Did you know of Volkswagen’s British roots?

At the end of the Second World War, Volkswagenwerk GmbH had lost its proprietor, as the National Socialist organisation Deutsche Arbeitsfront (German Labor Front) had ceased to exist. The plant, which was a factory for the production of the KdF-Wagen, produced military goods during the Second World War with about 20,000 forced labourers. As a former armaments plant, it was scheduled for demolition after the war.

In June 1945, following the liberation of the plant, the Americans had established a workshop there. When the British entered their zone of occupation in June 1945, they took over the trusteeship of Volkswagenwerk and assigned 28-year-old Major Ivan Hirst to Wolfsburg. He assumed responsibility as Senior Resident Officer and rapidly saw that the factory offered much greater potential than for the use of the factory halls as a repair shop.

The key figure in this post-war story, Major Ivan Hirst was known for his exceptional talent for improvisation, organisational capabilities and farsightedness, Hirst reshaped the armaments plant, which had been largely destroyed and was intended for demolition, into a civilian car factory.

Many of the machines and tools intended for civilian production had been stored at other locations during the war and were returned. The damage to the factory halls was considerable, but repairable, and civilian production of the Volkswagen saloon appeared to be possible. The factory’s rebuilding process continued even after production had started. Parts and raw materials such as steel, batteries, textiles and glass were in extremely short supply in post-war Germany. Using his negotiation skills, Hirst was able to persuade the British Military Government to allocate the materials required.

With the help of his superior Colonel Michael McEvoy, Ivan Hirst was able to secure from the British Military Government an order to supply 20,000 vehicles for the British military administration. This was soon followed by a second order for another 20,000 vehicles. This way, Hirst could postpone the dismantling of the factory by four years.

As part of the denazification process conducted by the allies, the previous plant manager was dismissed, and was replaced by Dr. Herrmann Münch, a lawyer, in June 1946. As managing director, he led the process of improving the quality of the vehicles and the production processes, training customer service personnel and developing a dealership organisation.

The decisive turning point for Volkswagen under British trusteeship came on June 22, 1948 with the currency reform, which initiated an economic boom in the three Western zones of occupation and gave the brand a significant stimulus. For Ivan Hirst, this was the icing on the cake for his successful tenure. On October 8, 1949, the British Military Government transferred the trusteeship of Volkswagenwerk GmbH to the German government.

Volkswagen honours the British era with the documentary film “My brief was very simple“, in which Ivan Hirst tells his Volkswagen story. “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. There was a modern factory, ready to go, with a labor 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.”