[CR]Re: RE - Jerry Moos remarks on "People's Car"

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In-Reply-To: <02b701c44ce6$c338b8c0$efddfea9@mooshome>
References: <BAY1-F113fBsDjTAzcM00022d09@hotmail.com> <01ea01c44c91$eb23d720$efddfea9@mooshome> <002001c44d81$a6d25a60$70f2a652@ericaspc>
Date: Mon, 7 Jun 2004 20:27:31 -0400
To: "jerrymoos" <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>, "Amir Avitzur" <avitzur@013.net.il>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
From: "Sheldon Brown" <CaptBike@sheldonbrown.com>
Subject: [CR]Re: RE - Jerry Moos remarks on "People's Car"


>Jerry Moos wrote:
>>
>> "It seems the most prominent champion of affordable automobiles for the
>> European masses was, sadly, Adolph Hitler, who ordered development of the
>> Volkswagen, or "People's Car" as a way of solidifying his popularity with
> > the German working class."

Amir Avitzur replied
> > That's nonsense. Adolph Hitler used the VW as a way of syphoning money from
>> the masses for his war effort. VW delivered very, very few cars "to the
>> masses" before or during the WWII. VW "people's cars" first became popular
> > under British and American occupation.

Jerry wrote:
>That sounds like politically correct revisionist history to me.

I don't believe it is. A number of years ago I read a book, I believe it was called "small wonder" which was a history of the VW Beetle.

http://www.bentleypublishers.com/product.htm?code=GVSW

Amir's message agrees quite well with my recollection of that history. This project was part of an organization called "Kraft durch Freude" or "Strength through Joy." Members would pay a weekly contribution toward the cost of their putative automobile, but in the end hardly any were actually delivered to the civilians who funded the enterprise. Although the factory did get built, once production began the output went almost exclusively to the military.

See: http://www.fact-index.com/k/kr/kraft_durch_freude.html
>Next you
>will say that the magnificant Mercedes and Auto Union racing cars developed
>under the Nazis were just an optical illusion.

That's the "straw man" form of argument.
>When Hitler wanted to siphon
>money he unfortunately had much more direct and brutal means at his
>disposal. Denying the successes and popularity of tyrants like Hitler and
>Stalin only makes one less vigilant in detecting future tyrants before they
>gain power.

The KdFWagen was not one of those successes, and saying so is not an example of "politically correct revisionist history."

See also: http://people.westminstercollege.edu/staff/bknorr/html/history3.htm

Sheldon "Give Hitler Credit For The Autobahns, But Not The VW" Brown Newtonville, Massachusetts +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ | I'll be traveling in France and England throughout the month | | of June. I hope to remain online, but don't know what sort | | of 'Net access I'll be able to get... | +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ --
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