The story of the Volkswagen Beetle

In 1934, Adolf Hitler commissioned Ferdinand Porsche to build a car for him. This car would be the car for the German people. Pity then that nobody actually took delivery of one while he was in power.

Hitler was inspired by a concept designed by a Jew called Josef Ganz. Amazingly, he didn’t get any credit for the design.

Porsche had created the Auto für Jedermann (car for everybody) with Zündapp (https://www.carthrottle.com/post/alzgp5e/) a motorcycle manufacturer. While Porsche had wanted an air-cooled flat-4, Zündapp insisted on a water-cooled five-cylinder radial design (!). All three working prototypes were destroyed in the war.

The Zündapp took design inspiration from the Schlörwagen (https://www.carthrottle.com/post/wbxr3xx/) and Tatra V570 (https://www.carthrottle.com/post/wom3kl5/) which were based around early aerodynamics. The Zündapp car was used by Porsche when he was designing the Beetle, and therefore features similar styling.

Then there was the Type 32, developed this time with NSU, another motorcycle company. That car never got further than the prototype stage.

Initial prototypes of the Beetle were designated V1, V2 and V3, and after this, there were thirty W30 development models, built by Daimler-Benz. Then 44 VW38 cars were built, and then 50 VW39 cars.

On the 26th of May 1938, building of the factory that would make the Beetle commenced in Fallersleben. The car was named Kraft Durch Freude-Wagen, as it was to be a part of the governments leisure division Kraft Durch Freude (Strength through joy). Kraft Durch Freude set up free trips for German residents, as well as cruise ships, dancing classes and lots more. The massive Prora beach resort was one of their more extreme proposals. There was also a KdF radio.

Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben (City of the KdF Car at Fallersleben) was formed to house the workers at the factory. This town became Wolfsburg and Fallersleben a district of it. A concentration camp by the name of Arbeitsdorf (work-village) was set up nearby, with the prisoners building the vehicles at the factory. After six months it closed, with only six reported deaths. And (apparently) it was either suicide, heart attack or accident in all of those occasions.

Very few Beetles were actually built at the factory before and during the war - the factory was instead used for the military. Kubelwagens and Schwimmwagens were built instead. They were however based on the Beetle chassis.

The Kübelwagen (Kübelsitzwagen) was a light military vehicle which, despite a lack of four-wheel drive, was proficient off road. The car is most commonly associated with the invasion of Poland.

There were many versions of the Kübelwagen made, ranging from small variations from the original design to something virtually unrecognisable. Here are some of the most interesting:

Type 86: An AWD prototype
Type 87: Kommandeurwagen - a Type 86 chassis with a Beetle body
Type 89: Fitted with an automatic transmission
Type 107: Fitted with a turbocharger
Type 115: Fitted with a supercharger
Type 155/1: Had tracks
Type 164: Six-wheeled, twin engined
Type 197-F: the predecessor of the Schwimmwagen.

The Schwimmwagen was a four-wheel drive amphibious vehicle, and is the most numerous amphibious car in history. (Second place goes to the Amphicar)

After the war, the factory was handed over to Britain, and the equipment was to be dismantled and rebuilt in Britain. However, no British car manufacturers were interested. They said that the car was useless. So the factory stayed where it was, and production lasted for more than fifty years.

The only good thing that Hitler brought into the world. And even then it was used as propaganda.

Thank you for reading.

#blogpost