1949 volkswagen documentary: kleiner Wagen grosse Liebe
This 55 minute 'infomercial' was shot in Germany in 1949. Even for the standards of those days the qalitiy of photographic is poor. The storyline is very thin and a bit staged.
But realize that this movie was made only 4 years after the traumatic war. In the ruins of Germany this motion picture was an amazing display of positivity and hope for the future. The Volkswagen factory in Wolfburg was responsible for 25% of Germany's production. In 1949 many former slave labourers worked in the factory. They decided to stay after the end of the war.
The first minutes of the film sounds like a wartime 'deutsche Wochenschau'. The powerful somewhat bombastic music amplifies that atmosphere.
The film was a collaboration between Esso and the Wolfsburg volkswagen plant. This was only 4 years after the war. Only few could affort to drive a car. Amazing is to see the early split window car playing a main role in the film: Kleiner Wagen, grosse Liebe. The pretty lady in this clip is Hilde Hildebrand. She was a well known german pre-war actress. She plays alongside less well known actors like Jakob tiedtke, Beppo Brem in this film.
More info about Kleiner Wagen... grosse Liebe can be found here:
www.volkswagenag.com/presence...
Deutsch:
Eingebettet in eine Rahmenhandlung, welche die Besichtigung des Werks durch eine Besuchergruppe zeigt, gibt der Film zunächst einen Einblick in den Fertigungsablauf. Danach setzt eine Spielhandlung ein, in deren Mittelpunkt der autobegeisterte Mechaniker Klaus und seine Freundin, die Fahrschülerin Inge, stehen. Immer wieder unterbrochen von verschiedenen Spielszenen findet der Film seinen
Höhepunkt in der Überführung eines Neuwagens aus dem Werk nach Süddeutschland. Inge und Klaus machen sich gemeinsam auf dem Weg und singen am Schluss das Lied vom „Auto-Koller“.
Ein Film aus einer untergegangenen Welt, die es nicht mehr gibt! Die Sprache, die handelnden Personen, die Landschaften und Städte, alles! Ein Zeugnis aus tiefster Vergangenheit.
Я из России Калининградская область сболтим удовольствием посмотрел фильм спроецировав его на то как жили люди тут в восточной Пруссии.Прекрасная лента. Раньше было многим лучше и в России и Германии этот фильм напомнил мне во всех немецких домах кафельные печи …. и как вы сказали мир которого уже не было
Gibt es nicht mehr . Was es heute gibt erzeugt nur noch übelkeitsgefühle.
Ölwechsel alle 2000 km, das waren noch Zeiten.
DAS IST WUNDEBAR. ICH LIEBE DIESES AUTOS. DANKE SCHON.
Dass war noch sehr harte Arbeit an den perssen😮😮heldenhaft dieses Männer ❤😮
Such a pity they stopped making them
Ach goldig!😉
Gut
This is a vintage priceless.
Great documentary! Working on my 69 ghia that we saved from the car crusher!
To Kavanghia I love your name! I myself had a 1968 (twin headlight) Karmann-Ghia , the Corvair style model, and also was the map reader on a Karmann -Ghia rally, in an original model K.G
Também estou restaurando...❤
WOW !!
Verchromte Bananenstoßstangen, ein Kübelwagen.... einfach nur traumhaft! Heidelberg kurz nach dem Krieg und die Autobahn ohne Mittelleitplanke und Pannenstreifen.
Heidelberg wurde eh nicht bombadiert, deshalb der unbeschadete Zustand der tollen Stadt.
Das waren sehr schöne Zeiten nicht wie 2023❤❤❤❤
I restore vws for a living and I've always appreciated just how much pride went into what they did
I agree, German (West) craftsmanship at it's BEST!
Temos um 1975. Ótimo
Klasse Zeitdokument ,vielen Dank .
I had a tour of Wolfsburg back in 2009 in the old part there were still shrapnel holes in the factory roof. When i was there I met a guy who had a period VW book showing exactly this amazing photos in that book.
Mejores autos no existirán jamás
Bei Minute 7 einer der legendären Plattenwagen, aus denen der Bulli hervor ging.
Stimmt! Du schaust aber ganz genau hin!
4 years after the whole Germane industry and country was bombed back to zero they were making cars in huge numbers, that's pretty amazing. From a time when politicians was doing what was good for their country, not like today when the country must do what is good for politicians.
Politicians had nothing to do with it, or at least they were responsible for the devastation of WW2. The reason VW was able to restart production so quickly is that the British military who were in charge of this sector needed something to put the local population back to work. It was the British military who got the factory working and then placed and order for the first 20,000 cars.
A very good film from history. Thank you very much for this indeed 🙂👍
Plattenwagen at 7.04, this film, was about the time when Ben Pon had his idea for the type 2
GENIAL EINFACH KLASSE 55 MINUTEN HOCHKARÄTIGE EMOTION VIELEN VIELEN DANK FÜR DAS HOCHLADEN DIESE HISTORISCHEN AUFNAHMEN SIND UND BLEIBEN IN MEINEN AUGEN EIN WELTKULTURERBE !! MACHT WEITER SO !! JOACHIM SCHNABEL
Я из России Калининградская область сболтим удовольствием посмотрел фильм спроецировав его на то как жили люди тут в восточной Пруссии.Прекрасная лента. Раньше было многим лучше и в России и Германии
I own a Kubelwagen (well restored) made in Ago.1943: with the original 25HP engine
/still well working!
...still well working.
do you maintain the car yourself
O que os alemães faziam a quase 80 90 100 anos atras nós não conseguidos fazer hoje
Very nice footage showing the manufacture of the pressed steel components.
I wish I had one of those fresh out of the factory!
One black with red interior One black with black interior One olive green with parchment interior One silver with blue interior and 10 pallets of spare engines and transaxles
@@Bangkok-ik1fp Das stimmt, aber die Brezel-Käfer hatten auch nur 24,5PS.
@@Bangkok-ik1fp ..they all sound good...but nothing looks as sharp as that super shiny Nitro black on these early splits, IMHO.. :)
Ich will keinen Neuwagen, sondern das Presswerkzeug!
how amazing, I never saw a new Beetle because the last manufactured Beetle was in the year I was born 2003, in Brazil the first Beetle was manufactured in 1958 (before that it came from Germany dismantled)
Ah, those wonderful 6V headlamps!
Die montage ist der Hammer! super Film!
Skvelé je to naozaj obdivuhodné mám ráda volkswagny
Nos também no Brasil
Hello,I’m from Kosova and I have Super Beetle 1974 and 1200cc and it is still working and running,its my lovely car I always go to work with it,German Wv company must think about us who has same “old timers” all Balkan countries for new parts,we have no where to buy it.I will keep my car till I am alive but I think Wv cars/old timers/as Beetle,Porsche 911 will exists till exists human. !Thank you I apollogize for writing .!
That is ok. We understand. VW is a good collector car because of so much after market support and you can go online and find probably whatever you need except maybe some parts will not fit as well as factory original but a little tweeking and it's ok.
Also, you have very small engine compared to U.S. with 1500 or 1600 by 1974 but i think it is smaller for better fuel mileage in some countries. I think some of South America did the same.
I have a 1974 beetle inBrazil. Belonged to my mother cousin. Its my favorite car! I love this genious car!!
Isn't it amazing how shiny the paint was on these early cars - even before cars were made by robots!
I'm reading from America I can understand what you're saying perfectly nice to hear you have old car running like that
Great film, thank you for uploading. Have very fond memories of my '64 Beetle that took me everywhere I wanted to go, including the beach! What impressed me was the huge pressing machines used to press out the body parts, can you imagine the work that the toolmakers put in to make the dies, both the male and female sides, no cnc machining here, and then the setting up they did on the presses to make sure that the pressing that came out was to specification. Full credit to them.
Der Film ist gut !. Am Anfang seht man der Volkswagen in der Montage . Man mußte mehr zeigen ! . Und am Ende der "Koffer" des Eigeledener ist eine gute Idee ... hahaha !!
Ultra-dramatic music and a snarling voice in the comments. A couple years earlier that same style was used to motivate the people for the war effort. It took many more years to pass until people became far more relaxed and joyful. Please, do not get me wrong. The emotional side of that film is a document, too.
Yes. Thank you.
Bei 3.53min mit Elektrode geschweißt!! Das versuche mal heute!Ha ha!! Dann schmilzt die Karre weg! Das war noch Made in Germany
... made in WEST-Germany....
The last vw beetle type1 was manufactured in Puebla Mexico
Schutzbrillen waren damals noch nicht üblich Heute undenkbar Aber eine sehr interessanter Film👍👍😀😀
Que bonito era lo bonito
Heaven
that is good..a collaboration between Esso and VW. Esso is S.o. = Standard Oil of Rockefeller. Those who also collaborates with Hitler and delivered the oil for the Blitzkrieg. Also IG Farben was owned by Standard oil.
Top demais!
I cant wait to get home and drive my buggy
Awesome
Das Auto...! Mi cars 63 VW 113..! in Venezuela..!👍
THAT WAS BANG ON !
Could someone post the words to the song at the end of the film?
Love my two beetles.
Pretty cool.....sure wish subtitles could be added. I'd love to understand what they are saying.
Your place or mine?! ;-)
Unglaublich geil👍🏻
Awesome video! Thx for posting!!
I wish I could get my hands on some of those original tires they used back then. The best I can do today is the very narrow Michelin X. And my '49 could do with the original exhaust too. Mine has the later double pipe version.
So was it the tires or the wheels that made these old beetles seem to sit higher up ? Seems all the 70's beetles sit low to the ground
@@46GarageUSA Early beetles prior to late '52 ran 16" wheels. I had a beautiful '52 Standard Beetle in dark blue without chrome and cable brakes with 16s. The late December '53 Oval Beetle we bought in the '90s had the 15" wheels and carried over the 25hp engine 1132 cc. They're great cars of a by-gone era. I'm waiting on my first new car, a Tesla CYBERTRUCK made with stainless steel outer bodywork. Should be just as much fun as my Volkswagens.
@@ivankuljis1780 what do the 70's beetles run 15 inch ?
@@46GarageUSA 15" tyres became a standard and easily bought at the local tyre store. Michelin were my fave! 165 XZX
Back in Car! crazy
Vídeo icônico. Parabéns.
AMAZING documentary
Absurd
@@vicent436 Maybe you could do better?
Look at that, no safety gear, no eye protection, surely no ear plugs, safety wasn't even a thought back then!
Súper zaujimavi film
Olha aí o fusquinha 😁
Igpcograph Brasil Diadema são Paulo ainda tem essas ferramentas
Danke für´s hochladen. Hier war noch alles im Lot. Hier geth´s zur Produktion Trabant 601 kzhead.info/sun/mNGodpR9faqgnXk/bejne.html Man beachte bei Minute 20 , 20 den „gekonnten Taumelschlag“ besser geht es nicht. Gruß aus München
..17:54...so there were still Kubels in use in 1949?....
Thank you for publishing this film, it is a document of its time and the production of the Volkswagen with lots of interesting scenes shot in the factory. But the lady is definitely not Hilde Hildebrand- she was born in 1897 and that woman on the screen is not 52 years old. Have a look in movies with Hilde Hildebrand, for example Große Freiheit Nr. 7 from 1944, and listen to her voice, differing widely from the voice of the actress in the Volkswagen movie. Another very famous man appearing in a scene is Werner Finck (up from 23:05).
Zokonta thank’s for your information. I will change the video info !! On the other hand: when I look her up, she seems to appear in this film. Just look around: de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilde_Hildebrand
Hilde Hildebrand is in the scene starting at 25:19
Strange to see the cops running a speed trap with two officers - but no patrol car!
Spot welding from the factory. Nice, but I seam welded all my Beetles. They last forever that way.
I wonder what happened to all of those stamping dies
Probably melted down for scrap once production ended, they must've been pretty well worn out since they built Beetles at Wolfsburg well into the '70s.
@@nlpnt i really doubt the original one lasted that long.
Alle 2.000 km Ölwechsel! Wumm!
1242 miles... sheeze
Spueloel usw bräuchte heute auch noch so mancher moderne Motor, welche zum Verkohlen neigen, speziell bei VW. Lange Ölwechselintervalle sind auch nicht das Gelbe, bei allem technischen Fortschritt.
und schon dünnes Öl :-))
@@jrodtopo oil is cheap engines are not, even back then. No multigrade oil existed then, either. And nowadays you should still change it every 5000 no matter what the manufacturers say, so there's not been a lot of change in this regard even with modern technology.
..clever bit where the man carries fuel can and can't get a ride to next station, then does get one, but hides behind the VW seat to avoid being seen by those in the car ahead, stopped at that station.. He explains to the driver and his passenger in VW, what his game is; hitching rides with all his clothes hidden (here 53:43) inside a dummy fuel can.. And they all laugh and sing a song together as they pass the fuel station and other driver, on by.. (No language captions, so I had to try and guess which words meant what. I'm way out of practice here.) I've forgotten what little German learned in high school, @ 17 y/o and hadn't heard any Deutsch since then, in my 67+ years!🙂
...another thought...many of these men working in this plant at this time must have been former Wehrmacht, SS, and/or NSDAP members...one has to ponder, that perhaps them working alongside former slaves in this plant postwar helped to heal wounds and improve relations with their fellow human beings....
To dyer2cycle My goodness! I do hop you are right! What if you are WRONG! That would be terrible for wartime workers!
Also dickes Öl nur für 'ausgeschlagene' Motoren... sehr interessant...lol
VW THE BEST AUTO?
I can't understand the narration and for some reason, the auto-translating YT subtitles don't work. But the music is so ominous, I'm expecting someone to get crushed or get tossed into a ditch at any minute. Ich kann die Erzählung nicht verstehen und aus irgendeinem Grund funktionieren die automatisch übersetzenden YT-Untertitel nicht. Aber die Musik ist so bedrohlich, dass ich jeden Moment damit rechne, dass jemand zerquetscht oder in einen Graben geworfen wird.
I wish I could understand what they were speaking
COOL, in 1949 wasn't it run by at least somewhat by the British???
What does the guy on the left says at 16:41? Can anyone help me?
In german he says: "funkelnagelneu ! Lass mal den Motor anspringen." that means in english: "brandnew ! Come on start the engine !" Hope I could help you.
not Beppo Brehm, but Werner Fink!
Presse mit 100 Millionen kg Druck? Habe ich da was falsch verstanden?
...wow, that stamping looks dangerous!..I wonder how many flat men were carried out of that plant stamped in the shape of a VW "W" decklid? :0.....as for the former slave laborers staying, why wouldn't they?..they had already learned a valuable skill and gained experience, and what else were they going to do in post-war Germany to make a living?...
You know, all the guys here building car that look like they are on their way to the coffin shop, that is what you looked like aged 30ish after the war.
3:50 the guy gets a load of sparks in the eye. I wonder why no goggles?
Yes, i saw the same thing,, unfortunately in those days people didn't use PPE like they do now. In the 60's my Mother used to work PT at a blue collar restaurant in NY with a grill for eggs, burgers, etc. and people would be cooking without gloves, smoking cigarettes, that's how life was then and in VW every pair of goggles and gloves cost $$$$$
those sparks are nothing... are from spot welder which are harmless. Sparks from grinders are dangerous flying into eyes coz they include a hot sharpen iron piece.
17:55 ha ha a kubelwagen drives past.
56:03 Da lässt dieser Macho die Frau ja doch noch fahren.
It is historical
17:54 Cameo appearance.
Der Inspektor Wanninger war also früher mal Autoverkäufer 🤣
17:54 Käfer im Kampfanzug
25 HP probably 60 mph top speed
100 kph was spec. = 62 mph 40 hp= 72 mph
Am besten fand ich die geflügelten Engelskühe.
Is it a bit too on-the-nose for 1949 that the guys get stopped for not having their papers?
Please, subtitle!
its all in german , wish it had subtitles at least ,
😀
war 1945 vw production 49 vejo uma raça superior
Isn't that a 'new' factory at VW Wolfburg? Where a British Army captain, who pulled a dirty, singed Beetle out of the 'old' factory and thought: "we must find something for these people to do - restart the economy". "I know - we'll rebuild the bombed-out factory"! Meanwhile, back in Longbridge in austere, half-starved Great Britain, with rationing and food stamps still the order of the day, the Austin workers drifted back from fighting in all four corners of the world (those that who managed to survive though not necessarily with their mental health intact) to a decrepit, dirty, old Victorian ex-paint factory still wearing the scars of the Luftwaffe's visitations. Who were best able to produce 'Wagens' that 'Volk' actually wanted to buy built with modern machine-tools in a clean, new facility? Longbridge finally closed - unable to compete - in 2005. It is now covered in shops and houses. Who were the ultimate victors in the war against fascism??
Excellent point my friend.
What the Ivan Hirst (Major of British Army REME) in charge for the VW factory in Wolfsburg after German surrender, though when find a pre-war W Saloon in the in the factory was: _"This small car could supply the lack of light vehicles for British occupation forces use". Not that this noble _ "we must find something for these people to do - restart the economy"._ So provide for have the car painted in army green and submit for his superiors appreciation, who autorize the order for 20.000, soon upped for 40.000 and "the rest is history". The decision for re-start the German economy came latter, when the burden of occupation show the price. The initial Allied plan for post war Germany was keep the country with lower industrialization, what show unpractical. >"Who were the ultimate victors in the war against fascism??" The URSS.
@@Sokol10 what is the URSS? RUSSIA? Please reply.
Blame your friends the Labour party for nationalising British Leyland and sending it to s**t.
Это, собственно, начало воспроизводства? В годы войны он не выпускался.
Pena que é conhecido como o carro de Hitler.
People's car.
Epi zero!
Drolliges Filmwerk aus der Zeit des Brezelkäfers. 23:49 Unvergessen: Werner Finck, Kabarettist, Schauspieler und Schriftsteller. Unter den Nazis nicht gut gelitten und ua mit einem Auftrittsverbot belegt. 17:54 Ein Kübelwagen VW Typ 82 ider ehemaligen Wehrmacht
автомобиль гитлера
I wonder how many of these workers did something....completely "different" only few years before... ?. but anyway "Arbeit macht frei ja ?
Folke, at least American car factories weren’t using human hair for cushioning in the seat pads, and using slave labor to assemble them. I’m sure at the time it was merely thought of as a rational business decision: human hair salvaged from the camps was cheaper and more plentiful than horsehair, and slave labor was cheaper than paying people. In reality, the men shown working in this footage likely *weren’t* working in the factory during the war, they were out creating it. Look, I love my ‘68 Beetle, but we don’t need to pretend these cars weren’t born into existence by the most murderous government humanity has ever produced. The Beetle has dark origins, but went on to be the most successful, beloved, and long lived car model ever produced. That triumph is part of its story. Knock it off with your “afterbirth” nonsense-attitudes like that are what caused WW2 in the first place.
Mark Summerfield from Nygel Miller, what does the last part of your comment mean.Please explain
@@MTSVW tatra 507 prototype
@@nygelmiller5293 I think this fellow should be second birth of furher ( hitler) who is following order of German Nazi "orbeit match frie" through these last words.
@@pp8885 tell me exactly what your complaint is! Towards the end, the man drives the car, and the lady has difficulty in making him let HER drive the Volkswagen, because she is a woman! She says a woman told her ((Fra u Bergman) that woman can drive cars just as well as men! So the man calls Fra u Bergman die a l t e schwerin . (Criminal) Is that it? Okay, so the man is a bit of a chauvinist - but MANY men were brought up to think these things, until women got more rights later on, in MOST countries! I think that when you said he was a re-incarnation of Hitler is horrible, you should be ashamed to think such things - which are much worse than not trusting women in those times! How does that make him a Nazi? Please reply - that would be interesting.
Only word I know in German is brassier...... Stop-em-from-floppin
Wie ein alter Speck Film 😉😅