The True Roots of the Air-Cooled VW: A Tragic Story Behind the Beetle’s Birth
While Ferdinand Porsche is widely recognized as the father of the Volkswagen Beetle, the iconic air-cooled VW, there’s another brilliant mind whose contribution has largely been erased from history: Josef Ganz. His story reveals a tragic truth behind the Beetle’s origins.
Josef Ganz: From “Maikäfer” to “Standard Superior”
A talented automotive journalist, Josef Ganz was also a passionate innovator in small car design. He first unveiled his own prototype, the “Maikäfer” (May Bug), showcasing his radical ideas to the world.
Later, Ganz became a design consultant for Standard Fahrzeugfabrik.
It was at the 1933 Berlin Motor Show that he presented his design for the “Standard Superior.”
This car featured
- a rear-mounted air-cooled engine
- independent suspension
- streamlined body1
—elements strikingly similar to the Beetle that would emerge years later.
You can see the ‘Standard Superior’ from the 3:06 mark of this YouTube video.
Hitler’s Interest and Ganz’s “Misfortune”
At the time, Adolf Hitler was intensely interested in creating a “People’s Car” (Volkswagen) that ordinary Germans could afford. The timing of the Standard Superior’s debut at the Berlin Motor Show, when Hitler was actively pursuing his “Volkswagen” vision, suggests he undoubtedly took notice of Ganz’s design.
However, a cruel twist of fate intervened. Josef Ganz was Jewish. As the Nazi regime’s anti-Semitic policies intensified, Jewish people faced increasing persecution and exclusion from society. No matter how brilliant his design or how perfectly it aligned with the “People’s Car” concept, commissioning a Jewish designer like Ganz was an “unthinkable choice” for the Nazi government.
A Buried Truth: Porsche’s Commission and Ganz’s Erasure
Consequently, just three months after the Berlin Motor Show, Hitler turned to German engineer Ferdinand Porsche, who had a formidable engineering reputation, to develop the People’s Car. What Porsche designed became the Volkswagen Type 1, the beloved Beetle.
History credits Porsche as the Beetle’s creator. Yet, beneath this widely accepted narrative lies the heartbreaking truth: Josef Ganz’s groundbreaking ideas found their way into subsequent designs without due credit, and his contributions were deliberately suppressed because of his Jewish heritage.
Ganz continued to suffer persecution under the Nazis and eventually fled to Switzerland. Many of his innovative car designs were later re-attributed by Nazi propaganda as “great German inventions,” effectively burying his true legacy.
While Ferdinand Porsche’s monumental achievements in the air-cooled VW’s history are undeniable, recognizing the role of Josef Ganz—a brilliant pioneer whose contributions were unjustly erased—adds a deeper, more poignant layer to the Beetle’s story. It reminds us that history isn’t always as simple as it seems, and sometimes, the true roots are hidden in plain sight.
Brightness and other adjustments have been made to the image.
Josef Ganz’s groundbreaking work was suppressed by the Nazis, but it’s now being rediscovered, with his incredible story even inspiring a documentary film, “How I lost my beetle”
The true roots of the air-cooled VW, long buried by history, are finally coming to light.
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