VolkswagenDas werk American Inspiration When Hitler directed Porsche to develop a people’s car he identified several performance characteristics as well as a cost requirement of less than 1,000 Reichmarks (RM). The latter made for an ambitious undertaking. The profes- sor had only a few months earlier declared in writing that his design for a people’s car could be realistically achieved for a cost around 1,500 RM; 50% more than Hitler allowed. History shows that price was a constant sticking point in developing the Volkswagen. It was not suffi- cient that the car had to be as bare bones as pos- sible. It would also have to be built at a level of efficiency unachievable in Germany at the time. The German car industry was quite aware of the imbalance in automobile cost between Volkswagen AG Corporate History Department) Volkswagen themselves and the world’s leading carmakers. The plant that made the car t is well known to most 356 owners that To put the cost into perspective, a German would their cars incorporated much of the have to work 800 hours to afford the Volkswa- that made the Porsche possible IItechnology originally created for the gen while in the United States, a person only Volkswagen. In fact, it is very likely that the first needed to work 250 hours to buy the cheapest sports car to wear the Porsche name would not Chevrolet. Wages in the United States were ap- have gone into production in Stuttgart without proximately three times those in Germany but support from the entire Volkswagen domain: en- the Reichsverband der Automobilindustrie By Phil Carney gineering, manufacturing, and the Beetle’s sales (RDA) also showed that German car production organization. Designs were improved by Porsche cost per kilogram was 3.18 RM while the equiv- We normally associate the assembly line with engineers during the early years but 356 de- alent United States cost was 1.87 RM/kg. men attaching parts to cars that are passing by on a pendencies on the Volkswagenwerk lasted for Adolf Hitler was sensitive to the fact that if conveyor belt. Henry Ford actually thought on a much well over a decade. Even in 2012, a very symbi- his low target cost was to be achieved, it would larger scale. The Ford River Rouge plant was envisioned otic relationship still exists between the two be necessary to come up with a completely new as the most encompassing assembly line possible. Raw companies. And let’s not overlook the British way of producing cars in Germany. During his materials were received at one end and running vehi- contribution to making the Porsche 356 a pos- 1921 imprisonment Hitler read Henry Ford’s cles came out the other end. sibility. writings and became an admirer of Ford for both his impact on American car development and his anti-Semitism. Believing the Ford Motor Company was an institution to be emulated, in 1936 Hitler suggested that Professor Porsche do a first-hand visit to America’s “Big Three” car builders (Ford, General Motors and Chrysler). Ferry Porsche later wrote “this trip certainly proved worthwhile and my father returned in a mood that was both optimistic and confident.” Upon returning to Germany, Hitler asked Porsche if he felt “...capable of also designing a factory to carry out a (people’s car) mass-pro- duction on this basis. Remember the price is still fixed at 1,000RM.” Porsche replied, “I am now convinced that given the same machinery and tooling facilities as the Americans have, we can build and sell the Volkswagen for that price...” It is important to understand the Ford au- tomobile production concept at the time. As most are aware, the assembly line approach es- Courtesy Ford Motor Company poused by Henry Ford was one of the most im- portant factors in making the Model T a success 16 Volume 36, Number 1 • Porsche 356 Registry story. Less known is the fact that Henry Ford’s vision was to have 100% beginning-to-end con- trol over production. The result was the Ford River Rouge Plant in Dearborn near Detroit, Michigan which was a clear departure from any- thing that preceded it. At the entrance raw ma- terials (iron ore, silicon, rubber, etc.) entered and at the far end a finished automobile drove off. The first elements of the Rouge Plant were privately funded and completed in 1918 just in time to support World War I. The timing made the wealthy Henry Ford even wealthier. The plant eventually expanded to encompass two miles in length, three-quarters mile in breadth and em- ploy 100,000 people. Its World War II profits would make the Ford family even wealthier. So Porsche’s first visit to the United States set the stage for designing the Volkswagen fac- tory or Volkswagenwerk based on the Ford pro- duction concept. Hitler directed Dr. Robert Ley, chief of the Nazi Party Labor Organization to lo- cate the ideal site for Germany’s new motor city with several criteria in mind: a central German In July 1937 Ferdinand Porsche repeated his trip to the USA, on this occasion accompanied by a small group of location with existing canal, railroad and auto- colleagues. The picture shows the group on board the "Bremen". From right to left: Ferry Porsche, the engineer bahn connections. Hundt, Auto-Union racing drivers Ernst von Delius and Bernd Rosemeyer, Bodo Lafferentz from the German Labor In March 1937, the Berlin registry ap- Front and Jakob Werlin from Daimler-Benz with his wife. (Porsche Archives) proved an application for a company known as “Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Volkswa- gens” aka “Gezuvor”. This roughly translates into a Company for the Development of the Volk- swagen. Named as partners in the business were Dr. h.c. Ferdinand Porsche, Jakob Werlin and Dr. Bodo Lafferentz. Werlin and Lafferentz had no official government titles but both men had strong political connections. Werlin was a Mer- cedes sales representative and Hitler’s personal adviser in all automotive matters. Lafferentz was the personal assistant of Robert Ley, head of the German Labor Front. While site selection was going in 1937, Professor Porsche embarked on a second trip to America accompanied by his son, Werlin and Lafferentz. The trip began in June aboard the luxury steamship Bremen and the trip’s agenda was so lengthy that it would be a full month be- fore the Volkswagenwerk task force returned home. During their visit, Professor Porsche pur- chased a Ford V8 Sedan which he and Ferry used to tour across the northeastern U.S. They visited with the Big Three, the Fischer Body plant Henry declared, “The whole world is in a mess... An idealized brochure depicting what Hitler - in a in Lansing, Michigan; Cincinnati Milling Machine Even a war is not out of the question and under speech at the dedication of the new factory - named Company in Reading, Ohio; Ambi-Budd in these conditions I am not prepared to travel.” the Kraft durch Freude (“Strength Through Joy”) car. Philadelphia; Gleason Works in Rochester, New Ford’s proclamation about impending war was The announcement of this politically-charged name York; and several smaller firms. They found all met with stunned silence and disbelief. shocked Ferdinand Porsche, who had hopes the new of the various company representatives happy to In addition to obtaining knowledge, ma- car could be an important export model for Germany. speak with them and share information without chine tools were purchased and workers who A German family is seen here speeding along one of reservation. In Ferry’s own words, “If we wanted had emigrated from Germany were persuaded the new Autobahns. Although promoted as a way for to know anything at all, we had only to ask a to return and work at the Volkswagenwerk. To the German “everyman” to have an automobile, no question.” Perhaps the only uncomfortable con- lure these specialists back to Germany, Laffer- Volkswagens were ever delivered to private cus- versation occurred when Ferdinand Porsche in- entz, the hard core politician, gave glorious tomers before or during World War II. vited Henry Ford to visit Germany. In response speeches about Germany’s newfound strength www.Porsche356Registry.org • May / June 2012 17 and accomplishments. If this plea for loyalty to paid insurance. Some of the experts who suc- Rapid Construction the homeland did not do the trick, the business- cumbed to the bravado included Frederick Early in 1938 a large private tract just a few man Werlin stepped in and promised each per- (Fritz) Kuntze, one of the Rouge River Plant miles from the existing autobahn route near Fall- son that their standard of living in Germany founders and the current plant manager; Hans ersleben in Lower Saxony was selected by Dr. would be even higher than in the United States. Mayr, a sheet metal specialist; and a machinist Bodo Lafferentz. The land was then owned by He promised completely furnished houses, ed- named Werner who had in-depth knowledge of two families; Count von Schulenburg who lost ucational grants for all children, pensions and crankshaft and camshaft fabrication. two-thirds of the estate which had been in his family for 500 years and Herr von Wense who parted with a quarter of his land. On May 26, 1938 a major celebra- Hitler specified that the initial plant should tion was held to lay the Volkswa- be capable of building 400,000 to 500,000 cars genwerk cornerstone. Hitler per year and expandable to one million cars per announced that Germany’s peo- annum.