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(
November 2010
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The
LZ 129 Hindenburg
was a large
German
airship
, built in 1936. It was named in honor of the
German
field marshal
and
statesman
Paul von Hindenburg
. Such airships are called
Zeppelin
. Along with another Zeppelin,
LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin
, it was the biggest airship in the world at the time it was built.
The Zeppelin gained lots of publicity and became very famous. The boxer
Max Schmeling
flew on it back to Germany after defeating
Joe Louis
in the
United States
. It was also present during the opening ceremony of the
1936 Summer Olympics
which were held in
Berlin
. This attention was part of the Zeppelin company's plan to offer a fleet of their airships for trans-atlantic service.
On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg was landing in
New Jersey
after a transatlantic flight, when it burst into flames. 36 people died and many were injured. The Hindenburg was destroyed by the burning of the
hydrogen
that was inside it. There are many opinions on what started the fire.
An announcer, Herbert Morrison reported the landing and then screamed and said, "Oh the humanity" after it caught on fire. Morrison's line is now famous around the world as well as photos and film footage of the disaster.
The rock group
Led Zeppelin
used a picture of the fire for the cover of their
self-titled debut album
.