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Jazzlike-Complaint67

I imagine this photo isn’t hanging in VW HQ.


MacLeeland

If they were smart, they would have, with a sign that said "This is our history and we are not proud of it. We're sorry".


Middle-Ad5376

They didn't get to choose the history, it's just what happened. It was founded by the Government of Germany in 1937. Their history isnt something they need to be ashamed of, its not like the current owners did it. Oh... And it IS on their website. https://www.volkswagen-group.com/en/volkswagen-chronicle-17351/1937-to-1945-founding-of-the-company-and-integration-into-the-war-economy-17354#


gokartmozart89

Yeah, people like to fixate on their origins when they talk about VW’s history but I find their post-war history under British occupation to be more interesting. 


holydildos

There was so many companies that aided and worked with Nazis. . . Lions Led by Donkeys did a great podcast on it episode 150 " this genocide brought to you by Fanta" ... Super fucked up with a lot of these companies did, and turn to blind eye to


EABOD24

ngl. I just did that. I had to delete a comment after I read through the link. VW is one of my favorite car manufacturers. I've owned 2 jettas and will probably get a passat or another jetta once the one I have now keels over


teastain

I have a SLK350 and it is so precisely built that when you close the doors, if you listen very carefully, you can hear heals clicking.


EABOD24

You have been one of the first people, in years, on reddit to make me genuinely laugh out loud. Cheers!


MacLeeland

Good for them!


Conscious_Raisin_436

To me, this is the key wisdom: History is history. If you’re going to claim pride over the accomplishments of those who came before you, then you must also accept the shame of their transgressions. Can’t pick and choose. In a perfect world that certainly doesn’t exist, Volkswagen would have art in their offices celebrating the positive parts of their history and perhaps a somber exhibit nodding to their involvement in Nazism. It’s the same way I feel about people who want to fly confederate flags and preserve statues of their generals in the south, but in the next breath will say “Why do you keep harping on about slavery? I wasn’t born then, I wasn’t involved.” Okay, well then choose one. Either stop pounding your chest with pride about your “rebel heritage” or whatever, or admit that you inherit shame. Because it seems unfair to claim your inheritance to pride but “oh no, the bad stuff is in the past, we don’t talk about it.” ORRR don’t claim any of it.


Garrettshade

[https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/volkswagens-nazi-era-blood-crimes/](https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/volkswagens-nazi-era-blood-crimes/)


Middle-Ad5376

Until 1960 the entire company was a national company wholly owned by the German Government of various guises, except a brief stint of British ownership This is like saying a company in Saudi Arabia discriminates against women. But its NOT the Government, or the legal system, no - its the company owner who is at fault. Its both, its 100% both. Nazi's set up VW, operated VW and owned VW. Wether it was *technically* the political party or allies of it is irrelevant. It was fuckin Nazis. As is covered here, by the way; >As the company’s foundries expanded to serve the war effort, Dr. Ferdinand Porsche, the president of Volkswagen and a member of the Nazi Party and the SS, made a suggestion to Hitler: use conscript labor from Eastern Europe. In a letter dated January 11, 1942, Hitler personally signed off on the request, ordering the Reichsführer-SS and head of the German police to “provide the workforce from the concentration camps.” And he ordered that it be done “immediately.”


Thecloakedevil

I was looking for the picture on the website, and in the process got a good read.


el_baconhair

They "shouldn’t be ashamed of it" but they definitely should not embrace it. They should optimally learn from it.


Middle-Ad5376

They're a publicly traded company since 1960. They were nothing to do with it's origin. They gotta do nothing to satisfy you


el_baconhair

Public thinks otherwise, hence so many companies got canceled and actually had to rebrand or give a statement. Usually PR departments do that. And I don’t what someone could say against my statement "They should not embrace it". Since when is embracing nazi Ideology good? This is out of debate.


Middle-Ad5376

No, they don't. The "public" don't think that. Terminally online neets on Twitter think that. I didn't say embracing nazi ideology is good wtf?


el_baconhair

> No, they don’t. The "public" don’t think tagt. Alright so my and your debate has not cited anything yet. Right, we have not brought any scientific findings or evidence of our claims. But I at least brought a real life example of why the public does care and why companies care about what the public thinks. PR departments are there for a reason. You on the other hand simply said no, not even debunking my "pr department" claim. Do better, if you are trying to have a debate. If not, don’t even bother replying from now on as I won’t either then.


Middle-Ad5376

Wow that's quite the reply. Keeping to theme. I owe you nothing. I don't want to debate your terminally online sympathetic view point that companies are socially responsible and owe us apologies. Why would you expect an argument about the role and remit of a PR department. We all know its PR responding to neets on twitter Also, you quoted my comment and somehow spelled it incorrectly.


el_baconhair

Quoting in Reddit works by putting ">" and then copying or typing what you want to quote. That was simply a typo. You claim that you did not want to debate, yet you still replied to my initial comment. That clearly implied you had something to say, in others terms, you engaged in a debate. What I said is that if you already take the time and effort to reply, then at least do it properly. Additionally, it does not matter if it was online, as this could be a debate for you in real life too. Fact is that a comment section is there for people to comment. A debate is nothing else than two people commenting on each others opinion.


Mammoth_Material323

Bravo too them! In America they just tell you to get over or just totally don’t teach you anything about it🤷🏾 but we did get the Europeans who run from problems 😂😂😂


Dahlgrim

Germany can be proud of its history. There are several hundred years of German history besides ww2 that are full of culture and accomplishments.


MacLeeland

Germany used to be know as one of the most humanitarian countries in Europe and also know for it's inclusivness of jews.


OmgThisNameIsFree

Yeah. The fallout from how the other empires handled the end of WW1 really screwed up a generation of Germans. I am convinced if the Treaty of Versailles (1919) hadn’t been so uniquely hard on Germany, the seeds for you-know-who’s rise to prominence would not have been planted. Germany weren’t even allowed to negotiate prior to signing the treaty.


MacLeeland

I agree.


FCK_U_ALL

Voldemort?


PossibleRude7195

Isn’t the idea that the treaty of Versailles was ridiculously harsh itself Nazi propaganda? The treaty Germany put france under before WW1 was just as harsh.


joevarny

The issue is that Germany was solely blamed for a war they joined out of obligation just because they fought better than everyone else. If Germany wasn't so good at war, the allies would have probably not tried to crush Germany, but Germany was that good, and that terrified the allies. What we did was thought of as the only way to prevent Germany from going to war again. Austria was entirely to blame for the war, and Russia was the first to mobilise. Those countries should have been the ones to foot the bill for the damage done. Normally, a state that joined at the request of their ally would receive fewer reparations than the nation that started the war, but not in this case. It was uniquely unfair. The effects of ww1 were so much more than the Franco-prussian War that when asked to pay for it, it ensured that Germany was going to struggle to feed its people. Back then, we thought good riddance, starving the German populous was seen as good because else they could come back stronger. To the victor and all that. Boy, were we wrong. But we learnt our lesson. We no longer crush nations like that unless we want to create extremists, like in the ME.


Mental-Complaint-883

No need to be convinced, it is the truth amongst most historians


Tenchi1128

if you look where education for everybody and pensions for old folks come from, I guess we are all the Fuhrers children


MacLeeland

I live in Sweden and we figured that out on our own before the Austrian painter.


SlashEssImplied

They also condemned the nazi movement in the 1940s and worked to end it. Unlike my country that has embraced it and is now the leading source of nazis.


Alarming_Orchid

We’re just talking about VW though


I_might_be_weasel

Better caption: "Henry Ford was also a Nazi."


IllustratorAlive1174

And Ford would apologize for Henry being a raging antisemite right?


Mental-Complaint-883

Shouldn’t every company have that then? “We’re Americans we’re not proud of Iraq war”


MacLeeland

Well, no. The Iraq war has very little in common with World War 2. World War 2 was a total war from both sides meaning the whole civil society was involved and in Germany that meant things like companies, like Volkswagen, using slave labour for example. There is also the fact that how unjust the Iraq war, it was still done to topple a bloody dictator by a democracy. It was a stupid war done ham fisted with needless suffering as results but nothing compared with Hitlers war of conquest and genocide.


Rimworldjobs

I need the "I'm sorry" meme from South Park with my man's rosey cake.


AaronicNation

I think if I'm on their PR team I'm going to advise them not to bring it up unless they have to.


LaserGadgets

We face our history without worshipping. Look over to the US. Not working out in any way there. Nazis marching...dinosaurs are made up...native american history is no existent in history classes and the civil war was about....land.


mden1974

It was GM vs VW. GM won the war. Literally and figuratively


Mlabonte21

It’s hanging over the toilets— next to their ‘Clean Diesel’ awards


vestibule54

Developed and built by Ferdinand Porsche


Foreign_GrapeStorage

That's him in the photo showing it off.


mcwops

Not correct. By a jew, Josef Ganz. All credits to this man. https://www.thejc.com/life-and-culture/the-jew-who-created-hitlers-peoples-car-svv3tpbx


Stock-Chance2103

[The influence of Ganz on the design of the VW Beetle is a matter of dispute](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Ganz) (The German wiki article explains the topic in more detail and also mentions a few more detailed sources.)


magrilo2

Escaped prosecution hiding in France. He was a major Nazi supporter. Even though I could, I never bought a Porsche because of it.


vestibule54

He didn’t escape prosecution, he was jailed. Audi( auto union) and Daimler Benz( Mercedes) and the future Porsche manufacturer were all given large sums of money for motorsports racing to show German superiority in engineering. It didn’t stop me from buying two.


jawnlerdoe

Yeah, the current companies today are entirely removed from this history. Porsche family members were barred from management positions in the company long ago.


ffnnhhw

I don't think any less of Germans and Japanese today, why should I think any less of those companies, or the Porsche Family member today? Unless they deny history, but that goes for everyone


jawnlerdoe

Agreed.


frodezero

Two what? Don’t leave us hanging?


vestibule54

911’s. An 08 C4S, and a 87 Targa


Pistolafiapaaa

Don't buy anything with krupp components also, good luck


magrilo2

Never heard of them. I never bought anything from them. There is a major difference being the primary buyer and someone that is indirectly involved without even knowing. Conscious is the difference.


SlashEssImplied

> Conscious is the difference. That's why we celebrate and foster ignorance.


mazarax

To this day, I still boycott Hugo Boss for making the nazi uniforms.


magrilo2

Right there with you.


Grouchy_Mammothtusk

Never thought I would say it. The VW beetle is the nicest thing in this photo!


CNpaddington

Probably not a good look when only the Nazis look worse than you


Woodentit_B_Lovely

...,and Goering said, "Then Steve McQueen drove past the same one again and again," and everyone laughed at the silly American filmmaker!


Bunda352

I immediately read this with a German accent.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Bunda352

Great, now I’m reading the subtitles of the movie in watching in German accent as well…


Competitive-Art-5927

Say what you will about Hitler, at least he killed Hitler


Derezzed87

On the flip side, he also killed the guy who killed Hitler.


osktox

Damn.. They outta build a statue of him. ...then tear it down.


goddessofdeath5

Tear down these balls!


Relative_Pizza6073

That ball*


Papancasudani

He also killed the guy who killed Hitler. It's turtles all the way down.


I_Miss_Lenny

Do we have to say that every time someone mentions Hitler?


PreyToTheDemons

What a beautiful smile, hope he doesn't wage a war against the world.


F-L-D-Groove-Dist

Neva! He looks sooo cute...


DonLoquacious

The People's Car


krowe41

Hitler , "Oohh ! ,We could call it herbie"


[deleted]

You know, with Hitler, the more I learn about that guy the more I don't care for him


frazzi1234

This Hitler fella sounds like a real jerk.


lolucorngaming

African politician Adolf Hitler crying rn


LunaLynx777

Yea, he was a real shmuck if yah ask me


yeast1fixpls

There's something about his eyes. Hypnotic.


jakeStacktrace

This is probably the most human I have seen Hitler be, surprised by the engine in the back where you could see the belts is actually very relatable. It is hard to see a human there a lot of times, considering.


toothpick95

The scary part is this: He WAS human. Not a make believe monster. Thats what makes him scary.


Relative_Pizza6073

He kinda looks like a cute child who’s excited 😭


Coiling_Dragon

I dont understand I think the beetle is a fine car /s


[deleted]

https://youtu.be/jH4hMvj5E28?si=Ori1JXeSEcPmxvRK


Psychic_Bias

Whoa there, hold the fort. It says here he didn’t much care for Jews


Papancasudani

Most disagreeable.


NotSamuraiJosh26_2

Wow such a controversial opinion


aware4ever

Sheeeit, I'm the opposite I like him the more I learn about him! Except for that one bad thing he did but he probably had reasons... bad reasons but still /s


myNameIsHopethePony

What's up with the guy behind Hitler? He looks like he spent a little too much time in the tanning salon.


osktox

That's one of Hitler's personal toilet personnel, Shitler.


BobBeerburger

“and the engine, just conveniently slides out of this compartment here so deadheads can rebuild them in the parking lot of Grateful Dead shows!”


heyheyshinyCRH

You can put your meth right in here, for fun.


johannesdurchdenwald

Der lustige Rennwagen „Herbert“ mit der Startnummer 88


ChasterBlaster

I want to know that guy in the middle’s story. Wake up, get tan as fuck, stand around with his bros looking at a car. I call him Jersey Fuhrer.


Windoz95

Offizier Schwarzkopf


[deleted]

Awe lil Addie looks so happy


Librian_

"This badboy has 120 jews of torq"


teastain

Zey vill nefer look back there!


mcwops

Invented by a jew, Josef Ganz. https://www.thejc.com/life-and-culture/the-jew-who-created-hitlers-peoples-car-svv3tpbx


FCK_U_ALL

They dropped the punchline about how many people fit in the ash tray.


deedeewrong

"Vat ist dis? Ein wagon fur zee ANTZ?!?"


the-bearcat

It's strange how many companies helped the nazis and people just forget or brush it under the rug. Volkswagen was made to be the "people's car", Hugo Boss made the SS uniforms, Mercedes and Porsche made tanks.


CageTheFox

It is a great example of social engineering. They pushed everything under the rug because of the Cold War. Who cares if a bunch of Nazi Scientists who done horrific things were given jobs at NASA, who cares if multiple companies helped to kill millions, THE REDs are all that matter! Ignore every moral gray area! If the Cold War didn't happen, so many more people would have been brought to justice instead of getting high paying government jobs.


Kolibri00425

Aught to look up history of Fanta as well. Drink Dr. Pepper, it's more American.


the-bearcat

And don't forget Coco Chanel fucking whatever high ranking nazi would have her in Paris


jpjimm

Ferdinand Porsche : Nein fuhrer I did not forget ze engine, it is hidden here in ze boot, see. Hitler (laughing) : aha so it is you funny bastard dog, you had me fooled for ein minute! Goering: Let me see also, I want to see ze little engine too please.


Fluffy-Warthog5324

Damn Hippies!


Schroderpillar

Since the engine was in the trunk, they wanted a machine gun mounted under the hood. https://www.elledecor.com/it/best-of/a28385326/volkswagen-beetle-history/


OffWeGoIntoTheWildBY

He looks like a little kid who just got something they've been asking for for months for their birthday.


[deleted]

This was based off of stolen tech from Josef Ganz.


pohovanathickvica

Aww, look at that cute smile


frmaa-tap

Awww he looks so happy


INGENAREL

i'm 17 and this is the first time i've seen this man smile.


Sacklayblue

Guy in the back with the deep tan looks nervous af


notyogrannysgrandkid

This same car continued to be manufactured with almost no cosmetic changes until July 2003. Over 21,000,000 units produced in an unbroken production run of 65 years, both of which are platform records that will probably never be broken.


lateforcourt

"Looks futuristic!"


Ok-Resource-3232

"And when you look here, mein Führer, se engine is actually in se back of se vehicle."


Doomhammer02

The little mustache guy is smilling like a child during Christmas. What a lovely scene full of joy and kindness.


Papancasudani

I translated a portion of the transcript of this meeting: “Ya, and ze fucking motor is in ze trunk!” “Ze trunk?” “Ya, ze trunk!” “Vhere do ve put ze sootcases? “Under ze fucking hood, of course!” [merry laughter]


feckincrass

“The engine in the back?? I did nazi that coming!”


cbj2112

Dr Porsche- Our plans are to sell over a 100 million of these things world wide. Hitler- Hahahahaa oh that’s a good one!


keylockers

Advertising makes it happen


Muted-Philosopher-44

Is the guy in the middle in blackface?


Unusual_Pomelo_1553

Wait, is that a black man in the middle?


WHITE_DOG_ASTER

"Look, It's a piece of shit. JUST LIKE YOU!"


AaronicNation

Come to think of it is kind of shaped like an SS helmet.


kedluben007

Yeah, becouse brands care about people.


thecle667

Se serait complètement inintéressant si il n’y avait pas de « tsatica »


Meister_Vulpes

not a cellphone in sight, just people living in the moment.


nottrying2bbanned

BOOM!


Labradorcumjuuice

The only thing GM did after the war on review was change the split window to single window, this was the only improvement they could find. Split window much cooler.


JayEdwards902

VW owes their success directly to Hitler. If it wasn't for his support and using the camps for slave labor, the company would have never taken off


MagisterLivoniae

Who's that overly tanned guy in the middle?


ZuStorm93

"Oh mein Gott, I love zhis concept car! Mein idea of ze people's car vill revolutionize ze auto industry! I even (alledgedly) put in some of ze final touches. I sure hope no one notices zhat it looks familiar and sues me for it..."


AustinMurre

r/dudesbeingdudes


Arad0rk

Look at all these people just enjoying the moment. Not a single cell phone in sight.


StoicViewer

Andz vee vill zell millionz to za anti-war hippieez, Ya?! Oh, zee gloriouz ironyz!


AistoB

/r/delightedhitler


Mammoth_Material323

Elon musk at Tesla 😂time is a circle 🤷🏾


b00c

Porsche: And here mein fuhrer you can see the part I copied from Tatra.  fuhrer: what part? Porsche: cough.. 90% of it.. cough, ehm.. Small lawsuit but nothing significant. fuhrer: let me take care of that.  fuhrer: turns around: Invade Czechoslovakia, now!


Potential_Emu_5321

The man to the left showing the car is Dieter Meier from Yellow, and the tall guy to the back of Hitler is Neil Tennant from Pet Shop Boys.


mhwk19

Hitler: Unz look at ze tiny car yeah?! Unz name is Beetle and it looks like a beetle bug haha!! This is so hilarious yeah? *Turns to his men in the room... silent pause followed by everyone looking at each other and then nervously laughing with him.


jennyenydots

Dude behind A is tan as shit. Probably had leather-like skin. I swear, he looks darker than me; a “caramel-complected” Black woman lol


Coho444

They don’t show it but the next picture has Chris Farley in his office showing him how that car can crash and catch fire. I’ve seen it


Garrettshade

"Look Addy! Here's what some of us will be driving in Argentina after you kill yourself in your bunker!"


DebstarAU

😮Oh my…🪲🥰


magrilo2

I had a couple of VWs until the diesel fraud and the killing of the monkeys. I guess their origins are still alive in their business practices.


SmallTimeBoot

He’s so high in that pic.


Hot_Aside_4637

And it became a scam. You had to pay in advance, one week at a time using a stamp booklet. I think it was 5 marks per week. If you missed a payment, you forfeited all of it. Then the war broke out and no cars were delivered. I think James May did a program on it.


Relevant-Anywhere882

Ah yes, the Fuhrer looks happy. 👌


JuggernautyouFear

Fuck that POS


TomatoJuice303

Well, I thought it was a very successful car. Still one or two of them going strong in my town. 😉


dont_use_me

Who Hitler?


JuggernautyouFear

All of them


These_Advertising_68

Failed German painter turned failed German politician


RoamanXO

Hitler was Austrian before he went into politics.


These_Advertising_68

And he was German when he went into politics


anonanon5320

No, he was still Austrian. Just claimed to be German. It’s almost as if you can’t just claim to be something and it’s true.


toothpick95

careful there....


Inner_Jaguar7723

A maniacal madman who believed in racial purity and the enslavement or death of all so called inferior races.


Foreign_GrapeStorage

Here's the scary part. He was German Jesus there for a minute and most of the world was in love with him before WW2 kicked off. It wasn't the madman stuff that the world disagreed with... It was the invading of other countries. Once that happened it was on, but before that...People loved the Nationalist shit he was saying. His views of people like the Jews also matched those of much of the rest of the world at the time. The story of the M.S. St. Louis is one that comes to mind. The Russians along with a lot of Europe started violently forcing Jews out before the Germans did. The Jewish Diaspora happened all over Europe and the Baltics. People also tend to forget that here in the states the segregation signs that said "No Blacks" often said "NO BLACKS or JEWS" and you'll see a lot of white people in all of the Civil Rights photos from the 60s because Jews were also segregated against and part of the movement. Getting to write history doesn't allow anyone to actually change history and world history is a horror story.


thoriickk

It is the hypocrisy of society, when x actions are carried out by one country, they are not seen as genocides or "evil acts", but they are carried out by another, yes. Because no one talks about the purge of the Native Americans in Canada or the United States... or how the United Kingdom while there was a great famine in India, they continued to take away grain, which caused more than 5 million deaths, or how France has been responsible for several genocides in African states that were under their "charge" less than 30 years ago, but they refused to recognize them, so that there were no international consequences. The world in general has a very selective memory, to remember or alter history to the taste of only a few.


Inner_Jaguar7723

The scary part of it someone actually gave me a downvote for saying that, lol! Fuck Reddit Yis a cesspool


NotSamuraiJosh26_2

No you were downvoted because the guy you replied to wasn't asking "Who's Hitler?" He was asking "Who ? Hitler ?"


Inner_Jaguar7723

Can you read his mind?


NotSamuraiJosh26_2

No but I have the rare ability of distinguishing meanings of words depending on the context.It's really cool I know


Inner_Jaguar7723

So punctuation marks are useless to you. This is stupid.


SlashEssImplied

There's good people on both sides... of that table. We should remember that Ford and GM supported them during the war.


Tenchi1128

the soldiers where a little surprised seeing USA brands on many of the machines they where fighting


CrashInto_MyArms

In todays world this would be like Joe Biden sitting down with his advisors and admiring a cyber truck.


CrashInto_MyArms

Why the downvotes?


FunkyClive

Probably because people who like Elon's cybertrucks are not Biden supporters, and Biden supporters don't like Elon Musk. Your comment is pissing both sides off at the same time. ...not to mention comparing the current president to hitler, and a VW Bug to a Cybertruck.


CrashInto_MyArms

Ok, I only chose cybertruck because it’s the first modern “new” vehicle I could think of.


EndlesslyStruggle

An awful lot of Nazi photos lately....


bmcgowan89

Just when I thought the VW Beetle couldn't be any worse 😂


Sethor

Two minutes later, Goering creates the slug bug game and punches Hitler.


LagSlug

Found the guy who keeps nazi photos on their PC for "historic" purposes.


SentientFotoGeek

I hate Illinois Nazis...


LagSlug

Kinda seems like you think you're making some nuanced point.. but what is clear is that this sub is a magnet for nazi lovers.