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NARRATOR: Approximately 7 o'clock pm,
May 6th, 1937,
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the massive Nazi zeppelin
Hindenburg,
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00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:11,080
is completing
its cross-Atlantic flight
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from Germany to
Lakehurst, New Jersey.
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Due to the weather,
the airship is 10 hours late,
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the crew is anxious to
get the behemoth moored
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and to trade their departing
passengers for new ones
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hoping to make the return trip,
a trip that will never happen.
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This is the German airship's
10th trip to the United States.
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It is four years prior to
the US entry into World War II,
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and while relations with Hitler's
Nazi regime are strained,
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the two nations are at peace.
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At Lakehurst, WLS Chicago reporter
Herb Morrison is recording
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a radio broadcast of
the Hindenburg's arrival.
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His eyewitness account will soon
become one of the most famous
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broadcasts in radio history.
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Conditions were still not ideal.
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So, they were in what we might
now call a holding pattern,
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waiting for the weather to clear.
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WOMAN: Because the Hindenburg was
so late, many of the reporters
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and journalists left
the Naval Air Station.
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But since Herb Morrison stayed,
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he saw as the airship circled
around Lakehurst,
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and he was getting
the updates as they were happening.
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Like you can see here.
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MORRISON: Now, we've been told
that the airship was going to make
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an attempted landing in the rain.
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And if that is the case,
we're going to have a mighty fine
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description of it for you because
the men will have a difficulty
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in keeping footing in the sand
and especially since it's wet.
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Now, the structure is light and yet
so strong in the Hindenburg.
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6:12pm, Charles Rosendahl,
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US commander of Naval Air Station
Lakehurst,
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radios Max Pruss,
the captain of the Hindenburg.
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The wind and the rain
have died down.
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The message is clear -
land as soon as possible.
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Finally, he got the message,
"Come in as fast as you can.
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"The weather has cleared enough
that landing is appropriate."
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Pruss turns the ship towards
Lakehurst for its final approach.
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MAN: As the ship came in
for landing on May 6,
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they were circling the field.
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They realised that they had
a tail heaviness situation
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and they tried to deal with that,
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and they dealt with that
both by dropping ballast
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from the ballast board
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and also by valving hydrogen
from the gas board.
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The crew could correct
the heaviness -
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that is tail heavy,
tail light or whatnot -
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by simply dropping ballast water.
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And so they did this
on this approach to Lakehurst
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because the tail was
seemingly heavy.
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So they had the tail of the ship
pointed down,
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which was visible from the ground.
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So there had to be a gas leak.
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When that wasn't enough,
they sent six men forward
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to try to keep the ship in trim.
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As the ship was making
its approach to the mast,
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they also had a change of wind.
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And so at the very last minute,
instead of continuing on their path,
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they realised that
the wind had shifted
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and so they had to make an S-turn,
a reasonably sharp S-turn,
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to realign the ship so that it would
land at the mast into the wind.
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Pruss knows valving hydrogen
near thunderstorms goes
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against long-established safety
procedures for hydrogen airships,
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but with the turnaround window
closing and pressure mounting,
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he makes a bold decision.
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World-renowned Hindenburg expert
Dan Grossman
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walks through the hydrogen-valving
process using an exact replica
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of Hindenburg's control car
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created for the 1975 film Hindenburg,
starring George C. Scott.
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If you wanted to make the ship
heavier, you went over here.
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This is the gas board.
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This controlled the hydrogen gas
that filled these 16 gas cells.
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And there were individual toggles
for each cell
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so an officer could release hydrogen
from a particular cell,
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or you could do something that they
did in that last approach on May 6,
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and you could "valve at the wheel".
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And this is the wheel.
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And when you turn this wheel,
gas cells from the front to the back
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release gas evenly and
the entire ship becomes heavier...
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..and descends in level trim.
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We can only speculate what happened
here in those last moments,
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but given the high level
of experience
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of all of the officers,
all the men who are on this bridge,
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who had served for zeppelins
for years,
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they had to have suspected
that something wasn't right.
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Was there a discussion,
what should we do,
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or did they just
continue on on their path?
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Dr Eckener instructed crew members,
"Follow this rule.
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"Do not blow off any hydrogen
in a thunderstorm."
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This ran counter to every precept
that Eckener had tried to drill
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into his commanders
from the beginning.
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MORRISON: Now they're coming in
to make a landing of the zeppelin.
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I'm going to step out here
and cover it from the outside.
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So as I move out we'll just
stand by for a second.
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Well, here it comes,
ladies and gentlemen,
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we're out now outside of the hangar.
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And what a great site it is,
a thrilling one.
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It's a marvellous site.
It's coming down out of the sky,
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pointed directly towards us
and toward the mooring mast.
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Spectators and journalists gather
near the landing area.
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MAN: We were waiting to see my dad,
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and excited because it was
a big, big deal.
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The mighty diesel motors
just roared,
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the propellers biting into the air
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and throwing it back into
a gale-like whirlpool.
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No wonder this great floating palace
can travel through the air
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at such a speed, with these
powerful motors behind it.
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For the moment we've
waited for so long.
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The ship is riding majestically
toward us like some great feather,
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riding as though it was
mighty proud of the place
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it's playing in
the world's aviation.
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The ship is no doubt bustling
with activity, as we can see.
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Orders are shouted to the crew,
the passengers probably lining
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the windows looking down
at the field ahead of them,
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getting their glimpse
of the mooring mast.
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And these giant flagships
standing here,
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the American Airline flagships,
waiting to direct them
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to all points in the United States
when they get the ship moored.
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There are a number of
important persons on board,
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and no doubt the new commander,
Captain Max Pruss, is thrilled, too,
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for this is his great moment,
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the first time he's commanded
the Hindenburg.
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On previous flights, he acted as
Chief Officer under Captain Lehmann.
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It's starting to rain again.
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The rain had slacked up
a little bit.
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At 7:21pm, the Hindenburg floats
at 90 metres above the ground.
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The mooring lines are
dropped from the bow.
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For the next few minutes,
all is quiet.
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All of a sudden there
was an explosion.
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Helmut Lau, a helmsman
stationed in the lower fin,
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hears a muffled detonation as
a strong jolt runs through the ship.
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Crew and passengers
are anxious to land.
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Joseph Spah and his dog Ulla
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caught a last-minute ride
on the Hindenburg
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to make his dates performing
as a professional acrobat
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at Radio City Music Hall.
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Spah was filming on
the observation deck
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for a good portion of the journey.
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As they arrived at
Lakehurst airfield,
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he stuck his 16mm camera
out the window.
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Spah would be filming at the exact
moment the ignition occurred.
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He was leaning out
the gondola window filming
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when the Hindenburg exploded.
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Now, in this rarely seen footage,
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witness what passengers saw
from inside the Hindenburg
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the moment the massive airship
erupted in flames.
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The footage is degraded,
but ground crew can be seen
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assembling on the airfield below
moments before the disaster.
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And here, for just a few frames,
the moment the fire erupted
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is captured on film.
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Burning hydrogen illuminates
Hangar One at Lakehurst.
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Unfortunately, the camera
wasn't ready to capture
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the wide change of exposure
about to take place.
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The back motors of the ship
are just holding it
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just enough to keep it from...
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It burst into flames!
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It burst into flame
and it's falling!
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(SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)
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Get out of the way! Get this,
Charlie! Get this, Charlie!
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There's fire and it's crashing!
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It's crashing terrible!
Oh, my. Get out of the way, please.
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It's burning, bursting into flames
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and it's falling on
the mooring mast,
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and all the folks agree
that this is terrible.
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This is one of the worst
catastrophes in the world.
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You can hear what sounds like
the explosion - you hear a pop -
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and then he says,
"It burst into flames."
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Just enough to keep it from...
It burst into flames!
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OK, I heard it about right here.
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It bursts into flames!
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Pruss and his men
had just enough time to
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see the reflection of the fire
on the large zeppelin hangar
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down on the ground
before the ship began to tilt
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and they all hung on for dear life.
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Fire erupted near the tail
of the airship,
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and from that moment the airship had
less than a minute left to live.
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Fire raced through
the hydrogen cells,
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it raced along the axial corridor,
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which was an open area throughout
the very centre of the ship.
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And we can see that fire emerging
from the nose of the ship
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like a blowtorch.
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The ship began to lose
its structural integrity.
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The tail began to collapse
and crunch in two.
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The ship very dramatically
tipped up vertically.
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And this all happened in
a matter of 20 or 30 seconds.
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Whether you lived or died
was really a question
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of where you happen to be
when this fire began.
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If you were by a window,
you had a pretty good chance.
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If you were deep inside the ship,
you had virtually no chance at all.
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As the ship begins to descend,
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Ernst Lehmann and Max Pruss
leap from the control car
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just as, all around them,
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Hindenburg's white-hot frame
crashes to the ground.
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00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:06,680
"What's the best time to jump?
Are we too high?
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00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:08,960
"Are we going to get higher?
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00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,840
"If we get lower, will I not have
enough time left?"
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00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:15,600
Lehmann manages to
pry himself free,
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but not before
sustaining severe burns.
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00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:23,360
Pruss also emerges from
the wreckage burned but alive.
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WOMAN: He was burned.
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He ran away from the ship,
then turned around
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to run back and rescue
one of his crewmen.
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And then he kept running back
to rescue other people.
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In the result of it being that
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eventually, I think
they had to stop him.
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He was so badly burnt
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that they actually thought
he might die that night.
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On the ground,
spectators watch in shock.
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Navy servicemen run towards the
wreckage looking for survivors.
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00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:54,720
For those still inside the ship,
survival is a matter of chance.
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GROSSMAN: The youngest crewman,
the cabin boy named Werner Franz,
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00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:02,600
thought he would be trapped with
flames around him where he was,
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00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:06,320
and then almost miraculously,
a water tank above his head burst
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00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:07,440
and drenched him in water
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00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:09,640
and cleared a path
for him to escape.
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00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:11,920
So there are so many
different stories of people
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00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:14,240
escaping different ways.
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00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:15,920
And of course there are
tragic stories
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00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:17,800
about people who didn't escape.
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There was a family,
the Doehner family,
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the father was in his cabin
on B deck,
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00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,080
and the daughter, who was
by a window with her mother
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00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,000
and her sibling, who survived.
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00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:34,160
And the eldest daughter
decided to go back in
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00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:37,120
to see if she could find her father
but was so horribly burned
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00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:39,640
that she died shortly after
in the hospital.
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00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:44,960
Passengers who did not survive
include five Americans,
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00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:48,680
five Germans, two Mexicans
and one Swede.
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00:11:48,680 --> 00:11:52,880
Ages range from 14 to 77 years old.
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00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:56,120
Among the survivors
is acrobat Joseph Spah,
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00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:59,880
along with several rolls of film
from his personal camera.
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00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:03,440
My dad, he just threw the camera
down on the ground,
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00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:05,560
and the flames were coming up.
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00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:09,600
It started to burn that gondola
and he hung out the window.
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00:12:09,600 --> 00:12:10,880
And during his act,
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00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:14,560
he did a thing that was
on the top of this lamppost,
238
00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:17,520
he hung by one arm
239
00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:19,880
And that saved his life,
believe it or not,
240
00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:24,320
because he had a tricep looked like
a broken piece of rope.
241
00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:28,840
It was so strong from
doing that one trick.
242
00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:32,200
Viewing footage of the crash,
it's difficult to understand
243
00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:35,640
how anyone could have survived
the fire and the heat.
244
00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,280
(MORRISON SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY)
245
00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,440
Oh, four or five hundred feet
into the sky, it is.
246
00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:43,560
It's a terrific crash,
ladies and gentlemen.
247
00:12:43,560 --> 00:12:45,320
The smoke and the flames now.
248
00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:47,720
And the frame is crashing
to the ground,
249
00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:49,880
not quite to the mooring mast.
250
00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:51,200
Oh, the humanity.
251
00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:53,720
And all the passengers
just screaming around here.
252
00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:55,600
In a matter of mere seconds,
253
00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:57,760
the damage is done.
254
00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:00,840
SCHIRMER: It was 34 seconds.
255
00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:05,240
Burning from the tail to the bow,
256
00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:09,280
totally gone in 34 seconds.
257
00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:11,320
With 97 people on board.
258
00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:13,600
GROSSMAN: People must have stood
with their mouths hanging open,
259
00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:17,040
just hard to believe
what they were seeing.
260
00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:20,480
Everybody remembers
the minute and a half
261
00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:22,880
when Morrison yells,
"Oh, the humanity."
262
00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:25,840
But this recording was actually
close to 40 minutes long.
263
00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:28,840
He was there before,
during and after the crash,
264
00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:31,800
and his eyewitness account of that
day has gone down in history
265
00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:34,760
as one of the most famous broadcasts
in radio journalism.
266
00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:37,840
And here is another man coming in.
He's burned considerably.
267
00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:39,440
Mr Otto Clemens.
268
00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:42,920
Mr Otto Clemens is safe,
although he's burned quite badly.
269
00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:45,200
Now...
MAN: Clemens isn't burned at all.
270
00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:47,320
Clemens isn't burned at all?
Thank you, thank you.
271
00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:49,720
He's sitting right here
as composed...
272
00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:52,280
And is that his mother with him?
No, no. That's his friend.
273
00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:54,120
A friend of his? You tell the folks.
274
00:13:54,120 --> 00:13:58,440
He was on his way to his cabin
when the flash came,
275
00:13:58,440 --> 00:13:59,840
and he jumped out.
276
00:13:59,840 --> 00:14:02,080
He jumped out of the cabin?
Jumped out.
277
00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:05,120
Survivors are rushed to
the air station's infirmary
278
00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:06,640
and local hospitals.
279
00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:09,640
The last passenger dies on May 15th.
280
00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,480
The dead add up to 36 in total -
281
00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:17,560
13 passengers, 22 crewmen,
and one man on the ground.
282
00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:19,840
Captain of the Hindenburg,
Max Pruss,
283
00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,840
and his Nazi-appointed supervisor,
Ernst Lehmann,
284
00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:27,240
lay badly burned at Kimball Hospital
in Lakewood, New Jersey.
285
00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:29,200
With slim chances of survival,
286
00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:32,360
Pruss receives his last rites
from a priest.
287
00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:36,280
Lehmann's condition, however,
deteriorates quickly.
288
00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:39,360
So, we're about an hour
after the disaster here.
289
00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:42,840
The tail went up in the air,
and as I told you on previous
290
00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:44,720
occasions, it held up there
291
00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:46,440
long enough for them
to jump from the cabin.
292
00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:49,560
And all I could understand
him to say was that he'd jumped
293
00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:51,520
and evidently was thrown too
at the same time
294
00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:53,760
because the ship was, uh, vibrating.
295
00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,720
There were three distinct
explosions, if I remember correctly.
296
00:14:56,720 --> 00:14:58,760
I'll have to check back in the
earlier part of this broadcast
297
00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:00,880
and if that was not right.
298
00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,440
I don't remember hearing
three explosions,
299
00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:05,680
so let's go back and see
if we can hear them.
300
00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:07,200
It bursts into flames!
301
00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:09,360
It burst into flame
and it's falling!
302
00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,320
OK, so, I'm definitely hearing
an explosion right here.
303
00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:14,960
And then I hear several
other popping sounds,
304
00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:17,680
but it's hard to tell if those
are just artefacts in the recording
305
00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:20,560
or actual explosions.
306
00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:22,880
Morrison recorded this
with a sound engineer,
307
00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:25,640
Charlie Nehlsen, on
a Presto direct disk.
308
00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:28,280
Now, some reports say that
when the explosion occurred,
309
00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:30,880
the cutting head of the recorder
was moved out of place
310
00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:33,080
and Nehlsen had to
quickly correct it.
311
00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:36,400
That could be the cause
of the sound of the explosion,
312
00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:38,255
but it's difficult to say.
313
00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:45,520
GROSSMAN: So, we're at the
Charles Rosendahl Collection
314
00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:48,480
at the University of Texas
in Dallas.
315
00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:52,680
Rosendahl left his entire collection
of papers to the archive here
316
00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:56,080
I think in 1977,
certainly late '70s.
317
00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:58,720
And it's just a wonderful collection
of his complete papers,
318
00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:01,280
and he was really the key figure
319
00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:03,640
in the American
lighter-than-air community.
320
00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:05,920
So this is an absolute
treasure-trove
321
00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:08,600
for anything having to do with
airships in the United States Navy.
322
00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:09,920
So, these are great photos.
323
00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:15,280
This photo shows Hindenburg
at Lakehurst successfully moored
324
00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:19,080
to a low mooring mast in
one of the mooring circles.
325
00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:22,080
And this is how that last flight
was supposed to end,
326
00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,000
with the ship safely moored
to a mast at the circle
327
00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:26,960
in front of hangar one.
328
00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:29,240
Of course, it didn't actually
end that way that day.
329
00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:33,800
Some theories claim
that the disaster was caused
330
00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:37,080
by incendiary paint used
on the ship's outer covering.
331
00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:42,080
And this is a great series
of photographs.
332
00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:45,680
This one in particular,
is interesting because you can see
333
00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:49,800
the flame that has pretty much
completely consumed the tail,
334
00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:52,120
but almost simultaneously,
there's also flame coming out
335
00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:54,640
of the middle of the ship.
336
00:16:54,640 --> 00:17:00,320
Which means that this hydrogen fire
burned and spread so rapidly,
337
00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:06,120
and you can really tell that this
nonsensical idea that people have
338
00:17:06,120 --> 00:17:09,600
about the fabric being
very, very flammable
339
00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:11,000
doesn't make any sense.
340
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:12,960
This photograph sort of
tells that story
341
00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:15,600
because in between
these two areas of flame,
342
00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:17,320
the fabric isn't burning at all.
343
00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:20,360
So, clearly, what has moved
this flame so quickly
344
00:17:20,360 --> 00:17:22,680
is the burning of the hydrogen
that's inside the ship.
345
00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:25,960
This is Folder 13,
346
00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:30,080
in Box 18, here at the UT Dallas
347
00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:31,520
Charles Rosendahl Archives.
348
00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,560
And these are supposed
to be photographs of
349
00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:34,840
the Hindenburg disaster.
350
00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:37,560
And, yeah, look at these.
351
00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:43,040
These are photos showing exactly
what the people at Lakehurst saw...
352
00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:45,840
..on May 6th, 1937.
353
00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:48,400
And you can see just how dramatic...
354
00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,760
..the destruction of
this airship was.
355
00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:56,360
And you see, actually, spectators,
just people.
356
00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:58,520
I can see that they're on the other
side of the fence, actually.
357
00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:00,880
So these are just
members of the public.
358
00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:03,480
And everyone that we see here
looked at this
359
00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:06,280
and knew that there were
human beings in there.
360
00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:10,800
It's just hard to imagine what
thoughts went through their heads.
361
00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:14,200
On May 6th, 1937, Hugo Eckener,
362
00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:16,520
the face of commercial
airship travel,
363
00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:20,480
is in Austria promoting airships
as the future of aviation.
364
00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:23,280
That night, he receives
an urgent phone call.
365
00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:27,320
When news of the Hindenburg crash
reaches Hugo Eckener
366
00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:28,520
in the middle of the night,
367
00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:30,480
he gets this phone call
from a journalist who says,
368
00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,960
you know, "The Hindenburg
has exploded, it is destroyed."
369
00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:37,360
And Eckener is absolutely forlorn.
370
00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:41,040
And it seems that in half asleep,
when the journalist says,
371
00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:42,400
"Do you think it's sabotage?"
372
00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:44,800
Eckener says, "Oh, it should be."
373
00:18:44,800 --> 00:18:46,880
And therein starts
one of the rumours.
374
00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:50,680
Within hours of the crash,
375
00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:54,040
the German Air Ministry
commissions its own team of experts
376
00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:59,280
to represent German interests at
the Lakehurst crash investigation.
377
00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:02,400
Hugo Eckener is made
part of this commission.
378
00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:05,960
But before sailing to New York,
he is summonsed to Berlin
379
00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:08,760
to meet with the Reich Minister
for Air Hermann Goering.
380
00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:13,560
Dr Eckener was under orders
from the Air Ministry in Berlin
381
00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:17,600
not to pursue sabotage
as a possibility.
382
00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,920
It would have been incredibly
embarrassing politically,
383
00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:24,120
both for the Germans
and for the United States,
384
00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:29,520
to have had a German airship
destroyed by sabotage
385
00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:32,480
on an American military base.
386
00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:34,800
GROSSMAN: Someone from
the Air Ministry,
387
00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:38,440
who was there likely to
offer technical advice
388
00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:41,600
but also likely as a representative
of Hermann Goering
389
00:19:41,600 --> 00:19:44,040
and the Nazi regime's Air Ministry
390
00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:48,040
to keep an eye on what people said
and how it made Germany look.
391
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:54,360
Renowned airship historian
Dan Grossman revisits Hugo Eckener's
392
00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:56,160
first stop in the US.
393
00:19:57,280 --> 00:19:59,800
This is the house where
Charles Rosendahl lived
394
00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:01,880
when he was the base commander
at Lakehurst
395
00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:04,360
in 1937, when Hindenburg crashed.
396
00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:10,280
And Hugo Eckener walked in that door
and talked to his old friend,
397
00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:13,560
old colleague, old flying mate,
Charles Rosendahl.
398
00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:17,160
These two men, who each knew
more about flying airships
399
00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:20,640
and about Hindenburg in particular
than anyone else in the world,
400
00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:24,200
must have talked to each other and
said, "What could have happened?"
401
00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:26,720
And at some point
during that conversation,
402
00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:28,840
Eckener would have had to say,
403
00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:31,000
"I need to tell you what
Berlin wants us to say."
404
00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:36,560
The investigation board includes men
loyal to the National Socialists
405
00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:40,800
who are assigned to make sure
Eckener follows the party line.
406
00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:44,880
The presence of the German
ambassador and a military attache
407
00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:48,280
is meant to be intimidating
for Hindenburg's crew
408
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:52,120
and keep them from saying
anything deemed out of line.
409
00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:56,120
Two days after the crash,
410
00:20:56,120 --> 00:21:00,080
the twisted and scorched metal
wreckage has finally cooled.
411
00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:03,440
Footage of the fiery destruction
of the once mighty Hindenburg
412
00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:05,120
circulates the globe.
413
00:21:05,120 --> 00:21:07,640
As the Commerce Department
and the German commission
414
00:21:07,640 --> 00:21:10,560
officially investigate
the disaster at Lakehurst,
415
00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:14,600
a new government agency known as
the Federal Bureau of Investigation
416
00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:16,800
begins chasing down its own leads.
417
00:21:18,040 --> 00:21:21,880
Young FBI director J. Edgar Hoover
is eager to prove himself
418
00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:24,000
in the public spotlight.
419
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,400
It's very much a potential
PR stunt for him.
420
00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:31,000
And they wound up coming up with
a fairly lengthy investigation file.
421
00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:34,880
Was the Nazi's premiere airship
the target of a deliberate attack?
422
00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,760
In Germany, Hitler and his
warmongering Nazi regime
423
00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:44,720
prepare for further expansion
of German territory.
424
00:21:46,080 --> 00:21:50,440
A growing Nazi war machine
intimidates Eastern Europe.
425
00:21:50,440 --> 00:21:54,440
In one year, they will
invade and annex Austria.
426
00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:56,920
The following year,
they will take Poland.
427
00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:01,680
The investigation of the FBI
alludes to,
428
00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:03,560
of course,
the notions of conspiracy.
429
00:22:03,560 --> 00:22:06,320
Notably, for example,
workers may be colluding
430
00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:08,200
to protest against Nazi Germany.
431
00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:12,680
Some of the early FBI reports
made mention of possibly someone
432
00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:15,520
having shot at the Hindenburg.
433
00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:18,080
Meanwhile, Captain Ernst Lehmann,
434
00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:20,400
head of the airline
that flew Hindenburg,
435
00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:22,520
dies of severe burn injuries.
436
00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:26,720
Before he died,
he expressed his belief
437
00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:28,920
that it had to have been sabotage.
438
00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:33,760
He used a German word
which translates as "hell machine",
439
00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:36,360
often called "infernal machine".
440
00:22:36,360 --> 00:22:38,840
Max Pruss, the captain
of the Hindenburg,
441
00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:42,360
is in the hospital,
badly burned but stable.
442
00:22:42,360 --> 00:22:45,840
My great-grandfather was able
to escape the burning Hindenburg.
443
00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:48,720
He jumped out just
as it was coming down,
444
00:22:48,720 --> 00:22:50,320
but he came away with terrible burns
445
00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:53,240
that marked him for
the rest of his life.
446
00:22:53,240 --> 00:22:57,800
Although he was too badly injured
to testify during the investigation,
447
00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:02,040
Max Pruss also believed
that the crash had been no accident.
448
00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:05,240
In a 1960 interview with
the Columbia University's
449
00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:10,680
Centre for Oral History, he once
again raises the spectre of sabotage.
450
00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:15,360
MAN: So, you don't think it was
lightning that did it?
451
00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:17,560
PRUSS: No.
What do you think it was, sabotage?
452
00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:19,440
(PRUSS LAUGHS)
453
00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,800
I mean, it's interesting
to know what you think.
454
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:25,040
Ja.
455
00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:27,640
I think it was sabotage.
456
00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:32,320
To his dying day, my
great-grandfather believed
457
00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:34,680
that the Hindenburg was sabotaged
458
00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:38,680
and that it was a bomb that
essentially destroyed the ship.
459
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,200
I spend a lot of time
considering why Max was so adamant
460
00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:48,080
about the sabotage theory,
and I think if you consider
461
00:23:48,080 --> 00:23:52,360
that he spent more or less
20-plus years of his life
462
00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:57,160
dedicated to this industry and
to this dream of the airship,
463
00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:03,200
that seeing it crash and burn
like that and coming to an end -
464
00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:06,480
and essentially
the Hindenburg disaster
465
00:24:06,480 --> 00:24:08,960
was the end of
the airship industry -
466
00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:12,400
I think that's something very
difficult to wrap your head around.
467
00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:17,960
I think he truly believed that it
might have not been his wrongdoing,
468
00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:23,280
or at least he was not willing
to look at it from that perspective,
469
00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:24,480
because that would have put
470
00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:26,800
the entire blame of
this disaster on him.
471
00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:31,880
Amid a media frenzy
and public outcry for answers,
472
00:24:31,880 --> 00:24:35,200
the US Navy and
the FBI begin probing.
473
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,520
GROSSMAN: Shortly after the crash,
agents from the FBI
474
00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:42,240
began to show up at Lakehurst
and conduct investigations.
475
00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:45,720
This was early in the days of
J. Edgar Hoover's FBI,
476
00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:48,200
and he was really trying to expand
477
00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:53,720
and grow this relatively young
criminal investigation agency.
478
00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:58,520
FBI agents scour Lakehurst
and track suspicious characters.
479
00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,640
Their main focus - sabotage.
480
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:04,680
Days after the Hindenburg's
fiery crash,
481
00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,880
Hoover's FBI investigates
a series of articles
482
00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,720
published by communist newspaper
The Daily Worker.
483
00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:16,680
These articles had warned of an
imminent attack on a German airship.
484
00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:18,200
RUSSELL: The FBI was well aware
485
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:20,400
of the fact that
there were publications
486
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:24,480
such as The Daily Worker that
were generating anti-Nazi sentiment
487
00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:27,200
among German Americans
here in the States.
488
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:29,800
They wanted to investigate
whether some of these people
489
00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,520
maybe tried to sabotage
the Hindenburg.
490
00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:36,280
Both Rosendahl and Pruss go
to their deathbeds never letting go
491
00:25:36,280 --> 00:25:39,360
of the belief that the
Hindenburg was sabotaged.
492
00:25:39,360 --> 00:25:44,720
Their main suspect - the man
with the dog, acrobat Joseph Spah.
493
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:47,840
GROSSMAN: One of the things
that the FBI looked into
494
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:53,040
was the suggestion that Joseph Spah,
who was on board the ship,
495
00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:58,120
that he might have had access to
the crew areas of the ship
496
00:25:58,120 --> 00:26:00,640
and that he might somehow
have planted a bomb.
497
00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,640
There was never any evidence
to suggest that that was the case,
498
00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:07,520
but there are plenty of pages
in the FBI file
499
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:11,600
in which they talk about this as
something that they looked into.
500
00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:15,080
One of the reasons people
were suspicious of Joseph Spah
501
00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:18,160
was because he was an acrobat,
and it would have been easy for him
502
00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,240
to climb and move around
503
00:26:20,240 --> 00:26:22,640
the internal structure
of Hindenburg.
504
00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:24,800
RICHARD SPAH: My dad
was a suspect for years
505
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,320
because, first of all,
he was a survivor.
506
00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:31,120
Second of all, he was
up in amongst the bags
507
00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:33,080
where the explosion happened.
508
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:38,760
The kennel was up there and he got
to walk the dog every day.
509
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:42,000
The FBI actually
investigated Joseph Spah,
510
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:46,880
interviewed his neighbours
and did a full write-up on him,
511
00:26:46,880 --> 00:26:49,920
came to the conclusion
he was a family man.
512
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,960
My dad never let it bother him.
513
00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:57,880
He was sensible enough to realise
that he'd be a suspect
514
00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:01,840
because of all the circumstantial
evidence against him.
515
00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:05,120
The FBI saw absolutely
no reason to suspect
516
00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:08,320
that Joseph Spah had
sabotaged the Hindenburg.
517
00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:11,320
Before the FBI can explore
any further,
518
00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:13,240
the investigation is interrupted
519
00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:15,840
and taken over by the
US Department of Commerce.
520
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:17,880
GROSSMAN: The FBI was not
the official investigating body.
521
00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:22,840
The FBI did not do an official
Hindenburg investigation report.
522
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:24,640
The official investigation
was conducted by
523
00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:28,360
the US Department of Commerce and
the German Investigation Commission.
524
00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:32,800
RUSSELL: Dr Eckener was not opposed
to discussing at least privately
525
00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:35,560
the possibility that the Hindenburg
had been sabotaged,
526
00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:40,880
but he was essentially under orders
from the Air Ministry in Berlin
527
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:45,960
not to pursue sabotage
as a possibility.
528
00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:53,480
If you are able to prove the thesis
of a bombing, of a terrorist attack,
529
00:27:53,480 --> 00:27:58,160
then this suggests that the Nazi
regime is not so solid as it seems.
530
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:01,600
And that's why you still have
a controversy that exists today
531
00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:03,800
between people who say
there may have been a bomb,
532
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:06,280
there may have been a conspiracy,
and people who say,
533
00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:09,000
"Nonsense, it was
a technical failure."
534
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:12,320
In this interview,
Captain Pruss suggests
535
00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:16,880
that Lakehurst commander Charles
Rosendahl may hold the answer.
536
00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:20,960
PRUSS: I think Admiral Rosendahl,
537
00:28:20,960 --> 00:28:23,880
he's writing now on a book.
538
00:28:23,880 --> 00:28:26,280
MAN: He's what?
MAN 2: He's writing a book.
539
00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:32,040
Yes. And he said to me that
he would bring new evidence.
540
00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:33,640
Oh, he will bring...
Yeah.
541
00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:35,360
..proof, new evidence.
542
00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:39,560
Rosendahl completed
but did not publish his book
543
00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:42,520
before he died of natural causes
in 1977.
544
00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:47,560
His manuscript, which he donated
to the University of Texas Archives,
545
00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:50,400
provides no evidence of sabotage.
546
00:28:50,400 --> 00:28:55,400
But sabotage was very much
on Rosendahl's mind in 1937.
547
00:28:55,400 --> 00:28:59,280
Captain Wittemann went up
to Commander Rosendahl and said,
548
00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:02,000
"I need to speak with you
at your earliest convenience."
549
00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:05,960
And Wittemann told him that Lehmann
had had a bomb threat letter
550
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:07,760
in his pocket.
551
00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:10,320
"We really need to look
and see if somebody
552
00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:11,880
"sabotaged the Hindenburg."
553
00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:13,400
The letter was never mentioned
554
00:29:13,400 --> 00:29:16,200
during the Board
of Inquiry investigation.
555
00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:19,720
Captain Pruss was not even made
aware of this letter's existence
556
00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:25,120
until 1938, so it was not something
that was discussed at the time.
557
00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:28,680
And to be perfectly honest,
the Board of Inquiry
558
00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,520
and the German
Investigation Commission,
559
00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:37,280
neither of them really wanted to
pursue sabotage as a possibility.
560
00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:39,800
That would have opened up
a whole can of worms,
561
00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:43,280
they would have had to launch
a major investigation.
562
00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:44,680
They didn't know
what they would find
563
00:29:44,680 --> 00:29:46,200
if they went down that rabbit hole.
564
00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:51,160
Both Rosendahl and Wittemann
knew of the bomb threat,
565
00:29:51,160 --> 00:29:53,840
both testified during
the investigation,
566
00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:57,440
and Rosendahl was an adviser to
the investigating board,
567
00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:01,000
but, in over 1,000 pages
of sworn testimony,
568
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,560
neither mentioned the bomb threat.
569
00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:06,320
And when asked at the end
of their testimony if either had
570
00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:10,480
anything else to add, both said no.
571
00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:13,560
It is unknown if the bomb threat
letter still exists
572
00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:16,120
or if it has been lost to history.
573
00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:19,440
What we do know is the contents
of the letter were not mentioned
574
00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:21,920
or discussed during
the investigation,
575
00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:24,680
nor seen anywhere
in the official reports.
576
00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:28,640
It would seem this clue
was deliberately concealed
577
00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:31,240
by both the US and German witnesses.
578
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,080
If the idea of sabotage
was deliberately omitted
579
00:30:36,080 --> 00:30:38,840
from the testimony given
during the investigation,
580
00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:42,960
it raises the question of what else
was left out by witnesses.
581
00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:46,760
Negligence or any hint of a mistake
made by the German crew
582
00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:51,840
would have been far more embarrassing
to the Nazi regime than sabotage.
583
00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:55,040
With the Nazi airship
12 hours behind schedule
584
00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:57,760
and pressure mounting
on the captains and crew,
585
00:30:57,760 --> 00:30:59,800
the landing was made in haste.
586
00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:02,120
Were safety protocols overlooked?
587
00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:06,480
German airshipmen had developed
strict rules over the years
588
00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:10,960
for the safe and efficient operation
of hydrogen-filled zeppelins.
589
00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:13,120
They knew never to valve hydrogen
590
00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:16,520
or land in an area undergoing
thunderstorms,
591
00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:19,720
and they knew the dangerous effects
of electrical charges
592
00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:21,800
at different altitudes.
593
00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:26,080
But under pressure to land,
those concerns were set aside.
594
00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:29,600
One of the ideas that people talk
about with regard to the Hindenburg
595
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:32,520
is that during that final last turn,
596
00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:34,480
when the ship had to reorient
its direction
597
00:31:34,480 --> 00:31:36,560
so it would land into the wind,
598
00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:40,920
that perhaps a bracing cable snapped
and slashed a gas cell.
599
00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:44,040
One of the biggest problems
with that concept is that the timing
600
00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:47,560
doesn't match because a lot
of the efforts that were taken
601
00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:50,000
to address the tail heaviness
situation
602
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,000
occurred long before
that final turn.
603
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:55,760
So if hydrogen was leaking
from the tail,
604
00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:59,720
it wasn't as a result
of a turn that happened later.
605
00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:01,920
With an airship coming high,
606
00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:04,960
the higher it is,
the more electricity,
607
00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:07,240
static electricity,
it has collected.
608
00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:10,440
So there was a thunderstorm
that Hindenburg went through.
609
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:14,400
That was lots of negative
and lots of positive,
610
00:32:14,400 --> 00:32:17,200
or vice versa, on the airship.
611
00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:19,040
And so the captains -
612
00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:22,960
Pruss should have known that,
Lehmann should have known that,
613
00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:25,200
and, of course, Rosendahl
should have known that,
614
00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:27,280
and none of them talked about it.
615
00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:29,880
The Hindenburg crash certainly
involved two elements.
616
00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:34,800
There was a source of ignition
and then there was leaking hydrogen.
617
00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:37,800
We don't know, and we'll
probably never know for sure,
618
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:39,880
why the hydrogen was leaking.
619
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:43,680
We'll never know
for absolute certainty
620
00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:46,200
what the source of ignition was.
621
00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:49,000
It seems that hydrogen WAS leaking,
622
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:53,600
but did any member of the crew
notice a problem during the landing?
623
00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:57,280
In his book My Zeppelins,
Hugo Eckener recalls
624
00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:00,920
how Rudolf Sauter, quote,
"stated most positively
625
00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:03,080
"that immediately before
the catastrophe
626
00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:06,880
"he had noticed that one of the stern
cells had risen very high
627
00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:10,560
"and had apparently lost
a lot of gas," end quote.
628
00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:14,040
Yet at the inquiry, when asked
if anything unusual happened
629
00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:17,200
before hearing the detonation
and seeing the fire,
630
00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:19,360
Sauter answered, "No."
631
00:33:19,360 --> 00:33:22,960
As chief engineer, Rudolf Sauter
was one of the airship's
632
00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:27,680
most senior officers, and as
a general in the Sturmabteilung,
633
00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:31,040
also known as the Brownshirts
or Storm Troopers,
634
00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:33,400
Sauter had an especially
strong incentive
635
00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:36,160
not to embarrass Germany or himself.
636
00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:39,840
Sauter and other crew members
637
00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:42,880
were sat across the investigator's
table from representatives
638
00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:45,360
of Hermann Goering's Air Ministry.
639
00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:49,360
Knowing they would be returning home
to Nazi Germany in just a few days,
640
00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:53,200
the German crew testified,
one after another in lock step,
641
00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:56,600
that everything about the landing
was perfectly normal.
642
00:33:56,600 --> 00:34:00,200
But it was anything BUT normal.
The ship burned.
643
00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:03,840
Was this a massive cover-up
orchestrated from Berlin?
644
00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:09,440
The problem is that now the zeppelin
is a compromised symbol
645
00:34:09,440 --> 00:34:12,400
because it has burned to the ground
with its swastikas.
646
00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:16,560
And so it's basically
a difficult symbol to handle now,
647
00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:19,360
it's no longer going to be
front and centre
648
00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:21,015
in the context of German propaganda.
649
00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:25,640
More than eight decades ago,
broadcaster Herb Morrison provided
650
00:34:25,640 --> 00:34:30,120
remarkable insight as a witness
that still bears up to this day.
651
00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:33,600
We have not yet been able to find
out what caused the explosion,
652
00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:35,560
but it's very evident
that there was a spark
653
00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:38,240
set the nitrogen on fire.
654
00:34:38,240 --> 00:34:40,720
There wasn't any electricity,
there was no electrical storm.
655
00:34:40,720 --> 00:34:43,160
It was raining previously to that,
656
00:34:43,160 --> 00:34:45,040
but no electricity
could have set it on fire
657
00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:47,200
unless it was static electricity
658
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:51,920
because we had had a thunderstorm,
a very light thunderstorm.
659
00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:55,400
But there was a lot of electricity
in the air, so maybe a spark jumped
660
00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:57,640
from one of the beams
in the tail surfaces across.
661
00:34:57,640 --> 00:35:00,080
That would be a logical
interpretation of it,
662
00:35:00,080 --> 00:35:03,640
inasmuch as they were coming
in close proximity to the ground.
663
00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:05,600
The static electricity
may have increased
664
00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:07,720
and caused an explosion like that.
665
00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:12,480
Wow. It's amazing that just
an hour after the explosion,
666
00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:14,920
he already has such a clear
understanding of what happened.
667
00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:19,000
And it's incredible that his theory
is what the investigation committee
668
00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,480
ultimately decided is what happened.
669
00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:25,320
It seems like witnesses do have
theories of sabotage,
670
00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:27,040
but they never mentioned it.
671
00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:31,040
From the very start,
it was always just a spark.
672
00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:34,600
Surprisingly, however,
the Hindenburg tragedy,
673
00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:37,240
in and of itself, did not
deliver the death knell
674
00:35:37,240 --> 00:35:39,120
for the airship industry.
675
00:35:39,120 --> 00:35:43,680
DE SYON: Eckener's attitude
once the Hindenburg is destroyed
676
00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:45,600
is to keep on fighting.
677
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:48,600
It's almost like
a fortress mentality.
678
00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:51,040
The sense that you are right,
you have the right answer,
679
00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:55,360
and you can keep on showing them
with the sister ship of Hindenburg,
680
00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:58,360
which becomes a Graf Zeppelin II,
LZ 130.
681
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:02,400
What really ends it all for Eckener
is the start of World War II.
682
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:05,760
LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin
683
00:36:05,760 --> 00:36:09,360
and LZ 130,
also named Graf Zeppelin,
684
00:36:09,360 --> 00:36:11,680
are moved to a hangar in Frankfurt.
685
00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:14,640
GROSSMAN: Hermann Goering,
as an aviation expert,
686
00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:16,840
understood the limitations
of airships.
687
00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:20,720
He understood that they
were militarily useless.
688
00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:25,240
He was afraid that the airship
program would take resources
689
00:36:25,240 --> 00:36:27,480
that he needed to concentrate
690
00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:32,200
on heavier-than-air developments
for the German Luftwaffe.
691
00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:36,560
He didn't like the idea
that airships were competing
692
00:36:36,560 --> 00:36:38,280
with a dying technology
693
00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:42,200
when he was trying to build
a modern German Air Force.
694
00:36:42,200 --> 00:36:45,960
Hermann Goering personally
made sure that the airships
695
00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:49,600
would never fly again
by ordering the destruction
696
00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:53,400
of the airship hangars so that
none could ever be built again.
697
00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:56,920
On the third anniversary
of the Hindenburg disaster,
698
00:36:56,920 --> 00:37:00,440
the era of the airship
officially comes to an end.
699
00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:04,000
DE SYON: On May 6, 1940, the order
comes from the Air Ministry
700
00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:07,920
that both airships
are to be dynamited.
701
00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:12,480
They'd been emptied, of course,
of their hydrogen prior to that.
702
00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:16,720
And that the scrap metal is to
be put into the war industry.
703
00:37:16,720 --> 00:37:22,440
Officially, the German Air Force
needs this area for its army base,
704
00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:25,400
and no matter what
zeppelin officials do,
705
00:37:25,400 --> 00:37:28,520
they are forced to accept
this destruction.
706
00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:30,280
As far as Goering was concerned,
707
00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:32,920
when they pleaded with him,
708
00:37:32,920 --> 00:37:37,480
he reportedly heard the noise of an
airplane engine in the background
709
00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:41,720
and turned towards it and said,
"This is what I prefer to hear."
710
00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:45,240
For generations to come,
only the iconic images
711
00:37:45,240 --> 00:37:47,000
of Hindenburg's destruction,
712
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:49,600
along with the words
"Oh, the humanity"
713
00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:53,840
are all that remain of
the passenger airship enterprise.
714
00:37:53,840 --> 00:37:58,320
DE SYON: Hindenburg belongs to these
great machines of the 20th century
715
00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:00,040
that did not work out.
716
00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:02,720
It's not the first one
and it wasn't the last.
717
00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:07,080
We actually were exposed to sort
of the fragility of technology.
718
00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:09,200
We like technology,
it gives us a sense of power,
719
00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:13,800
but we realise that it is only
as strong as we design it to be.
720
00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:17,720
Titanic met its doom
because it came up against
721
00:38:17,720 --> 00:38:22,040
a rather gigantic
and fairly immovable object.
722
00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:26,120
Hindenburg was probably destroyed
because of a tiny spark.
723
00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:29,920
This great, giant,
physically large symbol
724
00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:33,520
of German and Nazi supremacy
725
00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:36,720
was most likely taken down
by a spark
726
00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:38,960
that's no bigger than when
you walk across a carpet
727
00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:41,880
and you touch a doorknob.
728
00:38:41,880 --> 00:38:47,240
And that's all it took to bring this
2.5-football-field-long aircraft...
729
00:38:48,760 --> 00:38:51,160
..to burning ashes
in less than a minute.
730
00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:54,000
The Hindenburg cover-up
has little to do with
731
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:56,840
what caused the Nazi airship's
fiery demise.
732
00:38:57,880 --> 00:39:00,400
Instead, it's a tale of
what happened
733
00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:03,440
the days and weeks
following the crash.
734
00:39:03,440 --> 00:39:06,000
The lacking cross-examination
of what appears to be
735
00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:08,800
highly coordinated testimonies,
736
00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:14,000
and a letter threatening sabotage
that goes unmentioned at the inquiry.
737
00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,000
Why? Who benefited?
738
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:17,240
DE SYON: So, we are stuck
in many ways
739
00:39:17,240 --> 00:39:19,560
with this image of the Hindenburg
740
00:39:19,560 --> 00:39:22,720
being a German machine,
a great machine,
741
00:39:22,720 --> 00:39:24,360
but also a deeply flawed one.
742
00:39:24,360 --> 00:39:28,600
One could say that in some ways,
the Hindenburg culturally becomes
743
00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:30,520
a metaphor for the Nazi regime.
744
00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:37,880
Conceived as a weapon of war,
the airship evolved
745
00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:40,400
into the ultimate means
of travelling the world
746
00:39:40,400 --> 00:39:43,680
in luxurious comfort and style.
747
00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:47,720
Hindenburg - the grandest and
most romanticised of them all -
748
00:39:47,720 --> 00:39:51,120
served as a magnificent symbol
of all that was possible
749
00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:54,080
in an exciting new era
of engineering marvels.
750
00:39:56,240 --> 00:39:59,520
The Naval Air Station at Lakehurst
was Hindenburg's home
751
00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:01,960
when it travelled to
the United States.
752
00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:04,880
The colossal hangar
was where it was berthed.
753
00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:07,640
And this field is its
final resting place.
754
00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:12,920
Here, a memorial ceremony
is held each year
755
00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:14,560
to mark the tragedy.
756
00:40:16,040 --> 00:40:19,640
This was the final event
757
00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:24,440
for as safe as possible
passenger travel.
758
00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:30,640
It finished the travel of people,
759
00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:34,000
mail, packages, whatnot,
760
00:40:34,000 --> 00:40:35,880
over the whole world.
761
00:40:35,880 --> 00:40:39,800
May 6th, 1937,
762
00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:42,280
was for all practical purposes
763
00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:47,240
the final day of passenger travel
in lighter-than-air.
764
00:40:48,800 --> 00:40:51,880
In the end, the story
of the Hindenburg is a reminder
765
00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:53,680
of human fallibility,
766
00:40:53,680 --> 00:40:56,760
of the fragile line between
the grandest of dreams
767
00:40:56,760 --> 00:40:58,760
and the most humbling of nightmares.
768
00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:05,720
Captions by Red Bee Media
(c) SBS Australia 2023
66585
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