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Ferdinand Porsche or an unknown Jew? New book documents the father of the Volkswagen Beetle

We all know the story of the Volkswagen Beetle: In his vision to motorize Germany, Adolf Hitler wanted a "People's Car" of sound design and quality to transport the subjects of his Third Reich around an expanding empire. The Beetle became that car. It made automotive and world history, two of Germany's biggest automakers and Ferdinand Porsche's career. But was it really his design as history recorded? New evidence suggests otherwise.

According to Dutch author and historian Paul Schilperoord in his new book Het Ware Verhaal van de Kever ("The True Story of the Beetle"), Porsche may have taken the credit for a design from a Jewish engineer named Josef Ganz (pictured right). The Hungarian-born engineer and automotive journalist had a revolutionary idea for a new type of car which he called the Maikäfer (May Beetle), characterized by an engine mounted behind the cabin, an independent suspension and a smaller, more streamlined shape than the bloated cars that existed at the time.

The design was credited by many as the precursor to the Volkswagen Beetle, but without the financial backing to build his car, Ganz began publishing articles calling for a revolution in car design. According to Schilperoord, Antisemitic laws in Nazi Germany made him an easy target for the established automakers who viewed him as a threat, eventually leading to his arrest by the Gestapo on trumped-up blackmail charges. Ganz was eventually released and tried in vain to build his car in Switzerland, only for the Swiss government to try and steal his design themselves. Enamored of its originality, Hitler allegedly charged Porsche with building the car instead, giving no credit to its Jewish parentage.

After years of legal battles, Ganz moved to Australia where he worked for Holden and eventually died poor and in relative obscurity. Although his name remained known for generations by car designers and engineers, Schilperoord's new book is the first major publication tell the story. The publisher is currently in negotiations to produce documentary films based on the book in several languages, so stay tuned. Thanks to Peter for the tip!

Sorry, but that's a conspiracy theory. I think that this story is utter BS. It was Ferdinand Porsche who designed the Beetle. End of story.

And the thick plottens !!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_T97

Resemblance to KdF-Wagen / Volkswagen Beetle

Both the streamlined design and the technical specifications, especially the air-cooled flat-four engine mounted in the back, give the T97 a striking resemblance to the KdF-Wagen or Volkswagen, the later Beetle. It is believed that Porsche used Tatra's designs since he was under huge pressure to design the Volkswagen quick and cheap[citation needed]. According to the book Car Wars, Adolf Hitler called the Tatra 'the kind of car I want for my highways'.[2] Ferdinand Porsche later admitted 'to have looked over Ledwinka's shoulders' while designing the Volkswagen.[3]
Tatra sued Porsche for damages, and Porsche was willing to settle. However, Hitler canceled this, saying 'he would settle the matter.' [4] When Czechoslovakia was invaded by the Nazis, the production of the T97 was immediately halted, and the lawsuit dropped. After the war, Tatra reopened the lawsuit against Volkswagen. In 1961, the matter was settled when Volkswagen paid Tatra 3,000,000 Deutsche Mark in compensation.

And you thing Henry was the brains behind the Model T.
Henry had a helper. By the Helpers Name I know. Cars run deep in my blood.

I would not be surprised if this sorry were true.

In most organisations you get do'ers and talkers. Its normally the talkers that claim the fame.

I think the model T was named after T :.....Tom Bishop

eben wrote:I think the model T was named after T :.....Tom Bishop

You half Right Eben.

eben wrote:I think the model T was named after T :.....Tom Bishop

Nonsense, it was named after Mr T from the A Team.

Blitzkrieg wrote: Sorry, but that's a conspiracy theory. I think that this story is utter BS. It was Ferdinand Porsche who designed the Beetle. End of story.

Well that settles that then. Good job you were there.

Blitzkrieg wrote:Sorry, but that's a conspiracy theory. I think that this story is utter BS. It was Ferdinand Porsche who designed the Beetle. End of story.

Very sad but true... the humble VW Beetle's design was stolen by F Porsche from Tatra. The Tatra T87 was used by German officers way before Porsche had put pen to paper, or even thought of stealing Tatra's design... I think this was covered before on this forum...and yes it was one of the biggest cover ups of the last century... When Tatra initially sued VW/Porsche, uncle Adolf made it all better and invaded Czechoslovakia... They took over the factory and all its contents... problem solved... modern links to Tatras engineering prowess, especially in the desert are still affirmed by Tatras all conquering Paris Dakar racing trucks... added a few pics for all nay sayers to see how beautifully the beetle design can be seen in the earlier Tatra...


The Tatra T87 was a car built by Czechoslovakian manufacturer Tatra. It was prized by German officers in World War II for the superior speed and handling it offered for use on the Autobahn. It was powered by a rear-mounted 2.9 litre air-cooled 90-degree Overhead cam V8 engine that produced 85 horsepower and could drive the car at nearly 100 mph (161 km/h). The Nazi armaments and munitions minister Dr Fritz Todt declared: "This 87 is the Autobahn car ..." A flat-four cylinder 'boxer' engine version of the T87 also debuted in 1936.

The Tatra T87 has a unique bodywork. Its streamlined shape was designed by Dr Hans Ledwinka, and was based on the Tatra T77, the first car designed for aerodynamic purposes.[1] The body design was based on proposals submitted by Hungarian Paul Jaray, who designed the famous German Graf Zeppelin dirigibles. A fin in the sloping rear of the Tatra helps to divide the air pressure on both sides of the car, a technique used in later aircraft.

Due to its engine being rear-mounted, the Tatra had no windows at its rear, thus very much reducing visibility. Its entire rear segment could be opened, to service the engine. The front doors are suicide doors, whereas the rear doors open in an orthodox manner.

I've been thinking about this for a while and after reading the story of "Who shot Liberty Valance?" and Paul Revere,I'm drawing my own conclusions.A little history for you then so early on a public holiday.

Paul Revere was the famous horse rider that in 1775 took his horse and rode from Boston to Lexington to warn the the army that the British were advancing.Along the way he asked other horsemen to do the same.

Two facts about this midnight ride were that he did not actually shout the words "The British are coming" as he rode along because it was to be kept a secret.The other is that Paul Revere did not actually ride all the way from Boston to Lexington.Infact,he only rode a very short distance from Boston to Watertown.A rider by the name of Israel Bissel took over and rode the 345 miles to Philadelphia on horseback over the next four days.

Unfortunately for Bissel,Henry Longfellow wrote a poem about Revere and the long ride which he never intended to become fact.This poem was then accepted as fact.One night I was watching a show about a comedian, that had a piece on American history and how many of the facts about history was actually based on legends.He also mentioned Who shot Liberty Valance.

Maxwell Scott,a character from the movie Liberty Valance played by Carleton Young,said the following words :"When the legend becomes fact,print the legend."

I wouldn't be suprised if Uncle Ferdinand did indeed steal the idea from Tatra and Joseph Ganz.Ferdinand became the legend and Ganz just another Jew in those days,and they chose to honour the legend.

I am sure there is a lot of truth in what is being claimed, but "STOLE" is a rather harsh word. Porsche was an accomplished designer and engineer, he was a do-er, more so than a talker. Parallel development is very common, today as it was then. Like architects designing a building and the best design wins, what's so odd, or unfair about that?

Hitler was biased towards Porsche? Of course he was, does that surprise anyone?

Why didn't Ganz get any credit, well, obviously, he was a Jew, and Jews in those days didn't get anything other than a death sentence, let alone credit. As far as Tatra was concerned, they did work together with Porsche's design house, and Hitler chose Porsche's design over Tatra's, there endeth the matter. Tough luck, but NOOOOOOO!! We've got to make a court case about it. Pfft, sore loser. They can have their 3 million DM. Whether Tatra was a better design than that of Porsche is also a moot point, as Hitler was hardly going to choose a foreign design over a German one, given the spirit of KdF.

Prof Porsche himself never really had much credit in his lifetime either, remember they locked him up for war crimes, because he designed and built stuff for the Germans (like the Tiger Tank). He died not long after his release, and certainly did nothing more than encourage his son to build sports cars, a far cry from a people's car. His son Ferdi was the one who became famous. Ivan Hirst, the man who really gave birth to VW and the Beetle remained obscure, as did the master marketeer Heinz Nordhoff. While Ferdi Porsche (and Piech) built Porsche, Hirst and Nordhoff built VW.

That's what I think. Or something like that.

Josef Ganz did in fact actually work for Holden (back in those days, General Motors Holden) in Australia. He was a chemist/manufacturing engineer working at the assembly plant in Elizabeth, a city in the state of South Australia.

Just wanted to share that with you all.