What do you think?
Rate this book
The Hidden Hindenburg: The Untold Story of the Tragedy, the Nazi Secrets, and the Quest to Rule the Skies
MP3 CD Format By the author of Ashes Under Water , here is one of the great untold stories of World War II. The Hidden Hindenburg at last reveals the cause of aviation's most famous disaster and the duplicity that kept the truth from coming to light for three generations. It also finally catches up with a German legend who misled the world about the Hindenburg to bury his own Nazi connections.
Drawing on previously unpublished documents from the National Archives in Washington, along with archival collections in Germany, this definitive account explores how the Hindenburg was connected to the Dachau concentration camp, a futuristic German rocket that terrified the Allies, and a classified project that imported Nazi scientists to America after the war.
It took author Michael McCarthy four years to get to the bottom of this epic disaster, in which the largest object civilization has ever managed to fly burnt up in less than one minute. Along the way, he found a tale of international intrigue, revealing a whistleblower, a cover-up, and corruption on two continents.
Drawing on previously unpublished documents from the National Archives in Washington, along with archival collections in Germany, this definitive account explores how the Hindenburg was connected to the Dachau concentration camp, a futuristic German rocket that terrified the Allies, and a classified project that imported Nazi scientists to America after the war.
It took author Michael McCarthy four years to get to the bottom of this epic disaster, in which the largest object civilization has ever managed to fly burnt up in less than one minute. Along the way, he found a tale of international intrigue, revealing a whistleblower, a cover-up, and corruption on two continents.
1 pages, Audio CD
Published March 1, 2021
74 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
Michael McCarthy
418 books56 followersMichael McCarthy is an English writer on the environment and the natural world. He was formerly Environment Editor for the Independent and is now its Environment Columnist.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 30, 2021
Ah, the world of airships. It's so remote and different from how we fly today, it's like something from steampunk, or fantasy novel. But the airships did happen, serving both as war machines and for luxury travel reserved only for the richest. This book is about how they came into being, what were they like, and why did they perish. And, what you probably don't expect, it's also about what happened to people involved in their development, during and after the war. That's some top investigative journalism right there, if you ask me.
March 11, 2022
Closer to 3.5. The title is a bit misleading, because it has more to do with Hugo Eckner, and his successful attempt to rewrite history, but it's still fascinating. It was kinda weird how the story focused almost exclusively on the prison labor side of Nazi atrocities during the Holocaust, but it's understandable from the angle this was coming from.
June 17, 2021
I would have rated this book much higher if it focused more on the technical aspects of the design and operation of the Hindenburg and the accident investigation, and less on the wartime stories of the German rocket program and postwar Operation Paperclip.
October 30, 2022
Is there anyone alive who has not seen the newsreel footage or heard the anguished radio report of the burning of the airship Hindenburg in 1937? The author sets this historic event in a context that spans a hundred years from the first successful German airships in the first decade of the twentieth century to the discovery and publication of pertinent documents in the first decade of the twenty-first. The trail winds through two world wars, the rise of Nazism, German development of the V-1 and V-2 rockets, the Nuremberg trials, and into the American space program. Be forewarned: the description of conditions endured by prisoners in the forced labor camps that produced those rockets is horrifying. The uncovering of the most probable cause for the Hindenburg disaster is well-documented; it is not lightning. This is not an easy history to uncover, but it is a history well-worth knowing.
July 14, 2021
Interesting, but hardly revelatory
The book was interesting about the Hindenburg and Zeppelins generally, and added insight into the crash, but spent far too much time on the subsequent career of Eckner, his use of slave labor and the flaws of denazification. It seemed like what could have been a good monograph was morphed into a less than satisfactory longer book, as if the author were trying to fill enough pages….
The book was interesting about the Hindenburg and Zeppelins generally, and added insight into the crash, but spent far too much time on the subsequent career of Eckner, his use of slave labor and the flaws of denazification. It seemed like what could have been a good monograph was morphed into a less than satisfactory longer book, as if the author were trying to fill enough pages….
June 24, 2021
Correcting post-WW2 In estigations of Atrocities
Surprise!
I expected a Hindenburg disaster story, but got much more.
The book exposed oft-repeated errors in post WW2 investigations into Nazi human rights abuses, and gullible and sloppy acceptance of false information in support of criminality on the lart of azi officials and regime supporters who basically excaped justice.
Surprise!
I expected a Hindenburg disaster story, but got much more.
The book exposed oft-repeated errors in post WW2 investigations into Nazi human rights abuses, and gullible and sloppy acceptance of false information in support of criminality on the lart of azi officials and regime supporters who basically excaped justice.
August 9, 2021
This is the best book I’ve read about the tragedy of The Hindenburg. It’s very well written and included many facts that I did not know before. Highly recommended for history buffs, but also for those in general who enjoy a good non-fiction read. 5/5 stars.
January 20, 2022
This was an interesting book and disclosed facts that I did not know. The book explains what really happened in the Hindenburg tragedy and lays the blame squarely on Hugo Eckner. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about the air ships of the past.
August 20, 2023
Good book. More than I expected. The story of zeppelins, and the death of the Hindenburg were very interesting. Then the book moves to a retelling of Eckner’s post zeppelin life. That part was interesting as well, just not what I expected from this book.
February 29, 2024
I like his scholarship and conclusions. His writing style bothers me a little, which may be the result of an age difference (I am 75 as I read this book). Without that discomfort with his writing style (not constant) I would rate this a five.
June 17, 2021
Good book
Wow! The things that went on with the Hindenburg and the people involved. It's a shame they never brought Hugo Eckener to trial for his complicity during the war.
Wow! The things that went on with the Hindenburg and the people involved. It's a shame they never brought Hugo Eckener to trial for his complicity during the war.
July 2, 2021
Excellent Historical Novel
An extremely well written and researched accounting of Nazi Germany. The book literally transports you to this horrendous time in history.
An extremely well written and researched accounting of Nazi Germany. The book literally transports you to this horrendous time in history.
March 16, 2022
It was difficult to follow the "story". There were sections that were repeadative. Was interesting, but very technical too!
December 20, 2023
This is a great book. Really liked it. Great history of the Zepplins and such.
January 20, 2024
This book is as much about Hugo Eckener as it is about the Hindenburg. Nevertheless it’s a compelling story and a pretty good book.
December 27, 2023
This is a revisionist history on the cause of the Hindenburg crash, and mythology that has been told about Zeppelin’s biggest champion, Dr. Hugo Eckener, a global celebrity in between the world wars who led a double life according to the author. Michael McCarthy taught journalism history at a college in Chicago (and a journalist at the Wall Street Journal for 22 years), and sharing the radio recording of Herb Morrison’s narrative on the crash of the ship, which led him into the history of the tragedy. He traced the cause back to the ship’s blueprints, and learned Eckener wasn’t all he was said to be in the popular press. The author writes, “This isn’t merely a revision. This, finally, is what really happened, the story of the hidden Hindenburg.” The author certainly did his homework on this topic, beginning with a history of Count von Zeppelin and “The Baby Killers” of World War I, to the Graf Zeppelin’s flight around the world and the beginning of construction on the Hindenburg, along with Hitler’s rise to power.
On August 19, 1934, Eckener made a radio broadcast endorsing Hitler. Hermann Goring poured $2 million into the Zeppelin company enabling it to construct Hindenburg and begin a government airline for Zeppelin transportation. Eckener then backs out of a speech he was supposed to give in support of Hitler, and Joseph Goebbels was confused rather than angry. The conventional story says Goebbels was furious, and blacklisted Eckener, throwing him down the memory hole in the press. But the author can find no mention of this in Goebbels diary. Supposedly, Eckener despised the Nazis, refusing the party to use his hangars for rallies, not naming the ship Hitler, and crafting the narrative the Captain Ernst Lehmann was a Nazi puppet, who replaced Eckener as commander of the ship. After the ship completed the 1936 season (56 flights in all) it was overhauled, extra passenger cabins were added, etc. The outer cover at the top had an unplanned flutter that set the gas-cell wires rattling, destructively. It was held together with twine and tape, according to the author. The ship was insured for six million Reichsmarks, along with passengers and crew. This was the cause of the explosion, not Eckener’s explanation of a sharp turn that caused a bracing wire to puncture a gas cell. Two former airship captains testified that Eckener was wrong about this theory. The Commerce Department’s report accepted Eckener’s explanation.
Post-crash, Eckener doesn’t come off too well in the book. He allowed Hitler to outfit the LZ130 with espionage equipment, and Hitler bestowed the title of “Professor” on Eckener’s 70th birthday. The outer cover on this new ship was constructed in a new way. His son, Knut, became a Nazi Party member. Then Eckener goes on to us slave labor—prisoners of war—to construct the A4 rocket (later known as the V-2, Vengeance Weapon 2, which ended up killing 2,700 in England, wounding another 6,500). The author accuses Eckener of being a member of the Nazi’s elite circle of arms merchants. Eckener came to the USA in 1947, under a military project, code name Paperclip, whereby some 1,600 of German scientists would work in America to help gain an edge in arms. He was facing fines and censure back home for being a Nazi supporter and war profiteer. He sought asylum in the USA. The author sums up the case—partially—against Eckener:
“Eckener recorded a propaganda speech in favor of Hitler in 1934, then charged the Reich for propaganda flyovers with his Zeppelins, and then authorized spy flights with the sister ship to the Hindenburg that allowed Hitler to begin his invasions of Europe. For exploiting forced laborers and concentration camp prisoners, the Farben executives were charged with committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. he Zeppelin company had done the very same thing. Thirteen Farben officials were sentenced to prison, in terms up to eight years."
Eckener returned to Germany after the Nordhausen trial at Dachau prison, and it was clear he wouldn’t be charged. He told the military his wife was sick and he returned home. His autobiography paints himself as a hero, who narrowly avoided being put into a concentration camp by Hitler. This narrative is what you read in any history of Zeppelins. It’s not so black and white. He even defamed Captain Lehmann as a Nazi puppet. He died in August 1954 at 86 of a heart ailment, his wife a year later. His Paperclip file was declassified in 1999. Charles Rosendahl, the US Navy commander and proponent of airships also comes off as a villain in the book.
This is a must read for any airship enthusiast. The author has done his homework and compiled evidence that goes against the conventional narrative. You’ll have to decide for yourself how much this changes Eckener’s legacy.
On August 19, 1934, Eckener made a radio broadcast endorsing Hitler. Hermann Goring poured $2 million into the Zeppelin company enabling it to construct Hindenburg and begin a government airline for Zeppelin transportation. Eckener then backs out of a speech he was supposed to give in support of Hitler, and Joseph Goebbels was confused rather than angry. The conventional story says Goebbels was furious, and blacklisted Eckener, throwing him down the memory hole in the press. But the author can find no mention of this in Goebbels diary. Supposedly, Eckener despised the Nazis, refusing the party to use his hangars for rallies, not naming the ship Hitler, and crafting the narrative the Captain Ernst Lehmann was a Nazi puppet, who replaced Eckener as commander of the ship. After the ship completed the 1936 season (56 flights in all) it was overhauled, extra passenger cabins were added, etc. The outer cover at the top had an unplanned flutter that set the gas-cell wires rattling, destructively. It was held together with twine and tape, according to the author. The ship was insured for six million Reichsmarks, along with passengers and crew. This was the cause of the explosion, not Eckener’s explanation of a sharp turn that caused a bracing wire to puncture a gas cell. Two former airship captains testified that Eckener was wrong about this theory. The Commerce Department’s report accepted Eckener’s explanation.
Post-crash, Eckener doesn’t come off too well in the book. He allowed Hitler to outfit the LZ130 with espionage equipment, and Hitler bestowed the title of “Professor” on Eckener’s 70th birthday. The outer cover on this new ship was constructed in a new way. His son, Knut, became a Nazi Party member. Then Eckener goes on to us slave labor—prisoners of war—to construct the A4 rocket (later known as the V-2, Vengeance Weapon 2, which ended up killing 2,700 in England, wounding another 6,500). The author accuses Eckener of being a member of the Nazi’s elite circle of arms merchants. Eckener came to the USA in 1947, under a military project, code name Paperclip, whereby some 1,600 of German scientists would work in America to help gain an edge in arms. He was facing fines and censure back home for being a Nazi supporter and war profiteer. He sought asylum in the USA. The author sums up the case—partially—against Eckener:
“Eckener recorded a propaganda speech in favor of Hitler in 1934, then charged the Reich for propaganda flyovers with his Zeppelins, and then authorized spy flights with the sister ship to the Hindenburg that allowed Hitler to begin his invasions of Europe. For exploiting forced laborers and concentration camp prisoners, the Farben executives were charged with committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. he Zeppelin company had done the very same thing. Thirteen Farben officials were sentenced to prison, in terms up to eight years."
Eckener returned to Germany after the Nordhausen trial at Dachau prison, and it was clear he wouldn’t be charged. He told the military his wife was sick and he returned home. His autobiography paints himself as a hero, who narrowly avoided being put into a concentration camp by Hitler. This narrative is what you read in any history of Zeppelins. It’s not so black and white. He even defamed Captain Lehmann as a Nazi puppet. He died in August 1954 at 86 of a heart ailment, his wife a year later. His Paperclip file was declassified in 1999. Charles Rosendahl, the US Navy commander and proponent of airships also comes off as a villain in the book.
This is a must read for any airship enthusiast. The author has done his homework and compiled evidence that goes against the conventional narrative. You’ll have to decide for yourself how much this changes Eckener’s legacy.
February 29, 2024
Decent
Narration a bit dry but otherwise a pretty thorough account of the Hindenburg. After the disaster that brought down the Hindenburg, I was surprised to see how much of the book was still left, and equally to find how much WWII history was included… but in the end it all made sense.
Narration a bit dry but otherwise a pretty thorough account of the Hindenburg. After the disaster that brought down the Hindenburg, I was surprised to see how much of the book was still left, and equally to find how much WWII history was included… but in the end it all made sense.
May 5, 2022
Great read
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews