Background Information
Adolf Hitler can be credited with placing an iconic vehicle in the spotlight of world culture – the Beetle. His influence on the Volkswagen Beetle’s design is evidenced in its potential popularity in the Third Reich. It is said that he was personally involved in the vehicle’s development, with his work varying from simply offering advice to getting hands-on with the development of the prototypes.
But did Adolf Hitler design the Beetle? Many historians and Beetle fans have portrayed him as the driving force behind its creation and development, but this view has been largely debunked by experts. While he was certainly influential in some aspects of the Beetle’s creation and promotion, he cannot be credited with its design.
Ferdinand Porsche and the Volkswagen Beetle
The Ferdinand Porsche founded the Volkswagen (or people’s car) Company, to produce a cheap vehicle for the masses. It was a project initially backed by the Nazis, but it had other backers too, and the original choice of engine was to be a petrol engine.
Hitler was initially uninterested in the vehicle, but his thoughts changed when he saw a full-size model of the tiny car at a Berlin exhibition in 1935. He ordered the engine changed to an air-cooled, four-cylinder diesel – his choice seemed to assure the quality of the completed car.
He decided that it should be sold to Germans at a fraction of its cost. While this was certainly a boost for the car, the design had already been planned out by Ferdinand Porsche long before Hitler forced the car’s production.
The Beetle Moving Forward
The Beetle was mass-produced, although the wartime bombing raids hampered progress. In 1945, production stopped, but the car was soon put back into the spotlight by British authorities.
A British Army officer, Major Ivan Hirst, was assigned to the Wolfsburg car factory, located in the British controlled zone of Germany. Despite being initially unimpressed by the car, he soon changed his opinion, as he believed he could repurpose the car and sell it to British citizens.
He also helped ensure that the motor industry was revived, eventually producing 1,785 VW Beetles before the end of 1945. By 1948, german factories had produced more than 50,000 Beetles.
Hitler’s Visible Role
Hitler actively promoted the car, and he was seen in a few pictures with the car. He even spoke highly of the vehicle, despite not being a car enthusiast himself.
He believed that, in the future, it would be an honorable part of every German family. His rhetoric certainly added to the Beetle’s popularity but, again, he does not have ownership of the design.
Impact Around the World
Regardless of his limited involvement in its design, Hitler’s promotion of the car had an outsized impact on its popularity. By 1949, more than 80,000 Beetles had been produced and it enjoyed immense global success.
Around 21 million VW Beetles were sold worldwide by 1973. By then, the Beetle had become a cultural icon, appearing in films, television shows and books. It had even gained the nickname “Bug” or “Beetle” and was exported to countries all over the world.
Conclusion
Adolf Hitler’s interest in the Volkswagen Beetle is undeniable, but the design of the car is credited to the mechanics, engineers and to Ferdinand Porsche himself. The car would not have experienced its widespread success without Hitler’s own promotion of it, however, making it popular for both German patriotism and as a viable means of transport for people around the globe.
