You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart radio and Grimm and Mild

from Aaron Manky.

It sailed over the Empire State Building, moving at a stately 68 miles an hour.

The people below looked up to watch it.

And for those high above, onboard the Hindenburg, including eight-year-old Werner G. Donor,

the view was like nothing they had ever seen before.

Werner and his family had boarded the airship on May 3rd of 1937 in Frankfurt, Germany,

bound for New Jersey.

It was the fastest way to get across the ocean, and seemingly very safe.

The vessel belonged to the world's first airline company, and it had an outstanding track

record.

The Hindenburg was an engineering marvel, and a prized possession and propaganda machine

of the Nazi party.

It flew with swastikas, and was filled with all the luxuries expected by anyone who could

afford a ticket, beautiful interiors, comfortable cabins, elegant meals, and even a fireproof

smoking lounge.

And although Werner and his siblings would have preferred this spacious decks and play

spaces of a traditional ocean liner, the airships catwalks and views of ice-filled landscapes

were memories that he held onto for the rest of his life.

To stay afloat, the ship swelved with over 7 million cubic feet of hydrogen gas.

To fly, it carried four diesel engines.

The further it traveled, the more fuel it used, and the lighter it became.

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