who knows what is still to come? Therefore, Esser providently intended to smash Herr Eckener with a dreadful blow. In a Munich meeting he called him the "Director of the Flying White Sausage". * *Sammt, Albert. 1988. ''Mein Leben für den Zeppelin'', Verlag Pestalozzi Kinderdorf Wahlwies 1988,
pages 167-168
extract covering LZ 130's spying trip from 2 to 4 August 1939, (German) (pdf)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eckener, Hugo 1868 births 1954 deaths Circumnavigators of the globe German airship aviators LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin People from the Province of Schleswig-Holstein People from Flensburg Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company people Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany German aviation record holders German anti-fascists