HN 2: The British and their Works

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Preface "The British and their Works" owes its inception to an official ceremony when Volkswagen recorded recollections of its time under British occupation in the corporate memory. On 8th October 1999, 50 years after the Volkswagen plant was transferred to the German federal government, Volkswagen acknowledged the merits of the British trustees by presenting this publication, which was adapted for the Anglo-German 55th anniversary celebrations. The very title hints at the variety of topics to be found in the individual chapters. It tells of the British achievements in setting up a non-military automotive production plant in Wolfsburg and precipitating the Volkswagenwerk’s meteoric economic rise, which company folklore had previously attributed to the efforts of general manager Heinrich Nordhoff alone. In actual fact, the British management played an extremely significant part in the company’s transformation from a ruined Nazi arms factory into a leading European vehicle manufacturer, and in no uncertain terms set the wheels in motion for its subsequent success. Thus in many respects, the four-year British intermezzo had a more significant influence on the company’s present form than its well-researched National Socialist past. 4 5 PREFACE
This applies as much to the service department set up under British rule as to the quality policy pursued by Senior Resident Officer Major Ivan Hirst. These were the two major trump cards held by Volkswagen as it entered the competitive international market of the 1950s. Furthermore, exports of the saloon, cranked up due to the currency shortage, soon created a market presence and reputation for Volkswagen in Europe, thereby fostering the company’s focus on the world market. And finally Hirst, with his co-operative style of leadership oriented towards industrial harmony, instituted the democratisation of industrial relations by welcoming the election of the first democratically authorised employee representation at the Volkswagenwerk, and gave the workforce an opportunity for candid dialogue via open-door arrangements. 1 This reconciliation of interests initially reverted to a kind of "industrial feudalism" 2 under the aegis of patriarch Heinrich Nordhoff, while in 1949 a considerable potential for extreme right-wing allegiances in the workforce saw like-minded candidates voted on to the works council for the first time. Ultimately the establishment of a democratic corporate culture proved to be a lengthy, chaotic learning process plagued by conflict. Similarly, setting up series production in the post-war economy of scarcity was accompanied by tremendous problems and setbacks. Despite the chronic shortages of material and labour, on 8th October 1949 the British trustees were able to hand over a well-established automotive firm that had achieved pole position, ready to leave its German rivals standing when the international race for markets and customers began. For the second edition of this book it seemed sensible to rework some sections, in order to include knowledge that had come to light in publications released since the first edition, in particular the Hirst biography. Furthermore, I wanted to make the style more fluent, clarify ambiguities and remove errors that had crept in at the time, as a result of the extremely limited editing time available. Apart from that, the new text is fundamentally the same as the old. February 2005 Markus Lupa
Page 1 and 2: The British and their Works The Vol
Page 3: 1 2 3 4 PREFACE 4 1. THE LUCK OF TH
Page 7 and 8: Radclyffe, head of the Mechanical E
Page 9 and 10: survived the attacks practically un
Page 11 and 12: British officers inspect a saloon c
Page 13 and 14: The Volkswagenwerk also had its own
Page 15 and 16: Workers remove the roof of a saloon
Page 17 and 18: The laxity of this procedure outrag
Page 19 and 20: Major Hirst (right) in discussion w
Page 21 and 22: However, accommodation in Wolfsburg
Page 23 and 24: individuals in positions of respons
Page 25 and 26: The absence of special tools led to
Page 27 and 28: visional compromise permitted sale
Page 29 and 30: British soldiers take delivery of t
Page 31 and 32: Wing Commander Richard H. Berryman,
Page 33 and 34: Final assembly line at the Wolfsbur
Page 35 and 36: On 17 June 1946, chief trustee Dr.
Page 37 and 38: General manager Münch approached t
Page 39 and 40: Under the pressure of the material
Page 41 and 42: Arrival in Wolfsburg of Displaced P
Page 43 and 44: The factory management deliberated
Page 45 and 46: Owing to the chronic lack of living
Page 47 and 48: A lack of supplies meant that the V
Page 49 and 50: 2.3 Works council in the deficit ec
Page 51 and 52: Due to the works council’s engage
Page 53 and 54: enlistment at a meeting of the prod
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After the production restarted in M
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Volkswagenwerk. As required by thes
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The service school began running co
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The Jeep repair workshop celebrates
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In spite of all these difficulties,
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corrosion between filler and topcoa
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defects. Josef Kales, the head of t
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that he had rejected to production,
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the adherence to manufacturing tole
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The Ministries of Trade and Supply
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therefore arose as to whether the t
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compared to other manufacturers. Ma
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Minutes for the 11th meeting of the
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Supplies of raw materials still det
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The first press conference of the g
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In the upturn after the currency re
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workforce at the Volkswagenwerk inc
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For all its criticism of the bureau
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Colonel Radclyffe signed the takeov
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fident, since "nowadays when people
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40 Notes by Brörmann dated 12 th A
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162 Kales to Münch, 30 th December
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Picture Sources REME Archives and M
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HN 2: The British and their Works

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