When the British put Volkswagen on the road to success ...

TEXTOctober 11, 2019 · 3 min

Volkswagen AG, automatically translated

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Volkswagen AG · 13 Photos

Export business - The export business began in October 1947 with five Volkswagen saloons going to the Netherlands. In 1948, foreign sales soared to almost 4,500 vehicles.

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The British in Wolfsburg - In June 1945, the British military government took over the city of Wolfsburg and the Volkswagen factory, which had been liberated by American troops in April 1945.

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Start of production - Series production of the Volkswagen Type 1 "Beetle" began on December 27, 1945. 55 vehicles were produced by the end of the year.

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The first production anniversary - Due to a lack of materials and winter conditions, it took almost three months before the 1,000th car was produced. From March 1946, conditions improved and production figures increased.

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An officer and gentleman - Major Ivan Hirst, Senior Resident Officer and member of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, took command of the factory in August 1945.

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The first order - The order for 20,000 saloons on August 22, 1945 was a milestone and ensured the survival of the Volkswagen plant. It was supposed to be dismantled, but now it was producing for the British.

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Democracy and works council - The British had set up a works council in the summer of 1945.

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Birthday certificate for Ivan Hirst - This certificate on the occasion of his birthday on March 1, 1946 shows the great respect shown to Major Ivan Hirst by both staff and management.

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The trade organization - In October 1946, the British began to set up a dealer network in the British occupation zone.

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Heinrich Nordhoff, the new General Director - The former Opel manager Heinrich Nordhoff (in the center of the picture) took up his post as General Director on January 1, 1948.

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Production at the Wolfsburg plant - The British had set the right course during their trusteeship from 1945 to 1949.

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Beginn der Produktion - Start der Serienfertigung des Volkswagen Typ 1 “Käfer” war der 27. Dezember 1945. Bis Jahresende entstanden 55 Fahrzeuge.

Das erste Produktionsjubiläum - Aufgrund von Materialmangel und winterlichen Bedingungen dauerte es fast drei Monate bevor der 1.000. Wagen produziert wurde. Ab März 1946 besserten sich die Bedingungen und die Produktionszahlen stiegen.

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Ein Offizier und Gentleman - Major Ivan Hirst, Senior Resident Officer und Mitglied der Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, übernahm im August 1945 das Kommando über das Werk.

Der erste Auftrag - Der Auftrag über 20.000 Limousinen vom 22. August 1945 war ein Meilenstein und sicherte das Überleben des Volkswagen-Werks. Es hatte demontiert werden sollen, nun produzierte es für die Briten.

Demokratie und Betriebsrat - Die Briten hatten im Sommer 1945 einen Betriebsrat eingerichtet.

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At the time, probably nobody realized what a seminal step had been taken when the British handed over trusteeship of Volkswagen to the young FRG in 1949. It is this step that still resonates today and has definitely left its mark. It will remain an important foundation in the history of VW in the future.

Export business - The export business began in October 1947 with five Volkswagen saloons going to the Netherlands. In 1948, foreign sales soared to almost 4,500 vehicles.

The handover to German responsibility

70 years ago, on October 8, 1949, the British military government handed over trusteeship of Volkswagenwerk GmbH to the Federal Republic of Germany. The young West German state, founded shortly beforehand with the promulgation of the Basic Law on May 23, 1949, in turn entrusted the state of Lower Saxony with the administration. The British had set the most important course for the subsequent worldwide success of the Beetle and Volkswagen when they handed over responsibility for Volkswagenwerk GmbH and the Wolfsburg plant to Germany exactly 70 years ago.

The handover to German responsibility

The role of Major Ivan Hirst

From June 1945, the British military corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) were responsible for the Wolfsburg plant. Senior Resident Officer Major Ivan Hirst arrived in August and immediately began to build a functioning vehicle factory for the VW Beetle (Type 1) from the armaments ruins with pragmatism and foresight. As a British-run company, the Volkswagenwerk was able to achieve a pole position from which it took off into the awakening German automobile society as a symbol of West German reconstruction and the "economic miracle" and celebrated national and international successes.

An officer and gentleman - Major Ivan Hirst, Senior Resident Officer and member of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, took command of the factory in August 1945.

Celebrations in honor of the handover into German hands

The British commemorate October 8 with festivities in Lyneham (Wiltshire County) in southern England, where they commemorate the successful deployment of their predecessors around Major Hirst on the Mittelland Canal at today's REME headquarters. Just over two weeks ago, Colonel Andy Thorne, CEng Deputy Chief of Staff British Forces Germany, and Lieutenant Colonel Tony Maw, MBE CEng FSOE, Officer Commanding the Germany Enabling Office, were guests at the staff meeting in Wolfsburg. There, the workforce, employee representatives and the company, together with Stephan Weil, Minister President of Lower Saxony, commemorated the transfer of Volkswagen to German trusteeship 70 years ago.

Heinrich Nordhoff, the new General Director - The former Opel manager Heinrich Nordhoff (in the center of the picture) took up his post as General Director on January 1, 1948.

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