Adolf Hitler's Porsche for sale

[djomlas]

it would be funny as hell if a rich jew bought it and burnt it

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

Not only was Porsche one of Hitler's cronies, but several innovations or designs were attributed to him, which he had little or nothing to do with just to bolster the Nazi Party's position with the People. One such instance was the myth that Porsche was the Father of the Volkswagen.

Actually, the Father of the People's Car (a phrase coined in Czeckoslavakia in 1923 but later adopted by the Nazis) was a designer named Hans Ledwinka working for the Koprivnicka Wagenbau of Czechoslovakia, better known as the Tatra Werks. The model was named the Tatra T-97, and featured a rear mounted horizontally opposed 4-cyl. air-cooled engine and transaxle.

This Factory, and it's designs, lay in the Sudetenland (german speaking area of Czechoslvakia) which was annexed by Germany in accord with the Munich Agreement between Great Britain (Neville Chamberlain) and Germany (Adolf Hitler) in 1938.

Porsche had been commissioned in late 1934 by the Nazi Party controlled Imperial Federation of the German Automobile Industry with 20,000 imperial marks (RM) to produce an inexpensive German Car. His designs were not meeting the requirements of the commission and in 1938, the original plans were scrapped in favor of adopting the captured plans of the Tatra T-97 which was renamed the KdF Wagen (Car). KdF stands for Kraft durch Freude which literally means Strength through Joy - one of the Nazi Party's most popular slogans.

Again, to bolster Party propoganda, Porsche was given credit for the design. But a Tribunal in 1963 ruled that the design was indeed stolen from the Tatra Werks in 1938 and was designed by Hans Ledwinka. Volkswagen AG was forced to pay 3M DM (Deutch Marks) to the heirs of the Tatra Werks owner and Hans Ledwinka. Volkswagen did not appeal the ruling and paid the required restitution. A pic below of a Tatra T-97, and the cover of a 1939 KdF Wagen Sales Brochure - you decide...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Brucelee]

I believe that Porsche did some jail time after the war related to his work with the Reich.

Does anyone know if that is true?

[pecivil]

he got convicted by the Froggies for something, and was held in French prison for 3 or 4 years? I am not sure how long. His son worked very hard to get him out, as his sentence was 10 years I think. Ferdie (the son) was convinced his confinment led to his death.

[Ronzi]

Both Ferdinand and his son, Ferry, were held by the French for a brief time, some accounts holding that they were essentially ransomed back from the French by the family.
Von Frankenberg's book intimates that it was all mostly a business deal gone awry by French politics. Porsche was supposedly to design a French "peoples car" and his place of confinement turned out to be in the Renault villa in Paris.
The von Frankenberg book is usually comprehensive about early Porsche history, but this particular episode is glossed over in conspicuously sketchy fashion.

[CJ_Boxster]

Originally Posted by MNBoxster

Hi,

Not only was Porsche one of Hitler's cronies, but several innovations or designs were attributed to him, which he had little or nothing to do with just to bolster the Nazi Party's position with the People. One such instance was the myth that Porsche was the Father of the Volkswagen.

Actually, the Father of the People's Car (a phrase coined in Czeckoslavakia in 1923 but later adopted by the Nazis) was a designer named Hans Ledwinka working for the Koprivnicka Wagenbau of Czechoslovakia, better known as the Tatra Werks. The model was named the Tatra T-97, and featured a rear mounted horizontally opposed 4-cyl. air-cooled engine and transaxle.

This Factory, and it's designs, lay in the Sudetenland (german speaking area of Czechoslvakia) which was annexed by Germany in accord with the Munich Agreement between Great Britain (Neville Chamberlain) and Germany (Adolf Hitler) in 1938.

Porsche had been commissioned in late 1934 by the Nazi Party controlled Imperial Federation of the German Automobile Industry with 20,000 imperial marks (RM) to produce an inexpensive German Car. His designs were not meeting the requirements of the commission and in 1938, the original plans were scrapped in favor of adopting the captured plans of the Tatra T-97 which was renamed the KdF Wagen (Car). KdF stands for Kraft durch Freude which literally means Strength through Joy - one of the Nazi Party's most popular slogans.

Again, to bolster Party propoganda, Porsche was given credit for the design. But a Tribunal in 1963 ruled that the design was indeed stolen from the Tatra Werks in 1938 and was designed by Hans Ledwinka. Volkswagen AG was forced to pay 3M DM (Deutch Marks) to the heirs of the Tatra Werks owner and Hans Ledwinka. Volkswagen did not appeal the ruling and paid the required restitution. A pic below of a Tatra T-97, and the cover of a 1939 KdF Wagen Sales Brochure - you decide...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Jim you are a virtual cornicopia of information. Frankly I wouldnt want to get rid of my porsche even if Adolf Hilter himself shagged a women in the front seat and soiled the dash. The p-cars of today are similar to the p-cars of yesterday in that they were brisk little track cars but thats where the similarities end. They are just AMAZING CARS! My MY97 Boxster is my first newer modern Porsche I've owned and Now Im hooked. I will continue to buy porsches for the rest of my life unless GM buys them out, then i will stop buying them.

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by CJ_Boxster

Jim you are a virtual cornicopia of information. Frankly I wouldnt want to get rid of my porsche even if Adolf Hilter himself shagged a women in the front seat and soiled the dash. The p-cars of today are similar to the p-cars of yesterday in that they were brisk little track cars but thats where the similarities end. They are just AMAZING CARS! My MY97 Boxster is my first newer modern Porsche I've owned and Now Im hooked. I will continue to buy porsches for the rest of my life unless GM buys them out, then i will stop buying them.

Hi,

I have always been a real History buff and I'm a car guy, so automotive history is of particular interest.

I dunno though, if Hitler did soil the dash, that might be a deal-breaker for me, for the same reason I wouldn't want Monica's blue dress...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[djomlas]

can u guys just picture hitler driving that thing? kinda weird