Volkswagen and Adolf Hitler

Discussion in 'The Third Reich' started by Lindele, May 26, 2018.

  1. timuk

    timuk Well-Known Member

    A pal of mine had a VW in the late 60s and he always said it would float. The other thing I remember is the windscreen washers were powered by air pressure from the spare tyre - OK as long as you inflated it regularly otherwise you were in trouble if you needed to use the spare!
    [​IMG]
    Tim
     
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  2. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

  3. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    They seem to find the tiniest people to model for car ad illustrations :)

    [​IMG]
     
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  4. canuck

    canuck Closed Account

    Dwarfs need to find work too.
     
  5. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

    I know it's post war but I do like these pics of Canadian Beetles.
    Harold A. Skaarup Web page

    edit . is that Stefan HA96 in the photos :)


    [​IMG] (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4234837)

    Canadian Provost Corps (Military Police) working with German politzei, Northern Germany, ca 1965.

    [​IMG] (Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4234834)

    Canadian Provost Corps (Military Police) working with German politzei, Northern Germany, ca 1965.
     
  6. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

  7. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    upload_2020-2-27_6-34-7.png
     
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  8. Ramiles

    Ramiles Researching 9th Lancers, 24th L and SRY

    Witness History - The Major and the VW Beetle - BBC Sounds

    BBC audio: 9 mins.

    "Released On: 06 Mar 2020
    Available for over a year
    The story of how a car that had originally been the idea of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was saved by a British army officer at the end of World War Two. In August 1945 the British Army sent Major Ivan Hirst to take control of the giant Volkswagen plant in Germany, built under the Nazis to produce 'people's cars' for the German masses. Ivan Hirst persuaded the British authorities to allow production to restart of the Volkswagen Beetle, which Hitler had had designed before the war as an affordable car for ordinary Germans and which would become one of the most successful cars in the world. Louise Hidalgo has been listening to archive of Major Hirst talking about that time. Picture: Major Ivan Hirst (right) driving the 1000th Beetle off the production line at Wolfsburg in March 1946 (Credit: Volkswagen AG)"

    [​IMG]
     
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  9. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

    Initially it was the KdF-Wagen. A very rare specimen was the Typ 87 Kommandeurswagen, basically a 4x4 Schwimmwagen in disguise as ordinary Beetle
    KDF.jpg
     
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  10. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

    Soest-Gasthaus-Moenchshof-Bruederstrasse-47.jpg
    Soest/Westfalen
    Google Maps
     
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  11. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

     
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  12. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    Moderately surprised to see a tracked VW Thing has appeared on Milweb.

    Claims original VW heritage from 1957.
    Tracked Kubel

    Annotation 2020-06-16 225335.jpg
     
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  13. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    First production VW

    upload_2020-8-25_15-54-11.png
     
  14. skiptotheend

    skiptotheend Member

    Fascinating, my oma moved to the UK in the 50's and used to tell us her family never got their VW car from this. It's good to know they weren't the only ones!
     
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  15. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    Heritage from 1957 is a stretch, no?

    Inline water cooled engine in front.
    Automatic transmission
    Sheetmetal from the late sixties at the earliest
     
  16. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    I think it's probably balls, mate.
    Running gear seems reminiscent of something leisure or plant from more recent times.
     
  17. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

    That tracked vehicle is based on the VW Type 181 Kurierwagen from 1968, inofficially also known as the Bundeswehr Kübelwagen
    Kübel1.jpg
    This is a (half) tracked VW Type 82 Kübelwagen for comparison purposes:
    Kübel2.jpg
     
  18. Dave55

    Dave55 Atlanta, USA

    upload_2021-3-8_9-49-49.png
     
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  19. Owen

    Owen -- --- -.. MOD

  20. von Poop

    von Poop Adaministrator Admin

    I definitely didn't buy my small niece a Play People VW-licensed Beetle for her birthday so I could build it.
    Cough. :unsure:
    IMG_20210729_161326506-01.jpeg

    'Years in production' on the included leaflet made me smile.
    1949, you say?
    Mmmm. Ok.

    IMG_20210729_161633549.jpg
     
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