Alex Carson
Did you know that Volkswagen, now one of the largest automakers in the world, was originally founded as a pet project of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime? Its very name—“Volkswagen”—means “People’s Car,” a propaganda-fueled promise of affordable transportation for ordinary German families. Yet behind the gleaming façade of unity and progress was a far darker reality.
During World War II, the company quickly abandoned its civilian ambitions and became a critical part of the Nazi war machine. The Fallersleben factory, built with grand expectations, was transformed into a center of misery, where thousands of innocent men, women, and children suffered unimaginable horrors.
▬Contents of this video▬
00:00 – Intro
00:26 – Volkswagen’s Origins Under Hitler and the Nazi Vision
02:59 – Forced Labor and Concentration Camps at Volkswagen
06:46 – Post-War Reckoning and Volkswagen’s Rise
08:18 – Outro
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Volkswagen’s workforce became synonymous with forced labor. Soviet prisoners of war, Jewish concentration camp inmates, and civilians torn from their homelands—referred to as “Ostarbeiter”—were subjected to inhumane conditions. These workers toiled for endless hours, malnourished, beaten, and exposed to disease, all to meet the demands of wartime production. For many, survival was impossible.
Volkswagen also operated several subcamps under the notorious Neuengamme concentration camp, solidifying its complicity in the Nazi regime’s brutal exploitation of human lives.
Perhaps the most chilling chapter of Volkswagen’s history involved its treatment of children born to forced laborers. Nazi authorities deemed pregnant workers as expendable yet essential to production, separating mothers from their newborns almost immediately. The so-called “nursery facilities” established at the factory and nearby Rühen were, in truth, death traps. Neglect, starvation, and lack of medical care led to staggering mortality rates—hundreds of infants perished, their short lives extinguished by systemic cruelty and indifference.
Despite these atrocities, Volkswagen emerged from the ruins of World War II and found its footing during Germany’s postwar economic recovery. The Beetle, once a product of Nazi propaganda, was repackaged as a symbol of reliability and simplicity. As the car became an international icon, the company’s grim origins were largely forgotten. For decades, Volkswagen avoided fully confronting its past. It wasn’t until the late 20th century that efforts were made to acknowledge the company’s wartime crimes. Independent historians uncovered damning details about Volkswagen’s role in forced labor, concentration camps, and child deaths, pushing the company to establish reparations funds and support Holocaust survivors.
While Volkswagen has made strides to confront its past, questions still linger. Can any amount of acknowledgment or reparations ever fully atone for the suffering of those who were exploited and left to die? The company’s history remains a sobering reminder of how industry and tyranny can align, with devastating consequences.
This video reveals the dark truths Volkswagen doesn’t want you to know, exposing the grim legacy of a brand that rose to global prominence on the backs of the oppressed. As we examine this haunting history, we confront an unsettling reality: behind some of the world’s most celebrated icons lie stories of unimaginable suffering, hidden just beneath the surface.
The Evil Crimes Volkswagen Doesn’t Want You to Know About
