". . . This is the worst thing I've ever witnessed."

LXX

The Hindenburg wreckage, like a gutted fish, lies on the ground at Lakehurst on May 7, 1937

There is a surprising amount of photography and newsreel footage covering almost every minute of the Hindenburg’s destruction at Lakehurst, New Jersey on May 6, 1937, both professional and amateur.  DZR arranged for American news services to cover its important American flights, and the arrival of the Hindenburg on its inaugural flight of the 1937 season was considered newsworthy.  Hearst News of the Day, Pathe. Fox Movietone, Paramount, and at least one other Newsreel company were covering the landing  (of this last, only a fragment of film survives with no identifying marks). An amateur with a home movie camera was filming as well. Numerous New York and local New Jersey newspapers had sent reporters and photographers to Lakehurst too. 

Of all this material, not one shot survives of the actual outbreak of the fire. Apparently, everyone was focused on the work of the ground crew and not on the ship when the first flame appeared. 

Perhaps most famous is the narration of Herbert Morrison, a news reporter for Station WLS in Chicago, who was recording a report for inclusion in a “news of the week”-type program to be broadcast later.  Charles Nehlsen was assisting Morrison. Nehlsen was also (separately) taking silent footage of the Hindenburg at the same time.   The film and the voice-over were later combined into a dramatic newsreel that is considered a seminal piece of newswork. 

Herbert Morrison (1905-1989) was a staff reporter at WLS in Chicago just covering what promised to be a very routine story. Instead, it turned into history's first celluloid disaster and Morrison became famous for his moment-by-moment coverage

Morrison:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YY0xw5r1ro

Morrison (voice corrected):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUVDmXvXcbk

Universal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSK9p3HRp30

Fox Movietone News:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4DNEWQgJKU

Pathe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgWHbpMVQ1U

Hearst News of The Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Upy-8Bm_tw

The sensationalist New York Daily News printed a late-night Extra, typically announcing that all on board had been killed. Note the caption, which refers to the ship as the ‘Graf Hindenburg’.

The next day, the news was better even if the headline was no less lurid. Tabloids like the Daily News came in for criticism in those more-delicate times when they at first took pictures of the wreckage heedless of the fact that charred, mangled and half-incinerated bodies lay among the ruins. They toned their coverage down, but the disaster remained news for many days

At the time, there was no mobile “live” coverage. In effect, this meant that only planned events (such as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats”) could be covered as they happened. Spontaneous events (such as the Hindenburg disaster) were covered in heavily-edited weekly newsreels or by announcers reading post-event copy. “Live” coverage was not adopted until the pace of events in World War II made it a necessity. 

Some passengers were shocked and disheveled but managed to escape almost unscathed

The Hindenburg disaster stands out as a kind of exception to the rule. Morrison’s unedited monologue was overdubbed onto Nehlsen’s dramatic silent film footage, making it appear that the coverage was live. This heightened the impact of the film event significantly and affected viewers’ reactions to it. It was the first time that, in the infancy of news broadcasting, that the media became the message.  

 

The equipment used was balky by its nature, and Morrison’s usually mellifluent voice was recorded at a slightly increased speed that raised its pitch. As the event unfolded and Morrison became overemotional, his voice as recorded became nearly shrill, even further increasing the emotional impact of the event. 

Morrison himself  became overwhelmed by what he was seeing. Even though his narration seems at times histrionic (“One of the worst catastrophes in the world!”) and has become almost comic in our more jaded time (“Oh, the humanity!”) and he sobs and gasps through the event in a most unprofessional manner, it should be remembered that this was a watershed event --- no one had even seen a zeppelin crash and burn right before their eyes.  35 of the 97 people aboard died, plus one of the ground crew. Many of those who survived were terribly burned. 
 

It was not the worst airship accident ever. The American ship Akron had lost 74 of its 76 crew, the British R-38 had crashed and burned killing 44 of 49 crew on board, the British R-101 had crashed and burned killing 48 of the 54 people aboard, and the French Dixmude had lost all 52 persons aboard when it exploded over the Mediterranean (nothing was ever found but a piece of the Captain’s uniform coat with gold buttons attached). But, paradoxically, it was the worst airship disaster in history because it was filmed and it would be seen by millions of people. Overnight, airships were deemed to be deathtraps.  

An injured survivor is carried off --- amazingly smoking a cigarette!

Werner Doeherr was one of the first children to fly on the Hindenburg with his family. On board, young Werner had a toy truck that shot sparks when its windup motor was engaged. Heinrich Kubis politely locked it away, promising to return it at journey’s end

Morrison’s monologue: 

“It's practically standing still now. They've dropped ropes out of the nose of the ship, and they've been taken a hold of down on the field by a number of men. It's starting to rain again; it's—the rain has slacked up a little bit. The back motors of the ship are just holding it just, just enough to keep it from — It burst into flames! It burst into flames, and it's falling, it's crashing! Watch it, watch it! Get out of the way! Get this, Charlie! Get this, Charlie! It's fire—and it's crashing! It's crashing terrible! Oh, my, get out of the way, please! It's burning and bursting into flames, and the—and it's falling on the mooring-mast and all the folks agree that this is terrible, this is one of the worst catastrophes in the world. [Indecipherable word(s)] It's–it's–it's the flames, [indecipherable, possibly the word "climbing"] oh, four- or five-hundred feet into the sky and it ... it's a terrific crash, ladies and gentlemen. It's smoke, and it's flames now ... and the frame is crashing to the ground, not quite to the mooring-mast. Oh, the humanity and all the passengers screaming around here. I told you, I can't even talk to people whose friends are on there. Ah! It's–it's–it's–it's ... o–ohhh! I–I can't talk, ladies and gentlemen. Honest, it's just laying there, a mass of smoking wreckage. Ah! And everybody can hardly breathe and talk, and the screaming. Lady, I–I'm sorry. Honest: I–I can hardly breathe. I–I'm going to step inside where I cannot see it. Charlie, that's terrible. Ah, ah—I can't. I, listen, folks, I–I'm gonna have to stop for a minute because I've lost my voice. This is the worst thing I've ever witnessed.”