Popular car brand Volkswagen and Hitler’s Nazi party: Is there a connect? 

Adolf Hitler needs no introduction, nor does his Nazi regime that had lasted for over 12 years and claimed the lives of innumerable people. In fact, till date, the very mention of Hitler or Nazi rule sends shivers down the spine of people, worldwide. So, it’s no wonder that people don’t associate them with anything positive. But did you know that Hitler’s Nazi Party was in a way responsible for the inception of the luxury car brand, Volkswagen? Here is the interesting backstory of how it all happened. 

Birth of The People’s Car Company 
Volkswagen or VW is a German motor vehicle manufacturer. It was founded in May 1937 by the German Labour Front that was governed by Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist (Nazi) Party. It was developed as a brand-new state-owned automobile company. Back then, it was called Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH. However, realising that the name was unnecessarily long, it was later changed to Volkswagenwerk, that literally translates to “The People’s Car Company.” 

Wondering why the Hitler led regime suddenly establish a car company? Turns out, it was part of his ambitious campaign to develop a chain of autobahns (high-speed intercity highways of the Nazi Germany) which will provide limited access to enemies and Germans who opposed his totalitarian rule. Besides, he also wanted to build, and mass produce an affordable, stylish yet speedy vehicle that will sell like hot cakes among Germans for less than 1000 Reichsmarks (140 dollars at that time). In short, Hitler wanted to develop ‘people’s car.’  

Evolution of Volkswagen 
To build his pet project, Hitler commissioned the Austrian-German automobile engineer Ferdinand Porsche (yes, the original maker and founder of Porsche cars). Within a year, Porsche’s skillsets ensured that the first ‘people’s car’ was ready to be launched. In fact, in 1938, during a Nazi rally, Hitler even promoted his home-grown company and its first car model. It was called KdF Wagen, which stood for Kraft-durch-Freude Wagen. Hitler deemed it as the car suited for the public to meet their commute needs and advertised it as the ‘Strength Through Joy’ car. It was unveiled at the Berlin Motor Show in 1939. Unfortunately, before it could really take off, World War II was declared and the company had to halt its production. However, once the war was over, it was the Allied Powers who decided to use Volkswagen to bring the profitable German auto industry back on track.  

The Beetle 
Volkswagen reached the USA in the 1950s as the Americans were the largest car purchasers in the world. However, due to its historic Nazi connections and unusual shape and size, the Americans were sceptical about buying it. With that in mind, VW took the help of the advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach, which, in 1959 initiated an advertising campaign and dubbed the vehicle as “Beetle” with regards to its diminutive statue, distinctive round shape, and air-cooled, flat-four, rear-mounted engine. Part of its promotion covered how the car was ideal for small families (of four) and were easy to park, thus providing clear advantage to the buyers. Soon, VW owners realised that denationalising it will increase their already rising sales and it did, when in 1960, 60 per cent of the company was let go of by the German government to the public.  

Within less than a dozen years, the Beetle broke the record set by Ford’s Model T and went on to sell highest number of cars worldwide, approximately 15 million units. The Beetles ruled the global automobile industry until 1970s. But the sales began to go down once other companies introduced smarter models. This is when, to get back into competition, Volkswagen introduced sportier models such as the Rabbit and the Golf. In 1998, the New Beetle came out and took the industry by storm. With that, VW slowed down the production of the original Beetle and after seven decades of queenship and 21 million models sold, the last original Beetle was sold in an auction in Pueblo, Mexico in July 2003.