Sood 7
DID HITLER HELP A JEW BUILD THE ICONIC BEETLE ?
Mihika Sood
UG16 - 1417
Professor Aparna Vaidik
FC010-1
Trends in History
Everyone knows about the Beetle, and almost all of those people also know that the idea of the Beetle has been credited to none other than Adolf Hitler. However, what many don't know, isd that just may not be the case. A very convincing and factual argument can be made that it was Jewish Engineer Josef Ganz who is behind the idea of 'Hitler's Volkswagen'.
If I were asked, I would credit the idea of the Beetle to Josef Ganz but Adolf Hitler's power made it a reality. It was Josef Ganz who popularized the idea and technology of the Beetle in Germany, but as can be seen by the struggles associated with his life, it took Adolf Hitler to drive the Beetle that last mile into production.
Josef Ganz
Josef Ganz was born in Budapest in 1898. Growing up in Vienna he started displaying his engineering abilities. At the age of 12, itself he had acquired his first patent for a safety device for electric streetcars. Ganz moved on to serve in the WW1 and then to Germany to study Mechanical Engineering. As a student, Ganz started the development of an innovative little car with a mid- mounted engine, independent wheel suspension and a streamlined body. After a motorcycle accident in which he almost lost his right leg, developments for his Ganz- Klein-Wagen came to a halt.[1: Book Review: The Extraordinary Life of Josef Ganz: The Jewish Engineer Behind Hitler's Volkswagen - The Truth About Cars]
Motor - kritik
Ganz was a freelance writer for a while when he heavily criticized the cars of the 1920's which he believed to be 'devils carts'. He thought...