Operation of Regulations of Zeppelin Airship Construction in Freidrichafen

Published for the Zeppelin Co. in 10th Sept 1934. A paragraph withing the text makes a reference to the SA and SS but sadly as it is printed Gothic German it's devil to translate. The booklet contains operating istructions of the company including such details of working hours, winter and summer, and all manner of expected functions of the staff of the company. Not many of these documents survived. Dr Eckner is named on the last page as the company Fuhrer. The company that ran the Graf Zeppelin and Hindenberg transatlantic airships was the Nazi propaganda based company, titled the DZR, the Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei. The DZR was created at the instigation of Air Minister Hermann G?ring as a way to increase Nazi control over zeppelin operations, and can be see as part of the larger policy of Gleichschaltung, or coordination, which affected all aspects of German life in the years following Hitler?s assumption of power.

Consistent with Nazi ideology, the airship was expected to be more than just a private commercial venture; it was to be a public symbol of the new German nation. In a speech marking the founding of the DZR, G?ring commented: ?I hope that the new ship will also fulfill its duty in furthering the cause of Germany? The airship does not have the exclusive purpose of flying across the Atlantic, but also has a responsibility to act as the nation?s representative.?

Code: 18092