How The British Managed Volkswagen From 1945 – 1949 & The Return To Production
75 years ago, the British Military Government managed Volkswagen for a period of four years from 1945. The remains of Volkswagenwerk GmbH were placed under the control of the British, who were in charge of getting production back to the Wolfsburg plant. This four year stewardship ran from June 5, 1945, until October 8, 1949, replacing the US troops in the region.
However, there was no certain plan for the factory except for demolition. Allied bombing had caused a great amount of destruction to the factory, and it wasn’t clear that it would be salvageable.
One man saw the potential and is credited with saving it from destruction. 28 year old Major Ivan Hirst was sent to Wolfsburg to take charge of the remains. He saw an opportunity that many others hadn’t. The need for the British Government to be mobile around Germany and the need for Germany to develop into a self-sustaining nation. This moved Hirst to save the plant so cars could be made, which would suit both purposes. This aligned with the overall British Government policy for Germany.
What might seem strange is that the British were responsible for laying the foundation for today’s Volkswagen Group. Especially as there aren’t many competitors in Britain any more… The success of the Beetle has a great deal to own the British and Hirst. Something of a unique post war story.
Hirst is the key figure in this, a man with many talents. Improvisation, organizational capabilities and tremendous farsightedness. Hirst reshaped the remains of the largely destroyed armaments plant, which was intended for demolition, into a civilian car factory.
The end of the Second World War saw Volkswagenwerk GmbH lose its owner. The National Socialist organization Deutsche Arbeitsfront (German Labor Front) no longer existed. The plant was planned by the National Socialists and a flagship factory for the production of the KdF-Wagen. During the war it produced military goods and armaments. There were some 20,000 forced labourers used during this period.
Being a former armament plant, it was initially scheduled for demolition after the war. But after liberation, the American forces has built a workshop there. When the Americans withdrew the plant fell into the ownership of the British. Major Hirst was sent to Wolfsburg and the senior Resident Officer he assumed the responsibility for the plant. He very quickly saw the potential use for the factory, far more than a simple repair shop.
Volkswagen And The British Era
Thankfully the machines and all the tools for civilian production were removed and stored elsewhere during the war. These were returned. But there was considerable damage to the factory halls, but it was repairable. Hirst saw that with this it would be possible to return to civilian production quickly.
The German economy was devastated, with vast shortages of equipment, fuels and labour. There was also a great degree of poverty. Roads and railways had been destroyed and there was no means of transportation. Hirst saw the opportunity to produce an economic vehicle that would solve the transportation problems the British Army had found. This in turn would address the British policy for Germany as a key part of democratic structure development.
Colonel Michael McEvoy, Ivan Hirst’s superior, supported the plan set out by Hirst. As a stroke of luck, McEvoy had seen the new Volkswagen saloon in 1939 at the Berlin International Motor Show. To convince the British Military Government, he presented one of the original KdF-Wagens found at the plant. He painted the car in a khaki colour and took it to headquarters. This was enough to secure an order for 20,000 of them on August 22, 1945. Two weeks later another 20,000 were ordered. This postponed the dismantling of the factory for at least another four years.
But the future of the factory was not yet secured. This was due to the challenges faced with stable production. The factory had to be rebuilt, something which continued after production started. Many parts were in short supply as raw materials were. Steel, batteries, textiles and glass were very hard to find in post-war Germany. This affected the restart of Mercedes Benz production too. Hirst was a skilful negotiator, he persuaded the British Military Government to allocate the necessary materials.
Shortages, Harvesting and Volumne Production
“Initially,” Ivan Hirst begins his Volkswagen story, “my brief was very simple. Go to Wolfsburg, find the factory and sit on it. They didn’t even say it was a Volkswagen factory.”
Major Hirst arrived in Wolfsburg in August 1945 and was satisfied when he took his leave four years later in August 1949: “There was a modern factory, ready to go, with a labour force, a German management and a product that was proven,” Hirst remembers. “And when the currency changed in 1948, it took off: Volkswagen went round the world.”
Even though materials were scarce there was enough to produce the monthly target of 1,000 vehicles. This was reached in March 1946 for the first time. The workforce was small, recruiting more was difficult. But Hirst was pragmatic and offered jobs to German prisoners of war.
Food was also in short supply, but Hirst managed to organize supplies through his contacts along with other items. They even had a harvest of crops around the plant. Hirst authorised the planting of cereal crops around the factory buildings. Even with these measures, the workforce wasn’t always happy as they were sometimes left hungry.
In October 1945 the first freely elected world council was formed. One of the things that was seen to be a step towards democratisation. The main task of the representative body was to ensure shortages were distributed fairly.
Denazification was conducted by the allied forces. This led to the dismissal of the original plant manager who was succeeded in June 1946 by lawyer Dr. Herrmann Münch. he pressed ahead with production with the support of a technical and commercial director. With these organisational changes the British managed to improve the quality of the cars. They trained customer service staff and developed a dealer network. The success of these efforts was so great that Volkswagen were able to start exporting as early as October 1947.
By 1948 the factory produced 19,000 vehicles, 25% of them intended for export. By this time the production of spare parts was growing to support the service network.
The Handover To Germany
As the prospects for the future seemed good, the British trustees decided to transfer the management of the plant to an expert and return it to German control. Heinrich Nordhoff was appointed managing director with effect from January 1, 1948. Only three years after the war Volkswagen had been turned around from a ruined armaments factory to a functioning car plant with 8,700 employees.
June 22, 1948, brought the real turning point. The currency reform started something of an economic boom in the three occupied zones. This meant that things were moving in the right direction. On October 8,1949, the British Military Government transferred the trusteeship of Volkswagenwerk GmbH to the German government.
In 1999, one of his last interviews, Ivan Hirst tells the story of the British trusteeship over the company in Wolfsburg. Some 50 years after responsibility for Volkswagenwerk GmbH was returned to Germany.
A documentary was made from this interview through five stages. Detailing the chain of events that laid the foundations for the Volkswagen group today. Hirst recalls how the British managed Volkswagen From 1945.
Part 1: “Just go to Wolfsburg and find the factory”
Part 2: The difficult path to an unclear future
Part 3: The company had a future
Part 4: Every German in Germany wanted to buy a Volkswagen
Part 5: Everything began to move
Documentary “My brief was very simple” The British Era At Volkswagen From 1949 - 1945 Narrated by Ivan Hirst
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