German Motorway - Autobahn

That car is a beautiful design Owen and no mistake. Reminds me of a particular Jaguar (cant remember which) of the 50's. really nice though.

 

Here is a thread that deals with the whereabouts of the Auto-Union cars of the 1930's:

8W - What? - Auto Union

 

And a site devoted to the Auto Union Brand
Auto Union: the cars, the drivers and the history.

 

Fantastic site Adam. some of that stuff is really interesting. Would love the Beer Mug!!

 

Form anyone interested I have recently read that the authorities in Berlin want to build a museum on the site of the old Avis grandstand. It will be lots of glass and I believe will also house an Audi car showroom.
Audio must obviously be sponsoring the museum.
I have no idea if the project will take off, but the old grandstand appears to be sufferering the effects of time at the moment as you zoom past.
Any new development to help preserve some old heritage is welcome.

Regards

Tom

 

Absolutely Tom and a worthy cause it would be too. Its an important piece of Motor Racing history.

 

As soon as I hear any further information on the subject I will post it.

Tom

 

............The autobahn freeway system quickly became a symbol of Nazi Germany. Its construction was seen as a major element of Germany's economic resurgence under Hitler, and was compared with the projects of Roosevelt's New Deal.

The reality was little different, however. Initially, the autobahn system was proposed and planned under the Social Democrats of Weimar Germany. At that point, the German military objected to the freeways because they might point the way for enemy aircraft seeking German cities! This was one of the reasons that the Nazis also objected to the plans. However, once they came to power, the Nazis realized its economic potential and enthusiastically endorsed freeway construction. To be sure, only about 100,000 people worked directly on the autobahns, but it did help other sectors of the German economy and became an essential part of the infrastructure for Germany's military in World War Two......

Nazi Architecture- Autobahns








Jan.

 

In this post 1941 German Atlas - Aircraft of World War II - Warbird Forums and his attachment in pdf, I found a map of the german autobahn, I crop the map and attach at my post.

Enjoy!









Jan.

 

Autobahns,of course meant the availability of a fast road system in place for rapid mobilisation to the Third Reich's borders for the upkeep of manpower and military supplies.A contrast is to look in France for the evidence of old RNs,they must have been very slow to negotiate by military traffic, further disruptured by fleeing civilians.

It was also said that the bridge crossings over the Rhine performed the same purpose for rapid access by German might to the western fronteriers.Bridges such as the Remagen rail bridge,that is the Ludendorff bridge,erected in the late 19th century was said to be erected by the Kaiser for his western expansion plans.

 

...or when planned a rapid movement of the Heer and/or SA around the country in time of civil unrest? Remember, the NSDAP's hold on Germany was anything but complete for several years... Three days of KPD/SA rioting in Berlin in late autumn 1933, snipers taking potshots at NSDAP election workers in "Red Saxony"...

 

It certainly was complete by the summer of 1934 when the SA was savaged by the rising stars,the SS.The reporting arrangements and survellience of the Gestapo networks was such that there was little overt dissent.If you look at the available records you will find that neighbour was reporting neighbour for petty infractions.A real police state,indeed which what it was.The first legislation passed by Hitler was an "enabling act" which meant that he could introduce any legistlation without the requirement to it being dicussed at the Reichstag,not that this process would have made any difference to the outcome.

The other point about autobahns was that they made excellent emergency airstrips.A point not lost on NATO thinking in that several were earmarked as highway strips for military use and were indicated on restricted publications.

 

If you look at the available records you will find that neighbour was reporting neighbour for petty infractions.


But only after some years when the system was firmly entrenched. As for the performance of the Gestapo - remember the informer system allowed them to control/police the nation with relatively few few men.

One of the features of the German internal security system was....it was anything but complete or totally effective. As late as 1942 the munitions industry industrialists in Berlin were able to get around the system to give their Jewish workers massed warning of the SS/Gestapo roundups...on three separate occasions :mellow: allowing thousands to go temporarily into hiding. Even during the last roundup some 8,000 managed to evade arrest. One of the failed roundups MAY actually have involved armed resistance by the Jewish workers (if Goebbels diaries can be taken at face value)....and given that the Gestapo controlled and monitored the domestic telephone network - that's hell of a lot of people had to be warned BY a lot of people in person!!!

The other point about autobahns was that they made excellent emergency airstrips.

After some work; several were prepared for Me262 operations in late 1944, and again in 1945, but only a couple ever used. The work involved removing the central reservation (for width) and then replacing it with something that looked the same to aerial observation Or else they were just begging to be cratered in advance. One of the reasons the first round of work was temporarily halted was the cost in manpower and transport of the conversion work.