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Volkswagen and Hitler

Discussion in 'Free Fire Zone' started by Kai-Petri, Apr 26, 2003.

  1. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    [​IMG]

    Sitting at a restaurant table in Munich in the summer of 1932, Hitler designed the prototype for what would become the immensely successful Beetle design for Volkswagen (literally, the "car of the people"). In an era where only the most economic elite possessed cars, Hitler believed that all people should be able to own a car and additionally thought that a smart design could allow for reliability, enjoyment, and vacation travel. The name given to the car in 1938 was Kraft durch Freude (KdF-Wagen, literally "strength through joy car").

    Hitler gave his design to the head of Daimler-Benz, Jakob Werlin, and stressed its importance. "Take it with you and speak with people who understand more about it than I do. But don't forget it. I want to hear from you soon, about the technical details."

    http://www.hitler.org/artifacts/volkswagen/

    Three people are responsible for the Volkswagen Beetle being the most purchased vehicle in the history of the automobile. Adolf Hitler, who conceived the idea of a car cheap enough for the German working man to afford, Ferdinand Porsche, who created the distinctive air-cooled rear engined design and, in the post war years, Heinz Nordhoff who turned the Hitlerian dream into a reality.

    http://www.serial-design.com/mechanical_design/vw.htm

    However a new Austrian recruit Franz Xavier Reimspiess came up with a four cylinder boxer motor which was relatively quiet and cheaper than the twins in development. This 984cc over-square four is substantially the same design, refined and used to power over 20 million Volkswagens. Reimspiess was also responsible for the world famous VW monogram.

    In 1935 two Prototypes were built in the double garage of Porsche's home at 48-50 Feuerbacherweg, Stuttgart because he had no workshop facilities at 24 Kronenstrasse where he had set up his consultancy business in December 1930 after a long and distinguished career in the motor industry.

    The two 1935 prototypes were joined by three further experimental ones in 1936 and this trio, powered by Reimspiess's new engine, were handed over to the German Automobile Manufacturers Association for a punishing 30, 000km test programme. This meant covering 750km (466 miles) every day, with the varied route including parts of the Black Forest, the Alps and a long stretch of the new Autobahn between Stuttgart and Bad Neuheim. The demanding schedule soon revealed some shortcomings in the design. The most serious being, fractured cast iron crankshafts (adopted because of cost). These were replaced by stronger ones from Krupp; but they also fractured. It was decided to dispense with the feature and conventional forged crankshafts were ordered from Daimler-Benz. Less seriously, some gear levers broke and there were problems with electric fuel pumps, so a mechanical one was later standardized.

    January 1937 the Manufacturers Association issued a report generally favouring the VW design, however it believed the car couldn't be manufactured for the projected RM 990, but was prepared to take the concept over. Hitler had over ideas and from May 1937 the Volkswagen became a state-funded project and the responsibility of the German Labour Front, an organization which had taken the place of the abolished trade unions. The Front immediately made available RM 500, 000 and Daimler-Benz was commissioned to produce a further batch of 30 cars. On their completion a second series of tests similar to the one supervised by the Manufacturers Association were undertaken by members of the SS. Once these tests were successfully completed Erwin Komenda finally refined and simplified the car's styling.


    A rear window had not be included in the original design but this was incorporated by the Reutter coach building firm in the winter of 1937/38. A divided window was introduced and, with the output of the engine's cooling fan boosted, the number and size of louvres were reduced and located below the new window. Another batch of 44 cars of this final design were ordered from Diamler-Benz and at the same time the engine capacity was increased by 1cc to 985cc.

    Aware of the fact that Henry Ford built his factories close to the sea, canals or rivers to give ease of access for materials or exports, Hitler chose a site on the banks of the Mitteland Canal in the north of Germany near the village of Fallersleben.

    In May 1938 as Adolf Hitler ceremonially laid the foundation stone at the factory site, he announced the name of the new vehicle (to the horror of Porsche) as the KdF-Wagen. KdF stood for Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Joy), and the planned town to house the factory's workers was to be named Stadt des KdF-Wagens (Town of the Strength through Joy Cars).

    In August 1938, Labour Front chief Robert Ley announced the only method by which the public could acquire one of the new cars. The KdF could only be bought on a hire purchase system but the car would be sold when the final - rather than the first - payment was made. A savings book would be issued on receipt of RM 1 fee and this would be considered the equivalent of placing an order for the car. The basic version would cost RM 990 (£85) a version with a roll back sun roof would cost RM60 (£5)) more. There was only one colour (in line with Ford's Model T: "You can have any colour as long as it is black) and that was blue-grey. In addition there would be a RM 200 (£17) fee to cover two year's third party and part comprehensive insurance. The idea was that there would be no agents or middlemen, and customers would have to travel to the factory to collect their cars. If this was not possible an additional RM 50 (£4) delivery fee was charged. By the end of 1938 the Labour Front had received 169, 741 applications, a figure that was eventually to rise to 336, 668 ordered units.

    On the 15th August, 1940 the first KdF-Wagen left the production line. At this stage the Porsche Type 60 designation was dispensed with and the car was retitled the VW Type 1. A few cars were manufactured up until 1944, but wartime output only totalled 640 units. They were mostly distributed among the higher echelons of the Nazi Party, from Hitler downward.

    In February 1940, a vehicle far more suited to the state of war, based on the KdF-Wagen chassis, entered production. The Kübelwagen (or bucket car, named after its seats)...

    Check the site for more info

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    ;)
     
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  2. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    The early phases of VW

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    http://mclellansautomotive.com/sales-lit/bymake/volkswagen/index.shtml

    [​IMG]

    A massive publicity campaign was launched, selling the inexpensive car as one for all Germans, with the New York Times picking up the story, republishing several publicity photos with the nickname "the Beetle".

    At the end of the war, the KdF stadt ended up in British occupied territory, still stocked with parts for civilian KdF wagens left over from before the war. Major Ivan Hirst was placed in charge of the factory, employing 9,000 workers in a town of only 17,000, and two thirds destroyed by bombing raids at the end of the war. The town was filling with refuges from all over eastern Germany. The factory was initially put into production repairing British Jeeps, and making jeep engines, but 2 KdF wagens were produced by hand by out-of-work employee's, due to the large demand of British soldiers stationed there for motor vehicles. After Hirst was appointed Mayor of the town, he changed the name to Wolfsburg, and the British, in order to begin receiving war reparations, placed an order for 20,000 Beetle's on September 17, 1945. By years end more than 1,700 had been produced, their sale being used to recreate the German post office, red cross and other institutions. Within a year 10,000 were made, selling for 5,000 RM a piece, though as of yet no civilians were allowed to purchase the car.


    In 1948, the company, by now employing close to the wartime 9,000 again, was returned to the German government, and Heinrich Nordhoff was placed in control. Nordhoff would go on to run the company for many years, and would oversee the move towards 1,000,000 yearly production, and the American market, that would dominate the 50s.

    http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Colleges/HONR/HONR269J/.WWW/projects/haine/history.htm
     
  3. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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  4. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Good stuff Kai.

    And you know--since some people think that all Hitler did was bad--well--if he were still alive--he would have the last laugh.

    VW Beetles make great Dune-buggies. [​IMG]
     
  5. Erich

    Erich Alte Hase

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    let's face it guys the little bugger is still one of the easiest rigs to work on and it still keeps on going. For mountain useage it can't be beat on a frozen/snowed over surface, the thing just hugs the road. If you are of course looking for an oversize 4x4 then look elsewhere.

    Ah to have one of those 1940's originals......something the Führer and his boyz actually did right....

    ~E
     
  6. PzJgr

    PzJgr Drill Instructor

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    Even today, people do not know or believe that Hitler was behind the creation of VW Beetle. There were alot of good projects started by the Nazis. It was on a path similar to Facist Italy. Only difference was instead of focusing on raising the quality of life, Hitler focused on projects that improved the quality of the military. The autobahn improved communication and transportation. The Hitler youth programs kept the youth strong and healthy but lacked proper education.

    good info Kai.
     
  7. Friedrich

    Friedrich Expert

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    Very good, Kai! Love to hear more about that lovely car! Guys, you should know that the 'Beetle' is still in production in Mexico and the country if full of them. Even 95% of the taxis in the street are 'Beetles'. It is very nice. And actually, some guy I know has a 1961 'Beetle' completely resored and very beautiful for sale... :rolleyes: Let's see how Friedrich deals with the temptation...

    :D
     
  8. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    They are in production here and in Germany as well. I don't care much for the newer looks though. :(
     
  9. Friedrich

    Friedrich Expert

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    Carl, the VW 'Beetle' (the original, not the modern series) stopped in Germany back in the 1980s... I mean that the original 'Beetle' is still produced nowadays!
     
  10. Erich

    Erich Alte Hase

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    Fried, U should buy one ! I am really thinking about this as a second hand car for around town driving and short business hops. Can still find a couple in the area herer for under 1500.00 US

    ~E
     
  11. urqh

    urqh Tea drinking surrender monkey

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    Fancy not wanting one of these babies....Mrs is getting one next week, well she thinks its for her...can you park a beatle on a pavement without anyone bothering...

    Smart is smart..

    http://www.sussexcars.com/index.htm
     
  12. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    "F"--I KNOW that. I know somebody who bought one a few years ago. :eek:
     
  13. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    BBC NEWS | Magazine | The Englishman who saved Hitler's Beetle

    Ivan Hirst, a major with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was placed in charge and found the vast plant in an appalling condition.

    "It had been bombed three times, large parts of the roof were missing, the windows were blown out and the cellars were flooded," says Dr Simon Parkinson, a friend of Ivan Hirst and author of Volkswagen Beetle: The Rise from the Ashes of War.

    Though the facility's shortcomings were evident, what was expected of Hirst was less obvious. "I was told to go to an ex-Nazi factory," he said in a BBC interview before his death in 2000. "On asking what I had to do there, I was merely told: 'Just take charge. Sit there.'"

    Hirst had hoped to produce Kubelwagens - a boxy Nazi military car - but moulds to make the body panels were missing. However, Beetle parts were at hand and - with the blessing of a superior who had seen the Beetle before the war - Hirst built one in army green.

    The Beetle failed to wow established car markers. Henry Ford declined an offer to take over the operation and British manufacturer Humber tested the car and dismissed it as "rather loud and gives a rough ride" and "extremely ugly".

    Right up to his death, Hirst played down his role.

    "He was terribly modest and very embarrassed that people should go on about him," says Dr Parkinson. "I wanted to write my book just about him, but he wouldn't let me. I had to widen the subject out to describe the whole operation."

    The most Hirst would say about the Beetle was: "It was no means a perfect car. But in its time it was a damn good little car. They went on perhaps to produce it too long. But that's another story."
     
  14. von Poop

    von Poop Waspish

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    Hirst was a spectacular achiever, there's an excellent book about his activities but the name of it completely escapes me now. I have a feeling he was also involved in the postwar completion of several Panthers (and Jagdpanthers??) that now stand in European museums. The Panther at Bovington is a postwar job but I will have to double check on Major Hirst's involvement or otherwise.

    Cheers,
    Adam.
     
  15. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Aquila non capit muscas

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    [​IMG]
     
  16. Tomcat

    Tomcat The One From Down Under

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    I know its an old thread by WOW, I had no idea Hitler came up with the beetle design. Clearly a unknown fact amoung, well pretty much everybody.

    I know its late but I am giving your rep.:)
     
  17. Herr Oberst

    Herr Oberst Member

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    I miss my vws, the bug and my friends micro bus(camper thing) and later the modified GLI with aftermarket turbo, a serious sales warrior rocket.:)
     
  18. Kai-Petri

    Kai-Petri Kenraali

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    In May 1938 as Adolf Hitler ceremonially laid the foundation stone at the factory site, he announced the name of the new vehicle (to the horror of Porsche) as the KdF-Wagen. KdF stood for Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Joy), and the planned town to house the factory's workers was to be named Stadt des KdF-Wagens (Town of the Strength through Joy Cars).

    In August 1938, Labour Front chief Robert Ley announced the only method by which the public could acquire one of the new cars. The KdF could only be bought on a hire purchase system but the car would be sold when the final - rather than the first - payment was made. A savings book would be issued on receipt of RM 1 fee and this would be considered the equivalent of placing an order for the car. The basic version would cost RM 990 (£85) a version with a roll back sun roof would cost RM60 (£5)) more. There was only one colour (in line with Ford's Model T: "You can have any colour as long as it is black) and that was blue-grey. In addition there would be a RM 200 (£17) fee to cover two year's third party and part comprehensive insurance. The idea was that there would be no agents or middlemen, and customers would have to travel to the factory to collect their cars. If this was not possible an additional RM 50 (£4) delivery fee was charged. By the end of 1938 the Labour Front had received 169, 741 applications, a figure that was eventually to rise to 336, 668 ordered units.

    On the 15th August, 1940 the first KdF-Wagen left the production line. At this stage the Porsche Type 60 designation was dispensed with and the car was retitled the VW Type 1. A few cars were manufactured up until 1944, but wartime output only totalled 640 units. They were mostly distributed among the higher echelons of the Nazi Party, from Hitler downward.

    In February 1940, a vehicle far more suited to the state of war, based on the KdF-Wagen chassis, entered production. The Kübelwagen (or bucket car, named after its seats)..
     

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