Book Details Relationship Between Professor Porsche and Adolph Hitler

By Adam Pockross - November 6, 2015

a_Ferdinand_Porsche_Adolf_Hitler_Volkswagen

You think you have troubles at work? Professor Dr. Ferdinand Porsche had to turn down Stalin’s offer to become the U.S.S.R.’s “car czar” in order to please an even more difficult boss: Adolph Hitler.

Crazy, right? But that’s just one of the many interesting details in Karl Ludvigsen’s book, Professor Porsche’s Wars, as detailed in a recent The Spectator review. Of course, back then, all German manufacturers were forced to work with Hitler’s Third Reich, as the boss didn’t really take well to being told no.

Still, Porsche’s relationship with Hitler was rather different than most, almost fatherly, as the Fuhrer treated Porsche with “rare deference,” which bordered on “idolatry.” Even Dr. Porsche’s own son, Ferry, the man who would officially launch the first car dubbed “Porsche,” said “my father was Hitler’s father.” (Which seems like a pretty good statement to keep out of the marketing materials, right?)

Apparently Hitler was quite the motor sports enthusiast. He and Dr. Porsche first met at the 1926 German Grand Prix, which was won by a Mercedes-Benz designed by the good doctor. They met again formally seven years later when Hitler sought out Porsche for his technological savvy. In 1937, Porsche officially joined the Nazi party, “but this seems more professional opportunism than political conviction,” according to The Spectator.

Regardless, while working as a member of the party, Porsche designed the Auto-Union Grand Prix cars and the “Strenth-Through-Joy Car” we now know as the Volkswagen, the basis for the Wehrmacht’s “jeep-like Kubelwagen (Bucket Car)” and “amphibious Schimmwagen (Swimming Car).” Porsche was also the man behind the infamous Panzer tank and the flying bomb known as the Doodlebug.

The book isn’t meant to make you feel guilty about driving a Porsche. Far from it; Professor Porsche‘s Wars seems more bent on showing you the legacy from which your car came, which helps to give it “the character of weaponry.” Would you agree?