On the evening of May 6, 1937, the majestic German zeppelin Hindenburg arrived before cheering crowds in Lakehurst, New Jersey, when suddenly a titanic inferno lit up the sky. Thirty-four seconds later, the greatest airship ever to take flight was gone, destroyed in a ferocious blaze and seared into historical memory.
Historian Catherine Grace Katz reconstructs the events leading up to the Hindenburg tragedy through the experiences of those who witnessed it. Drawing on extensive research, she reveals how a celebrated feat of engineering became one of history's most unforgettable catastrophes and explores the lives forever changed by that night, including the passengers, crew, and journalists who documented the disaster.
Katz also places the Hindenburg at the intersection of the decade’s competing currents of technological optimism and growing political instability. Once celebrated as a symbol of innovation and progress, the airship was ultimately co-opted by the rising Nazi regime as a tool of propaganda. Through this lens, she reveals how one disaster reflected the hopes and anxieties of a world on the brink of profound change.
Katz’s newest book, Shadow Before the Flame: The Hindenburg Disaster and the Prelude to War (Viking), is available for purchase.
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