The Winton M. Blount Postal History Symposia - Smithsonian ...

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4 2 • s m i t h s o n i a n c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o h i s t o ry a n d t e c h n o l o g yFigure 2. Following a bomb threat, Commander Hugo Eckener ordered an earlier arrival than reported in the press.The clock inside the control car indicates it was shortly after seven am. That clock, however, was set for Eastern StandardTime, thus it was actually just after six am in Chicago. From the collection of Cheryl R. Ganz.expenses of the Zeppelin Company for operating the GrafZeppelin at a cost of about $300 an hour. 12 The ZeppelinCompany expected to realize $10,000 from the UnitedStates stamp sales, but it actually realized several timesthat amount. Over 100,000 American stamps on souvenirenvelopes were flown in addition to mail carried fromGermany, Brazil, and over sixty other countries. 13Meister informed fair president Rufus Dawes that theGraf Zeppelin, operating under the auspices of the Germangovernment, would fly the flags of the German government,including the swastika. He then posed the issueof possible protests by Jewish citizens in response to Naziharassment of German Jews and laws that stripped themof German citizenship. Dawes wanted to be prepared for apossible demonstration against either the swastika emblemor the arrival of the pro-Nazi German ambassador andformer chancellor, Hans Luther. The Post Office Departmentmade special arrangements to examine all mail andparcels intended for delivery to the zeppelin. PostmasterGeneral Farley also requested that local authorities cooperateto assure proper protection for passengers and thecrew. 14Because of a bomb threat, Eckener altered his flightplans slightly. He decided to fly to Chicago and make ashort landing in a closed field. The day before the GrafZeppelin’s arrival in Chicago, the press announced thatthe great airship would arrive at about nine o’clock thenext morning. In fact, the Graf Zeppelin arrived threeand a half hours earlier. Because of the misinformationprovided to the press and the sheriff’s order to close theairport to those without passes, only a few hundred spectatorswere on hand at the landing field besides the landingcrew, press, and welcoming officials (Figure 2). 15Following a busy day of touring the fairgrounds andluncheon and dinner events, Eckener attended the ZeppelinDay evening event at Chicago’s Medinah Temple (Figures3 and 4). Thousands of enthusiastic German Americansfilled the hall, many wearing the Zeppelin Tag lapel pin
n u m b e r 5 5 • 4 3Figure 3. The program for the Zeppelin Day evening reception listed patrioticmusic and speakers, including German Ambassador Hans Luther andCommander Eckener. The image of the Graf Zeppelin lacked either flag symbolon the tail fins. From the collection of Cheryl R. Ganz.Figure 4. The postcard sold at the Zeppelin Dayevening reception illustrated the Graf Zeppelin withswastikas on the port side tail fins, the Travel andTransport building at the 1933 Chicago World’sFair, and a portrait of Commander Hugo Eckener.From the collection of Cheryl R. Ganz.sold at the door for fifty cents. The program included patrioticGerman music with speeches by the mayor, representativesof the German community, Eckener, and Luther.Postmaster Kruetgen, president of the German Group ofthe World’s Fair, had refused to attend what he saw as aNazi reception. 16News of the gathering had, of course, reached thegeneral public. Theodore Light, a twenty-year-old stampcollector, went with a friend to Medinah Temple that evening,hoping to get Eckener’s autograph on some letters hehad mailed himself via the Graf Zeppelin using the specialzeppelin stamp (Figure 5). Upon arriving home from workhe found that his mail delivery included envelopes transportedby airship from Miami and Akron to Chicago.Meanwhile at Medinah Temple, limousines dropped offlocal politicians and members of the diplomatic corps. Delightedto discover that the public was permitted to enter,Light and his friend joined the crowd. Once inside, however,they “found ushers all in storm trooper uniforms andacross the stage was the biggest flag I have ever seen andit was the swastika.” The astonished young men lookedat one another, thinking that this was the wrong place for
Page 1 and 2: Smithsonian InstitutionScholarly Pr
Page 3 and 4: smithsonian contributions to histor
Page 5: ContentsLETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR OF
Page 9: AcknowledgmentsThe symposium would
Page 12 and 13: 2 • s m i t h s o n i a n c o n t
Page 20 and 21: 1 0 • s m i t h s o n i a n c o n
Page 25 and 26: “Little Colored Bits of Paper”C
Page 27 and 28: n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 7as something
Page 29 and 30: n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 9protest came
Page 31 and 32: n u m b e r 5 5 • 2 1nals I revie
Page 33 and 34: WWI Philatelic Censuses of East Afr
Page 35 and 36: n u m b e r 5 5 • 2 5Table 1. GEA
Page 37 and 38: n u m b e r 5 5 • 2 7Figure 5. MA
Page 39 and 40: Explorations in the Official Regist
Page 41 and 42: n u m b e r 5 5 • 3 1receipts. De
Page 43 and 44: n u m b e r 5 5 • 3 3TABLE 2. Pop
Page 45 and 46: n u m b e r 5 5 • 3 5different ge
Page 47: Introduction to the Second Symposiu
Page 59 and 60: “Food Will Win the War”: Motor
Page 61 and 62: n u m b e r 5 5 • 5 1business tha
Page 63 and 64: n u m b e r 5 5 • 5 3support for
Page 65 and 66: n u m b e r 5 5 • 5 53. “Postal
Page 67: n u m b e r 5 5 • 5 7“Farmers W
Page 81 and 82: Picking Up the Pieces: The Aftermat
Page 83 and 84: n u m b e r 5 5 • 7 3and U.S. adm
Page 85 and 86: n u m b e r 5 5 • 7 5September, 1
Page 87 and 88: n u m b e r 5 5 • 7 7Figure 9. Th
Page 89: n u m b e r 5 5 • 7 9“B.C.O.F.
Page 101: Introduction to the Fourth Symposiu
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9 4 • s m i t h s o n i a n c o n
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“Why Is a Raven Like a Writing De
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 2 3and prepai
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 2 5Figure 3.
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 2 7Figure 5.
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 2 9A Final No
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America’s First Carrier Service:T
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 3 3Figure 3.
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 3 5The glazed
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 3 7Intercity
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 3 9The End of
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The U.S. 1847 Issue:Stamps That Cha
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 4 3the positi
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 4 5stamps as
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From the Pulpit to the Post: Anti-
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 4 9The allege
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 5 1Individual
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n u m b e r 5 5 • 1 5 337. Archiv
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