Image and Power. Zooming into Zeppelin Photography

In 2026, the Zeppelin Museum celebrates its 30th anniversary in the harbour train station. The museum takes this occasion as an opportunity to turn to its own history through the exhibition “Perceived Truths. Zeppelins and National Socialism,” reappraising the entanglements between the political use of Zeppelins and Nazi Germany. Central to the exhibition are so-called “perceived truths“, a phenomenon based on subjective, emotionally shaped assumptions: statements that we have heard somewhere and never questioned, which have solidified over time and consistently replace verifiable facts. They run throughout the exhibition and the museum as a guiding thread, serving as a framework for deconstructing romanticized narratives surrounding Zeppelin history.

Perceived truth: Zeppelins were apolitical. Perceived truth: Technology is neutral. Perceived truth: There were no Nazis in Friedrichshafen. Perceived truth: Zeppelins served international understanding. Perceived truth: Museums are neutral.

In 2025, on the occasion of its 35th anniversary, the ZF Art Foundation will transition from the Residency for Artists to the ZF Research Fellowship. The ZF Fellowship RE-SEARCH is a new multi-year funding program of the ZF Art Foundation. It explicitly supports the work of the Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen.