This is the true inventor of the vw beetle – he died lonely and poor

this is the true inventor of the VW beetle – he died lonely and poor

Professional photo Klemens Handke

The designer Josef Ganz

Ferdinand porsche is considered the forefather of the VW beetle. Yet the unknown german engineer josef had designed the basic construction of the volkswagen entirely beforehand.

Today, only a few people know about him and his work. He was Jewish and had to flee nazi germany in 1934.

The engineer died lonely and poor in australia at the age of 69. Researchers today agree: he was instrumental in the development of the VW beetle.

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The VW Beetle is one of the most famous and best-selling cars in the world. porsche founder and car designer ferdinand porsche is considered its forefather. But the man who played a major role in the development of the beetle is unknown to most people today. three years before porsche, the german-hungarian josef ganz had already developed the prototype of a vehicle that he called the "maikafer" because of its external appearance. But he was persecuted and had to flee from germany – because he was a Jew.

The design genius was born in Budapest in 1898 and showed his talent at the age of 12. At the time, he developed a protective device for the electric streetcars in vienna and even patented his invention. His talent was well known, and he worked for vehicle manufacturers daimler-benz and BMW, among others.

At the same time, Ganz was editor-in-chief of the car magazine "motor-kritik. He did not always make friends in the automotive world with his articles, but there was no question about his ability. In 1931, he then developed the prototype of a car that he affectionately called the "maikafer". The car was economical, light, small and above all cheap. exactly such a vehicle adolf hitler will be looking for three years later.

Persecution by the nazis

The first Maybug prototype from 1931

in 1933, a revised version of his prototype was released. the car company standard advertised the vehicle as a volkswagen. The car was presented to a wider public in the same year at the international automobile and motorcycle exhibition in berlin. adolf hitler, who had just been appointed chancellor of the reich by hindenburg, also paid a visit to the trade fair and was visibly impressed by the design of the german of hungarian origin.

But ganz was a Jew and therefore did not fit into the anti-Semitic world view of the national socialists. While standard continued to produce his vehicle in ludwigsburg from 1933 to 1935, ganz was arrested by the gestapo in 1933. After a month in prison, he was released and removed as editor-in-chief. In 1934, the designer fled from nazi germany to liechtenstein and later to zurich in switzerland.

In the same year, hitler ordered all german carmakers to hand over their patents to the state free of charge. He wanted to develop a car under government supervision that was inexpensive and made for the general population. Ferdinand porsche was then commissioned by the reichsverband der automobilindustrie to design such a vehicle. He designed the first VW beetle, also called the kdf-wagen (kraft durch freude), which was strongly based on the pioneering work of josef ganz.

But ganz received no recognition for his achievements. in 1938 he was deprived of his german citizenship. In switzerland, he developed rapid for the company, but only 36 vehicles of his design were produced. Then the second world war broke out.

emigration to australia

In the period after the war, he was considered a troublemaker and was expelled from switzerland in 1950 under unclear circumstances and moved to australia in 1951. Far away from all the suffering he had to endure in europe. the broken engineer nevertheless continued to work for the australian manufacturer holden, which belonged to general motors.

Ganz was not the only designer who worked on the concept of the beetle and whose work was not recognized for years. Engineer bela barenyi also has Hungarian roots and was involved in the design of the first beetle. It was not until 1953 that he was at least able to enforce his claims to the patents of ferdinand porsche in court. Two years later, his authorship of the VW type 1 was acknowledged after a lawsuit. In contrast to ganz, bareny had been a member of the NSDAP since 1932.

1961 should also receive some kind of compensation. The Federal Republic of Germany wanted to award him the Federal Cross of Merit, and VW made the engineer an offer of employment. But due to a special australian law, he was unable to accept the Federal Cross of Merit and had already become a nursing case due to several heart attacks.

When the ten-millionth beetle is sold in 1965, the whole world is depressed and impoverished. He died lonely two years later at just 69 years old.

This article was last published on 19. January 2022 updated. He was born on 17. January 2022 published.

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Christina Cherry
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