I WAS THERE / EPISODE 1 : 1937 Hindenburg Disaster

 

I WAS THERE is a documentary series that puts audiences at the center of some of history's most impactful moments. With the help of reenactments and CGI, host Theo Wilson is able to travel back in time to watch key historical events as they are taking place. With the help of archive footage and interviews with present-day historians, each occurrence is put into a broader context, and the significant political, economic, scientific, and cultural details that contributed to what ultimately transpired are highlighted. From the 1937 Hindenburg Disaster to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdown, it reveals details about what led up to these moments, who the key players were, and some of the lessons learned after the fact.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/i-was-there

 

The Hindenburg disaster was an airship accident that occurred on May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States. The German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station Lakehurst. The accident caused 35 fatalities (13 passengers and 22 crewmen) from the 97 people on board (36 passengers and 61 crewmen), and an additional fatality on the ground.

 

The disaster was the subject of newsreel coverage, photographs and Herbert Morrison's recorded radio eyewitness reports from the landing field, which were broadcast the next day. A variety of hypotheses have been put forward for both the cause of ignition and the initial fuel for the ensuing fire. The publicity shattered public confidence in the giant, passenger-carrying rigid airship and marked the abrupt end of the airship era.