| Hugo Eckener |
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| 1868 births | |
| 1954 deaths | |
| german aviators | |
| people from schleswig-holstein | |
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Dr. Hugo Eckener ( August 10 , 1868 – August 14 , 1954 ) was the ''old man'' of the Zeppelin Airship Company . Eckener was born in Flensburg . He trained as an economist and was a correspondent for the '' Frankfurter Zeitung '' in 1905 , 1906 and reported on the first flights of the LZ1 and LZ2. Eckener was responsible for training most of Germany's airship pilots both during and after World War I . After the War, Eckener succeeded Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin who had first pioneered the Zeppelin line of rigid Airship s and had died on March 8 , 1917 . For many years, Eckener was head of airship operations. Eckener always made safety his absolute priority. His safety orientation had results. Under Eckener's leadership, 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. Eckener, a master of publicity as well as a master airship captain, made many record-setting trips and established the Zeppelin as a symbol of German pride and engineering. The popularity of the Zeppelin airships led to Eckener's own popularity. During the early 1930s , Eckener was one of the most well-known and respected figures in Weimar Republic Germany. He was encouraged to run for the presidency to oppose the National Socialist German Workers Party . Eckener declined, focusing on what he knew best, airships. Nonetheless, Eckener and the Nazis had a deep and mutual loathing. Eckener made no secret of his hatred of their leader Adolf Hitler and the disastrous course he saw coming. Eventually the Nazis declared Eckener to be a "non-person" and his name was no longer allowed to appear in print. With the rise of Nazi Germany came the nationalization of the Zeppelin operation. The Nazis replaced Eckener with men who were compliant with their wishes. Seeking to please the Nazi regime, these newly promoted airshipmen did not always follow Eckener's well proven safety procedures. Many believe that the reduced focus on safety led to the Hindenburg Disaster of 1937 . After the destruction of the ''Hindenburg'', the rigid airship fell from favor and Eckener receded to the shadows. He survived World War II and died in 1954 at the age of 86. REFERENCES
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