60 years since the trusteeship of the Volkswagenwerk was placed in German hands

Press release
Source: Volkswagen

A memorandum summarizing the outcome of negotiations with the Federal Ministry of Economics dated October 8, 1949 and signed by Colonel Radclyffe marked the climax to the breathtaking course of developments at the Volkswagenwerk under British administration in the first four years after the war. Volkswagen got off to a great start with the Beetle and the Transporter and soon became a symbol of the German economic miracle. The foundations for this success were laid during the period under British administration led by Senior Resident Officer Ivan Hirst.


Three gentlemen and a one-page memorandum – that was all it took at the Federal Ministry for Economics in Bonn 60 years ago to transfer the trusteeship of Germany’s most important car manufacturing plant from the British military government to the Federal Government. The State of Lower Saxony was charged with the administration of the company "in the name and under the instructions of the Federal Government". The memorandum was therefore signed by German Federal Economics Minister Ludwig Erhard and Deputy Assistant Under-Secretary Edgar Haverbeck. This balance was continued in the "VW Law" passed in 1960 which made both the Federal Government and the State of Lower Saxony co-owners in Volkswagen.

Series production of the Volkswagen saloon which began on December 27, 1945 was one of the memorable achievements of the British trustees. The close-knit sales and customer service network was also the result of decisions taken by the British, who furthermore paved the way for Volkswagen to enter the export business with the first five saloons delivered to the Netherlands in August 1947. The British also prompted a better-equipped export version of the Beetle. And finally, they encouraged co-determination by agreeing to a democratically elected factory representation as early as November 1945 and extending employees’ decision-making rights.

The British increasingly empowered the workforce and the management led by Heinrich Nordhoff, who joined the Volkswagenwerk in 1948, and encouraged the company’s market success, thus gradually withdrawing their influence and giving Volkswagen the best chance to set about the democratization of automobility – in Germany and many parts of the world. In 1949, 10,227 employees in Wolfsburg and Brunswick produced 46,154 Volkswagen – 2008 saw the multi-brand group that is Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft produce a total of 6.3 million vehicles with a workforce of 369,900 in many countries.