The Doehner family and the Hindenburg disaster

Hermann Doehner was the general manager of a pharmaceutical company in Mexico City and had already emigrated from Germany in 1908/09. Together with his wife Matilde, he had five children. In December 1936, he traveled to Germany for business reasons and was accompanied by his wife and three of his children (Irene, Walter and Werner). The family returned home in May 1937 on the airship LZ 129 “Hindenburg”. According to Werner's son, there was a joyful reunion on board between Mrs. Doehner and Zeppelin stewardess Mrs. Imhof, who already knew each other from an earlier trip on a passenger ship. When the airship began to burn in Lakehurst, the family was in the lounge on deck to watch the landing maneuver. Matilde managed to throw the two boys out of the window and jump out herself. Daughter Irene was pulled out of the burning wreckage by a steward. Hermann Doehner, who had run into his cabin in search of new film material, died immediately. Daughter Irene succumbed to her severe burns in the hospital that same night. Matilde, Werner and Walter suffered serious injuries and had to spend several months in hospital. The tragedy surrounding the Doehner family attracted a great deal of media attention. After Matilde and her sons were able to travel again, they returned to Mexico City. Walter died in 1957 at the age of 30, Matilde in August 1981. Werner moved to the USA with his own family in 1980. He was only willing to talk about his experiences and his misfortune in old age.

The young world traveler - From Ulm to South America by airship at the age of five

Rudolf Lang, a boy from Ulm and son of German-Argentine parents, set off on his journey to Buenos Aires at the age of five. His mother followed his father when Rudi was three years old. The boy stayed temporarily with his aunt in Ulm. As soon as the parents had managed to build a future for themselves in Argentina, they wanted to bring their son with them. So Rudolf, packed with two small suitcases, said goodbye to his German relatives and acquaintances and set off on his adventure on the airship LZ 127 “Graf Zeppelin” from Friedrichshafen to Pernambuco. From there he was to fly on to Buenos Aires in an airplane. According to the report, Rudi quickly became enthusiastic about traveling on board an airship after some initial sadness. Unfortunately, it is not possible to date the journey, as the surviving newspaper article has no date and it is not possible to compare it with the passenger lists, as not all of them have survived. Between 1930 and 1937, however, the airship LZ 127 “Graf Zeppelin” was mainly used to travel between Germany and South America.

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