Flugzeugwerke. Because of the provisions of the Versailles treaty, many of the planes were initially produced in Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, or Japan, but resumed work at its Friedrichshafen and other German factories following the rise of the Nazi regime. The 1937 Hindenburg disaster and a subsequent embargo of American helium to Germany, however, effectively ended the production of German dirigibles. However, in 1993 the Zeppelin manufacturing company Luftschiffbau Zeppelin (LZ) was re-established and in 2001 a commercial airline Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei (DZR) began flying passenger service from Friedrichshafen Airport. As of 2012, 12 scheduled routes were offered with additional flights to selected cities.
Presently, a yearly aviation conference hosts the latest in European aircraft designs. AERO Friedrichshafen hosted an attendance of 33,400 in 2011, and 30,800 in 2012. Aero 2013 is scheduled for 24-27 April 2013 at Friedrichshafen Airport.
Friedrichshafen served the Nazis as a resort for workers. The presence of Zeppelin, Maybach, Dornier, and Zahnradfabrik also made it an important industrial center for Germany during World War II. Between 1942 and 1945, these factories employed hundreds of concentration camp prisoners from Dachau and Dora-Mittelbau. They were housed first at Zeppelin's hangar and then, following its destruction during a raid, the V-2 factory Raderach. The prisoners were also used to dig underground tunnels near Friedrichshafen to protect production sites from the repeated bombing.
Between June 1943 and February 1945, the city was the site for eleven Allied bombing attacks. The most serious took place on April 28, 1944, and destroyed most of the old town center. Approximately two-thirds of the city was destroyed over the course of the war.
Following World War II, Friedrichshafen was part of the French occupation zone before its incorporation into Baden-W�rttemberg, West Germany. The German aeronautics industry
