Secret history of the Volkswagen

Aus Liebe zum Automobil
(For Love of the Car)

Adolf Hitler, the future leader of Germany, sketched the drawing you see above in the summer of 1932, while enjoying a hot lunch in a Munich restaurant. The former artist, while contemplating ways to set Germany on a modern course, was inspired by his admiration for American auto-maker (and anti-Semite) Henry Ford to formulate an ingenious plan: To reduce unemployment, a massive program of public works would build the worlds first super-highway, the Autobahn, providing the Reich with a modern infrastructure. To stimulate German industry, it was necessary to develop a car the average German could actually afford to own. Hitler would eventually give his drawing to the head of Daimler-Benz, Jakob Werlin, telling him: "Take it with you and speak with people who understand more about it than I do. But don't forget it. I want to hear from you soon about the technical details." Note: The exact provenance for this image is in some dispute.

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