Marine-Luftschiffer-Kameradschaft Newsletters 1980 - 1997

The idea of setting up an Association for all members of the Airship Branch of the Imperial German Navy was first mooted in 1921 by former Zeppelin commander Baron Treusch von Buttlar-Brandenfels. Owing to the considerable political and economic turmoil in post war Germany however, it was not safe enough to do so until 1924, when the “Marine-Luftschiffer-Verein” (MLV) was finally established in Hamburg. The first Chairman of the Association was von Buttlar-Brandenfels and the aim of the Association was to keep the memory of the airships, their crews and their achievements alive. In 1949, the Association was renamed the “Marine-Luftschiffer-Kameradschaft” (MLK). True to its original aims, there was no formal joining fee or subscription. Annual donations appropriate to the individuals’ means were all that was asked. The MLK produced quarterly Newsletters that were hand typed and xeroxed. Image quality was of course of basic photocopy standard and relatively poor by modern standards. With the death of its last Chairman, Kurt Puzicha, the MLK was formally disbanded in August 1997 when no successor could be found. A small circle of dedicated MLK members (Horn, Redner, Henningsen and others) formed an online research group to continue to uphold the work, the aims, tradition and altruistic spirit of the Association. Thanks to the great generosity of Harry Redner therefore, this book contains the first ever translations of those final years of the MLK Newsletters from 1980 – 1997 in the hope that their legacy will not be entirely forgotten.