A new children’s book has just been published about the Hindenburg disaster.
The publisher was very concerned about getting the facts right and the contents are scrupulously accurate. Most of all, the book does not repeat any of the nonsense so often found in books about the Hindenburg (e.g., the United States wouldn’t sell helium to the Nazis; the ship’s fabric covering was highly flammable; etc.).
But there was one thing the publisher didn’t consult with me about: the title!
We made sure to avoid any use of the word “explosion” in the content and always referred to the ship “catching fire” or “bursting into flame,” so you can imagine my surprise when I saw the published book! But that aside, it’s a great little book that explains the basics of the Hindenburg disaster to children, and also mentions other ships such as Graf Zeppelin, Akron, and R.101.
Regarding Harold Ickes, Hugo Eckener is quoted in an address as follows on 9 July 1938, in celebration of the 100th birthday of Graf Ferdinand von Zeppelin: “One cabinet member now has suddenly given the opinion that the helium promised us last year has military importance and therefore cannot be… Read more »
Well, the full story is a little more complicated than I described in my first post. John Duggan, in LZ129 Hindenburg (Zep Study Group, 2002), p. 194, says: “By late 1937, there was little prospect of helium’s monopoly producer, the USA, exporting helium to Germany. True, in the wake of… Read more »
Book titles are quite often selected by the publisher and not by the author, so there’s often a risk that the book title is dramatized. Regarding the Helium Control Act: The sale of helium required a government permission which the DZR almost got *after* the fire of the LZ 129… Read more »
Re “the nonsense so often found in books about the Hindenburg (e.g.the United States wouldn’t sell helium to the Nazis…” You don’t say why this is “nonsense.” The U.S. would not in fact sell helium to he Nazis, and the reason they wouldn’t is that the Helium Control Act of… Read more »