History Daily: Saturday Matinee – Business History

Episode: 1309
Date: January 31, 2026
Thematic Focus: The genesis of the VW Beetle as an instrument of Nazi industrial policy and its transformation into a global pop culture icon.

Episode Overview

In this special "Saturday Matinee," History Daily spotlights Business History, a podcast hosted by Jacob Goldstein and Robert Smith. The episode unravels the surprising origins of the Volkswagen Beetle, the world's best-selling car originally conceived as a Nazi project under Adolf Hitler. Through witty banter and deep research, Goldstein and Smith explore the intertwining of business innovation with the grim realities of 20th-century Germany, state-sponsored industry, propaganda, forced labor, and, ultimately, postwar transformation.

Main Points & Structure

1. Setting the Scene: From Hollywood to Nazi Germany (04:52–06:32)

• The episode opens in late 1960s Hollywood, where the VW Beetle’s charisma wins it the lead in Disney’s Herbie the Love Bug.
  • “They treat it not so much like a car as like a cute little puppy. They’re like, petting it… tapping the car.” — Jacob Goldstein [05:52]
• The discussion transitions to the car’s origins, highlighting the irony: this symbol of peace and love was Adolf Hitler’s idea for German domination.

2. Germany’s Economic Crisis & Hitler’s Vision (08:00–10:32)

• Post-WWI Germany: devastated by reparations, hyperinflation, and the Great Depression.
• Hitler’s rise to power included promises of material prosperity via “Volks-” products: radios, refrigerators, and above all, a people’s car (Volkswagen).
  • “The Nazis have this term… Volksgemeinschaft, which means people’s community. And it is their dream… Of course, crucially, for Hitler, the Volk doesn’t mean all the people in Germany… It means the Aryans and not the Jews and not all the other undesirables.” — Jacob Goldstein [09:54]
• Hitler’s early public push at the 1933 Berlin Motor Show: the pledge for a mass-produced car as a symbol of German renewal.

3. The Impossible Dream: Design Specs and Economic Hurdles (12:09–13:59)

• Typical German cars were too expensive for the average worker (2,000 Reichsmarks, about two years’ salary).
• Hitler’s specs: 990 Reichsmarks, seating for four or five, at least 50 mph, optional machine gun mounts.
  • “[Hitler says] you should be able to mount machine guns on it. Not for the family vacation, but you know, for other things.” — Robert Smith [13:08]
• German automakers balked at the plan, doubting its economic viability and fearing ruin.

4. Enter Dr. Ferdinand Porsche (17:05–18:48)

• The industry hires Porsche, expecting a negative report; Porsche, instead, says yes and becomes the chief designer.
• The prototype’s design is instantly recognizable: the “round little hedgehog” car—the Beetle.
  • “I would describe this car, except you have seen it—it looks exactly like every Volkswagen Beetle you have ever seen. From the very beginning, it’s that round little hedgehog looking car.” — Robert Smith [18:25]
• The design’s innovations: round shape (aerodynamic, cost-saving), engine in the rear, air-cooled (suitable for German conditions).

5. The Problems of Mass Production (22:07–25:23)

• Building a prototype is one thing; mass production is another entirely.
• German automakers don’t have the know-how for Ford-like assembly line manufacturing.
• Henry Ford: admired for mass production and notorious anti-Semitism. Hitler idolized Ford, displaying his portrait and reading “The International Jew.”
  • “You know it’s bad if you have a picture of Adolf Hitler on your wall. But even worse is if Adolf Hitler has a picture of you on the wall.” — Robert Smith [26:46]
• Porsche visits Ford’s Michigan plant, learns about modern production, and brings the knowledge back to Germany.

6. The Nazi Factory: Workforce and Propaganda (27:39–31:25)

• The Deutsche Arbeitsfront (Nazi Labour Front) funds the factory using stolen union money.
• Workforce: not best talent, but loyal Aryan youth and Hitler supporters.
• Aspirations: 150,000 cars/year, scaling to 1.5 million—beyond Germany’s existing total car population.
• Rebranding: the KDF (Kraft durch Freude) Wagen—“Strength Through Joy” wagon, a model of Orwellian nomenclature.
  • “It is so, like, amazingly Orwellian. And you’re like, oh, right. This is what Orwell was writing.” — Jacob Goldstein [29:39]
• The infamous savings plan: workers put aside part of pay for a car, but the economic math doesn’t add up.

7. War, Slave Labor, and Atrocity (34:51–38:38)

• WWII halts the people’s car project; the factory makes war material and militarized Beetles (Kubelwagen).
• Enslaved labor: Polish women, Soviet POWs, Dutch students, Jews from concentration camps, forced to work in appalling conditions.
  • “They are like so badly treated and starved by the time they get there that they can’t do much and they start to literally die off.” — Jacob Goldstein [36:48]
• Babies born to enslaved women are abandoned to die—365 dead by war’s end.
  • “By the end of the war, 365 children died as a result of neglect and inadequate nutrition. Basically every baby sent to this facility died.” — Jacob Goldstein [38:38]

8. Aftermath and the Postwar Transformation (39:35–40:54)

• With Allied victory, Porsche flees; the enslaved workers revolt; the Americans liberate the factory.
• Irony: America’s competitive market and auto industry (GM, Chrysler, Ford) outproduced the German war machine.
  • “One of the reasons the Allies won was what Hitler wanted—the Allies out produced the Germans, largely using factories owned by GM, Chrysler and even Henry Ford.” — Robert Smith [39:35]
• The episode ends on the brink of the Beetle’s postwar rebirth, promising a “successful conclusion” next episode.

Notable Quotes

• “[The Beetle] was dreamed up by Adolf Hitler in part to conquer and subjugate his European neighbors.” — Jacob Goldstein [07:10]
• “Fuhrer, we have some notes on the Volkswagen, on your big plan… Nobody’s going to do that.” — Robert Smith [14:11]
• “Strength Through Joy... This is what Orwell was writing.” — Jacob Goldstein [29:39]
• “If you can get people to pay for a thing where you haven’t even built the factory, that is good for you.” — Jacob Goldstein [31:39]
• “How does this utter failure of a plan by Adolf Hitler… go on to make a cute car beloved by Americans? That’s the story for next time.” — Jacob Goldstein [40:36]

Memorable Moments & Tone

• The playful chemistry between hosts keeps the episode fresh even during grim sections, combining humor, amazement, and deep historical knowledge.
• Visual descriptions—Hitler “petting” the Beetle; Beetle as “a hedgehog in armor”—help humanize and contextualize the story.
• Grim reminders of the human cost underpin the lighter tone—atrocities are confronted head-on but are not allowed to overwhelm the narrative.

Key Segments & Timestamps

• Hollywood and “Herbie” Origin Story – 04:52–06:32
• Hitler’s Vision and “Volk” Nation-Building – 08:00–10:32
• Car Design, Porsche, and Economics – 17:05–19:01
• Ford: Admired and Feared – 25:23–26:57
• Strength Through Joy: Brand and Propaganda – 29:12–30:44
• Slave Labor and Factory Atrocity – 34:51–38:38
• Allies’ Victory & Beetle’s Postwar Fate Teased – 39:35–40:54

Final Thoughts

This episode of Business History (featured on History Daily) offers a compelling, nuanced exploration of the VW Beetle’s dark origins, the perils of command economies, and the moral complexities of innovation under totalitarianism. With part two promised, listeners are left eager for the story of how a Nazi project became a global symbol of fun and freedom.

For more in this series, follow Business History and History Daily.