Wolfsburg – On December 27, 1945 the serial production of the Volkswagen Limousine (Type 1) got started. This was the true beginning of the Volkswagen success story. Originally, the model had been planned as a National Socialist prestige initiative. But from 1939 onwards the Wolfsburg plant had produced armaments instead of vehicles. Up to the end of World War II, only 630 units of the model, which had been renamed “KdF-Wagen” in 1938, left the Volkswagen plant. Only under British trusteeship did the VW Beetle’s unique success story began at Wolfsburg, thanks to the strategic vision of Major Ivan Hirst.

Series production of the civilian Volkswagen, referred to internally as “Type 1”, which later became world-famous as the “Beetle”, only started following the end of World War II on December 27, 1945 under the trusteeship over Volkswagenwerk GmbH which had been assumed by the British Military Government in June 1945.

The British decided to use the Volkswagen Type 1 to perform the transport tasks that were desperately required within their occupation zone. It was this British pragmatism that saved the plant from inevitable demolition at last. Senior Resident Officer Major Ivan Hirst played a key role in this development. In the years of rationing under conditions controlled by shortages, it was his farsightedness and talent for improvisation that made it possible to start car production. With his enthusiasm for technology and cars, his purposefulness and distinct attitude, he succeeded in transforming a former armaments plant into a civilian industrial company in an impressively short space of time.

In August 1945, the British Military Government had already issued an order for 20,000 vehicles. The start of production was a visible sign of a new beginning and hope at the factory which had been largely destroyed by the end of World War II. This solution was in line with later British policy for Germany, which saw financial security and future prospects for the population as key elements in the development of democratic structures. Finally, democracy finds its way into the Volkswagenwerk: on November 27, 1945 the the Works Council elected in a democratic ballot held its constituent meeting.

Nevertheless, there were major difficulties in providing food and living space to the workers and development was hindered by bottlenecks in raw materials and energy supply. Despite these tough conditions, shortly after Christmas, the first Volkswagen sedan left the production line. Wolfsburg and Volkswagenwerk GmbH received a belated Christmas present only eight months after the end of the war. By the end of 1945, 55 vehicles had been produced.

Around 1,000 vehicles were manufactured every month from 1946 until the currency reform. In view of supply shortages and rationing, as well as a lack of manpower, it was not possible to manufacture more cars. The trustees responsible laid the foundations for further growth of the company by the fall of 1949. They established a sales and after-sales service system and began to export the Volkswagen sedan in 1947.

The decision to build a civilian plant and to start production of the Volkswagen Type 1 in series was the starting point of a unique success story. Thanks to the early restart, the Volkswagenwerk GmbH got an excellent initial position for the economic upswing after the introduction of the D-Mark. Under the unofficial designation of “Volkswagen Beetle”, the car became more popular than almost any other automobile model throughout the world. It was also a record breaker in terms of production duration and volume. Volkswagen only discontinued production of the VW Beetle in Mexico in 2003, after 21,529,464 vehicles had been manufactured, including about 15.8 million in Germany.

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