1933

The Graf Zeppelin’s 1933 flight season was again designed around the commercial service to South America, with a total of nine flights taking place. But there were several other noteworthy flights, including the airship’s trip to Rome, Italy in May. The journey was a major philatelic event, as Italy, San Marino, the Aegean Islands, Tripolitania, and Cyrenaica each issued their own sets of six zeppelin stamps for use on the flight. In June, the airship made a roundtrip flight to the Saar, which had been ceded to France after the First World War. By treaty, Saar’s fate was to be decided by a plebiscite two years hence. The zeppelin’s visit showcased German industrial and technological achievement and was intended to instill nationalist pride in its largely German-speaking population.
 
The big event of the year, however, was the Graf Zeppelin’s Ninth South American Flight, during which the ship visited the Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago. The United States issued a 50 cent zeppelin stamp for use on U.S. Mail, which was dispatched from Friedrichshafen, Miami, Akron, and Chicago. The journey was marked by a characteristic act of courage from the zeppelin’s commander, Dr. Hugo Eckener. After the Nazi takeover of Germany earlier that year, the zeppelin company has been forced to paint a swastika flag on the airship’s port fins. The starboard fins remained painted with the traditional red, white and black striped German flag. In an act of political defiance, Eckener purposely flew the airship from west to east over the Chicago lakefront, displaying only the German tri-color flag to the fairgoers below. Eckener’s principled actions came at great cost, as this and other conflicts with the Nazis would soon cost him his control of the zeppelin company.