The Hindenburg was a type of airship known as a Zeppelin. It was used for transporting people and goods across the world. Airplanes were just starting to develop, so the Hindenburg was considered the top way to travel. Its interior was luxurious. Meals were served three times a day on fine china, there was a rare grand piano on board, and it even had a high-tech smoking room (despite being filled with hydrogen, which is extremely flammable). The tickets were priced accordingly; it cost $400 to ride the Hindenburg one way. The trip only took 2½ days to travel between Germany and the US, which was twice as fast as a ship, and a lot more comfortable.
The Hindenburg was very large. It was 804 feet long and weighed 240 tons. In comparison to a jumbo jet, the Hindenburg was more than twice as long. It flew at a speed of 85 miles per hour.
Hindenburg took off from Frankfurt, Germany on May 3, 1937 heading to Lakehurst, New Jersey. This was the 19th transatlantic trip the Hindenburg had taken, and it was supposed to add to its perfect safety record. On May 6, the Hindenburg arrived in New Jersey. Because of stormy weather conditions, the Hindenburg was forces to arrive over an hour later than planned. The ship had dropped its ropes when something went wrong.
In an instant, the Hindenburg had caught on fire and was slowly descending from the sky. The Zeppelin quickly became engulfed in flames. Hydrogen, which is highly flammable, was used to keep the ship afloat, so it was quickly singed. People tried jump from the burning Hindenburg to try and save themselves. In all, 35 out of the 97 passengers died. The tragic crash was recorded on video and described on the radio live by radio announcer Herbert Morrison.
After the Hindenburg disaster, airships were no longer used by the public for transportation. People were just too afraid to get on another and risk catastrophe. The general public took a short restraint from flying and became paranoid about bad things happening. Even the Hindenburg, with a perfect safety record, was one of the most vivid tragedies to ever occur, so rightfully the public didn’t want to take a chance with Zeppelins again.
The Hindenburg added to the Modernism in a few ways. Because the crash was so vivid, modernists saw the world as being chaotic and unstable. The huge flames would have made anyone think that. There was also a loss of faith. The Hindenburg had a perfect safety record leading up to the crash. People didn’t know what to believe in. There were no truths or certainties in the world. The Hindenburg also characterized the themes of decadence, decay, loss, and despair. The world seemed to be falling apart. Something as luxurious as the Hindenburg had burnt up in flames. It was supposed to symbolize the advancement of technology and leap into better times, but it ended up symbolizing the opposite.
