Today in 1937, the Government of Germany, under the control of the Nazi party, forms a new state-owned automobile company. The company was originally know as Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung des Deutschen Volkswagens mbH but later had its name simply shortened to Volkswagenwerk. Known as ‘The People’s Car Company”, Volkswagen was headed by the German labor front and had plans to create a fast yet affordable car for the masses. In order to create a design, the Nazi’s called in Ferdinand Porsche to bring their idea to life. In 1938, the car was declared ready to bring joy to the people and by 1939 the first Volkswagen model was on display.
As World war II began, Volkswagen stopped production to aid Germany in war time efforts. By the time the War ended, the Volkswagen factory was in ruin and was in need of repair. Although the company was back up and running, Volkswagen made little U.S. sales due to its rich Nazi past. However, in 1959 advertising agency Doyle Dane Bernbach began a campaign labeling the car as “the Beetle”. This in turn would give Volkswagen a huge spark in sales, making he unusal small size of the car seem like an advantage. Over the next several years, Volkswagen would become the top-selling auto import of the U.S.
