Hindenburg at the Olympics

Nazi officials were very much aware of the symbolic value of the huge and impressive airship, and frequently called on Hindenburg for propaganda flights, often in company with the Graf Zeppelin.  Hindenburg made appearances at public events such as the 1936 Berlin Games.

Hindenburg demonstrated its propaganda value on August 1, 1936, when the ship flew over the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Spectators in the Olympic stadium and crowds of up to 3 million Germans and visitors in the streets of Berlin watched Hindenburg cruise above the city for more than an hour.