The Hindenburg Disaster: A History from Beginning to End

by Hourly History

Discover the remarkable history of the Hindenburg Disaster...
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In 1937, passengers could cross the Atlantic in unprecedented luxury aboard the world’s most advanced aircraft. The Hindenburg was a marvel that defied belief. Stretching over 800 feet (245 meters)—longer than three jumbo jets placed end to end—this colossal airship represented the pinnacle of 1930s technology. Thirteen stories tall and powered by engines that propelled it at nearly 80 mph (125 km/h), it could ferry passengers between Europe and the Americas in half the time of the fastest ocean liner.

For those who could afford it, the Hindenburg offered an experience like no other. Passengers dined in an elegant restaurant with panoramic windows, relaxed in opulent lounges while a pianist played a grand piano, and retired to private cabins heated by the ship’s engines. From its 1936 launch through early 1937, this floating palace carried nearly 3,000 passengers across 200,000 miles (320,000 kilometers)—including 17 Atlantic crossings—without a single injury. There was only one thing that made prospective passengers a little the Hindenburg stayed aloft thanks to 7 million cubic feet (200,000 cubic meters) of hydrogen gas—one of the most explosive substances known to humanity. Every spark, every electrical discharge, every moment of static electricity posed a mortal threat to everyone aboard.

On May 6, 1937, in just 32 seconds, that threat became reality. This is the story of the Hindenburg disaster.

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Genres: History, Nonfiction

63 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 27, 2025

About the author

At Hourly History, we focus on publishing history books that are concise, straightforward and take no longer than one hour to read.

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Reviews

[Curtis Hartwig · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandfather was a machinist at the Zeppelin werkes in Friederichshafen. My mother's family lived in company housing in Zeppelindorf, a suburb of Friedrichshafen. There were 8 kids living in what we would call a townhouse. It had two bedrooms upstairs, and a kitchen and living room downstairs.
My mother visited her parents in 1936 and took pictures of a zeppelin under construction.
So this book was fascinating to me.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in July of 2025 by Hourly History.

Hourly History specializes in little histories that take about an hour to read. For me, an hour of reading about the Hindenburg is about right.

The Hindenburg Disaster is a short history that details the beginnings of zeppelins/blimps through the tragedy of the complete destruction of the German zeppelin Hindenburg in just 32 seconds in New Jersey in 1937.

Germany was a focal point for building blimps/zeppelins during World War I and before World War II. The blimps went from being potential military airships to being experimental ways to travel. One has to remember that airplanes were even more experimental way to travel.

Any sort of air travel was going to be prohibitively expensive - only the richest of the rich could afford it. Blimps/zeppelins offered a stately, luxurious ride - planes were seen as a noisy and cramped and inferior alternative.

This short history chronicles the struggles of the blimp/zeppelin industry during the 1920's. When the Nazis took control of Germany, they saw zeppelins as a way to demonstrate German technical excellence and as a way to flout restrictions on German airships. One can see now that the idea of taking a blimp into a World War II fighter plan dogfight would be suicidal, but that was not always clear in the early 1930's.

Eventually, the German government decided that zeppelins were a great propaganda machine inside and outside of Germany. They are attention-getting, massive, and the Nazis slapped a big Nazi swastika on the side of them to generate publicity.

This history does a good job of describing the technical reasons for the Hindenburg disaster - including the surprisingly small number of deaths for such a massive fireball. But, it does a rather poor job of telling the story of blimps/zeppelins after the Hindenburg. This disaster practically destroyed the idea of luxury travel in zeppelins and the book gives the impression that that disaster sort of wiped out the entire concept.

But, any American sports fan knows that this is simply not true - the Goodyear Blimp shows up at every major sporting event and provides "aerial coverage." It used to be accompanied by the Fuji Film Blimp, although I haven't seen that one in a while.

The fact that this history spent so much time detailing the history of zeppelins prior to the disaster and tells almost nothing about them after the disaster is a major oversight.

Fun fact that I discovered while writing this review: A successor company to the company that operated the Hindenburg operates the Goodyear Blimp in Europe. Mentioning this fact would have been a great way to end this short history.

Originally posted here: https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2026...

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book notes that the first hot air ballon flight took place way back in 1783. This was with a balloon that could not be steered, though, and the only way it moved was with the wind.

Then it talks about French airships, their use by the German army during WWI, the first airline, the Graf Zeppelin, Nazis and balloon transport and then moves on to the Hindenburg flight which ended in disaster.

The book discusses what the cause or causes might have been, the number of people who died and then moves on to other dirigible disasters.

If you are interested in seeing it you can find videos on You Tube.

I like the background the book gives on early use of hot air balloons and their analysis of possible causes for the disaster.

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick history of the Hindenburg. This quick read goes into the progression of airships and how it came to being built. There are facts I didn’t know about the engineering and it was interesting how this form of travel changed so much in the 30 years it was around. The disaster of the Hindenburg was made more horrific as it was filmed and had news crews at the mooring to land. However, I feel we all learn from the mistakes and this helped forward progress of air travel as it is today.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the title suggests, this book covers the Zepplin industry from its start, through to the success of the Hindenburg, and through the tragic accident and the resulting death of the industry. A comprehensive overview which ticked all the boxes.

[Douglass Sonek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of The Hindenburg Disaster for Hourly History

An excellent condensation of essential facts in a direct, readable format about a major historical event; genuinely worthwhile and enjoyable reading.

[George Barchenger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disaster Confirmed! The passage of time has a way of confirming all the evidence of this disaster.

My 80+ years of existence on this planet gives me confidence that the "truth will out" eventually.
Great short read.

[Lorelei Tomlinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good high level summary of the Hindenburg from its development to its final voyage and the investigation into the disaster. If you are interested in history or disasters, you may want to read this book.

[Wayne Kuykendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

History I never fully understood

I have seen the movie footage of the Hindenburg disaster many times in my youth but never fully understood the significance or cause. I appreciate this well explained summary.

[F · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hindenburg Disaster- a story I knew of, but not as much as revealed here. Great detail for such a small volume. Interestingly written... spoiler alert- it crashed.

[William O. Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting read on the development of airships that lead to the development of the notorious Hindenburg and the aftermath of its fiery demise.

[Robin Dix · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot of history from this short book. It's a must read.

[David Rathbun · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth reading

This short history of airships and the Hindenburg in particular is well researched and offers a window into that unique period of early flight.

[Lois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, to the point, full of facts, and interesting.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly about the history of airships. Not much about what happened during the actual disaster. But it is, as promised, a quick read, intelligently written but not difficult to get through.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rated—PG (my personal opinion based on content)

[Jerry Jares · Rating 5 out of 5]

Usually, I don't care for long-term background stories of things, but this one on the Zeppelin dirigible's history is an exception. The story of how dirigibles came to be is fascinating. They predated airplane travel by several years. The Zeppelin company never had a single accident during its operational history. However, things changed when the German government got involved.

The story of the Hindenburg Disaster is fascinating because the author told how the reality and the filmed versions differed. This is an engrossing story.