“The Graf Zeppelin: 95th Anniversary Over Davenport" at the German American Heritage Center -- August 25.
Sunday, August 25, 2 p.m.
German American Heritage Center, 712 West Second Street, Davenport IA
Presented on August 25 as the latest presentation in the Davenport venue's popular "Kaffee und Kuchen" series, The Graf Zeppelin: 95th Anniversary Over Davenport will find the German American Heritage Center delivering an insightful and engaging program on the famed passenger-carrying, hydrogen-filled rigid airship that flew from 1928 to 1937, as stands as the world's first commercial transatlantic passenger flight service.
Named after the German airship pioneer Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a count (Graf) in the German nobility, the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin was conceived and operated by Hugo Eckener, the chairman of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin. the Graf Zeppelin made 590 flights totaling almost 1.7 million kilometers (more than 1 million miles) and was operated by a crew of 36. With the aircraft able to carry 24 passengers, it was the longest and largest airship in the world when it was built. The Graf Zeppelin made the first circumnavigation of the world by airship, and the first nonstop crossing of the Pacific Ocean by air; its range was enhanced by its use of Blau gas as a fuel. It was built using funds raised by public subscription and from the German government, and its operating costs were offset by the sale of special postage stamps to collectors, the support of the newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, and cargo and passenger receipts.
After several long flights between 1928 and 1932, including one to the Arctic, Graf Zeppelin provided a commercial passenger and mail service between Germany and Brazil for five years. When the Nazi Party came to power, they used Graf Zeppelin as a propaganda tool. The airship was withdrawn from service shortly after the Hindenburg disaster in 1937. Its 590th and final flight took the aircraft to Frankfurt am Main, where it was deflated and exhibited to visitors in its hangar. U.S. President Roosevelt supported exporting enough helium for the Hindenburg-class LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin II to resume commercial transatlantic passenger service by 1939, but by early 1938, the opposition of Interior Secretary Harold Ickes, who was concerned that Germany was likely to use the airship in war, made that impossible.
The Graf Zeppelin: 95th Anniversary Over Davenport will be presented at the German American Heritage Center on August 25, and admission is free for members and $5 more non-members. The 2 p.m. program will be preceded by refreshments at 1:30 p.m., and more information is available by calling (563)322-9944 and visiting GAHC.org.
