he served as commandant of Frankfurt Airport as World War II broke out. By this time he was already urging the modernization of Germany's remaining Zeppelin fleet, and during a 1940 visit by Hermann Göring to Frankfurt Airport this was the subject of an alleged quarrel between Pruss and Göring. In the 1950s Pruss tried to raise money for new Zeppelin construction, citing the comfort and luxury of this mode of transportation. He died in 1960 of pneumonia after a stomach operation. Pruss did not see his dream realized, as his death was over 30 years before the construction of a new airship at the Friedrichshafen complex by Zeppelin Neue Technologie (NT). Portrayals In the 1975 film, The Hindenburg, Pruss was portrayed by Charles Durning. This portrayal is inaccurate because Pruss is portrayed as ignoring the advice of the 2nd Captain Ernst Lehmann, who only traveled as an observer, saying "I'll do the worrying on this trip". In the docudrama Hindenburg: The Untold Story he was portrayed by Albert Welling. In the 2011 RTL television movie he is portrayed by Jürgen Schornagel. The Hindenburg is featured in the series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction as the setting of a story in which a married couple ride on the airship while recounting to friends of theirs how years ago they escaped certain death when they missed a trip on the doomed Passenger Liner RMS Lusitania. In the pilot episode of the TV series Timeless Pruss was featured but not mentioned by name. Bibliography References Hindenburg Captain Max Pruss - airships.net Faces of the Hindenburg German airship aviators Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents 1891 births 1960 deaths LZ 129 Hindenburg People from East Prussia People from Mrągowo County Deaths from pneumonia in Germany