The Hindenburg light or Hindenburglicht, was a source of lighting

Lighting

Lighting or illumination is the deliberate application of light to achieve some practical or aesthetic effect. Lighting includes the use of both artificial light sources such as lamps and light fixtures, as well as natural illumination by capturing daylight...

 used in the trenches of the First World War, named after the Commander-in-Chief of the German army in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Paul von Hindenburg

Paul von Hindenburg

Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....

. It was also used in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in air raid shelters

Air-raid shelter

Air-raid shelters, also known as bomb shelters, are structures for the protection of the civil population as well as military personnel against enemy attacks from the air...

 (Luftschutzkeller) or during power cuts, and mandated black outs as emergency lighting. It is also mentioned in the novel "Stalingrad," by Theodore Plievier, as used on the Eastern Front. Also it is mentioned in "Wheels of Terror" by Sven Hassel

Sven Hassel

Sven Hassel is a Danish-born soldier and writer who has written pseudo-autobiographical novels based on his experiences in World War II.-Biography:...

. It was a flat bowl of approx. 5–8 cm diameter with 1-1.5 cm broad edge. It resembles the cover of Mason jar lid (Schraubglasdeckel) and was made from pasteboard. This flat bowl was filled with a wax-like fat (tallow). A short wick (Docht) in the center was lit and burned for some hours. A later model of the Hindenburglicht was a "tin can (Dosenlicht) lamp." Here, a wax-filled tin can has two wicks in a holder. If both wicks are lit, a common, broad flame (zungenfoermige Flamme) results.