The Second World War ended three-quarters of a century ago, but the scars left by huge global conflict can still be seen, and the parties involved are still haunted by the skeletons in their closets.
Volkswagen has perhaps the most skeletons in its closet, and decided to release this week, shortly before the 75th anniversary of the liberation of its facilities by the U.S. Army, details about how deliverance came by means of American tanks.
The compan, which was established by the Nazi-backed German Labor Front in 1937, was created with the goal of making a car for the masses. As most other businesses, during the war that followed it ended up making machinery for the German war effort.
From 1939 to 1945, the Volkswagen facility made Kübelwagens and other hardware for the German Army using forced labor. Some 20,000 people were brought to the city of Wolfsburg against their will, 5,000 of which taken from concentration camps.
When American troops arrived at Volkswagen on April 11, 1945, they found and liberated 7,700 people there. But work did not stop for long.
For a short period of just eight weeks, before the area got included in the British occupation zone, Volkswagen's facility was under American military rule. It had produced the last Kübelwagens for Germany on April 10, but by the start of May, it was doing the same for the U.S. Army. Soldiers called their versions of the Kübelwagen Volkswagen Jeep.
“Over the eight weeks that followed, the Americans made groundbreaking decisions for the future of the people, the city and the plant,” Volkswagen says.
“The brief but marked intermezzo of US military rule laid the foundations for democracy, freedom and reconstruction in the region."
The entire story of how the Volkswagen facilities were liberated can be found in the press release section below, complete with eyewitness accounts.
The compan, which was established by the Nazi-backed German Labor Front in 1937, was created with the goal of making a car for the masses. As most other businesses, during the war that followed it ended up making machinery for the German war effort.
From 1939 to 1945, the Volkswagen facility made Kübelwagens and other hardware for the German Army using forced labor. Some 20,000 people were brought to the city of Wolfsburg against their will, 5,000 of which taken from concentration camps.
When American troops arrived at Volkswagen on April 11, 1945, they found and liberated 7,700 people there. But work did not stop for long.
For a short period of just eight weeks, before the area got included in the British occupation zone, Volkswagen's facility was under American military rule. It had produced the last Kübelwagens for Germany on April 10, but by the start of May, it was doing the same for the U.S. Army. Soldiers called their versions of the Kübelwagen Volkswagen Jeep.
“Over the eight weeks that followed, the Americans made groundbreaking decisions for the future of the people, the city and the plant,” Volkswagen says.
“The brief but marked intermezzo of US military rule laid the foundations for democracy, freedom and reconstruction in the region."
The entire story of how the Volkswagen facilities were liberated can be found in the press release section below, complete with eyewitness accounts.