Thinking Small: The Long, Strange Trip of the Volkswagen Beetle

by Andrea Hiott

  Acknowledgments

  Honestly, I have no idea how to properly express gratitude to everyone who has contributed to the creation of this book; there’s no true beginning or end to the list of names deserving thanks—everyone I’ve learned from, everyone behind the scenes who have quietly done essential work, all the front desk attendants and mechanics and factory workers and writers and filmmakers, and all the people over the years who have shared the stories of their original Beetles with me—to try and name you all would need a space as long as my lifetime, but please accept my sincere appreciation. Your work matters.

  Daunting as the task may be, there are also some people I would very much like to try and express gratitude to here directly for all I have learned from them, and for their enthusiasm and important contributions to this book. First, to Richard Morris of Janklow & Nesbit. From our very first phone call, I knew I was lucky enough to have found someone who felt a similar inspiration from this story. Still, I had no idea how much time, effort, and thought he would ultimately give. Not only did he help me advance a little further on that long road to finding one’s voice as an author, but it is no stretch to say that his advice, support, and unwavering confidence in this project is a primary reason this book came to light. I am also sincerely grateful to Susanna Porter at The Random House Publishing Group, whose unparalleled editorial eye helped me to get to the essence of this story, and whose support, direction, and advice has helped me to find new clarity and responsibility as a writer. Also at Random House, I am indebted to Priyanka Krishnan for her editorial honesty and truly exceptional talent, and for her administrative patience and perseverance; this book would not have been the same had Richard, Susanna, and Priyanka not been on board. Respect and gratitude also go to the editorial and publishing staff, especially Libby McGuire, Jennifer Hershey, and Kim Hovey. I would also like to thank Benjamin Dreyer, Shona McCarthy, and the entire managing editorial group, for their amazing work, and for catching and alerting me to key points; this book is a much better read thanks to them. I am grateful to the publicity and marketing teams; these amazing people who are the conduits between this book and the wider world, especially Susan Corcoran, David Moench, Theresa Zoro, Kristin Fassler, Quinne Rogers, and Leah Johanson. Thanks also to the design and art departments, especially Beck Stvan and Evan Gaffney. And thank you Amelia Zalcman, Deborah Foley, Toby Ernst, and Caroline Teagle at Random House, and Zenya Prowell and Becky Sweren at Janklow & Nesbit for helping in numerous essential tasks.

  Very big thanks also goes to the amazing staff at the archives of Volkswagen AG in Wolfsburg. So many days and months (indeed, years) full of discussions and questions to Dr. Ulrike Gutzmann on the archive staff have left me with a deep respect for her and for the work she does. I could not have asked to meet a better person. Likewise, the work and time of Dr. Manfred Grieger was essential to this book, as was the study Das Volkswagenwerk und seine Arbeiter im Dritten Reich, which he worked on with German historian Dr. Hans Mommsen. Thanks also to the archivists and staff for the tours of the Volkswagen factory and the Place of Remembrance, for all the meetings, the coffees and lunches and dinners and walks, the access, and for providing so many wonderful sources and photos for this book. I also have to thank former Volkswagen CEO, and a man who has done so much to expand the borders of corporate thinking, Carl Hahn, for discussing this book with me, and for providing insight into the character of both Bill Bernbach and Heinrich Nordhoff. Thanks also to his wonderful assistant, Ute Krause. I would like to have written more about Hahn in this book, and on that note, I recommend his autobiography (which is only available in German right now, but hopefully will come out in English soon). I would also like to thank Carl Hahn for his role in bringing the Kunstmuseum to Wolfsburg, and to the wonderful staff and curators there. The exhibit on James Turrell that I happened to see during one of my longer stays in Wolfsburg was a very moving moment for me, and one that fit well with the themes of this story.

  With warm regards and sincere gratitude, I would also like to thank Porsche AG, especially the exceptional Dieter Landenberger, Porsche’s head of archives, for the hours and hours of discussions and emails in which he not only helped me to get to know Ferdinand Porsche but also to understand Germany’s history of automobiles and technology, not to mention helping me understand some basic technical and mechanical questions regarding the workings of the automobile. Mr. Landenberger’s energy and knowledge have contributed greatly to this book. Thanks also to Porsche for opening their archives, for the wonderful tours of their magnificent museum and factory, and for being so kind and giving. A special thanks to Jens Torner of Porsche AG as well, for sitting with me and going through hundreds of photos until we found just the right ones. Thanks also to Dieter Gross for helping me to navigate the Porsche libraries.

  Much gratitude also goes to the staff at the Autostadt in Wolfsburg. Again, I was very lucky to be introduced to Andrea Mueller on my first visit there. Her love for the Autostadt, for cars, and her vast knowledge of VW history helped me greatly, as did her generosity in giving me tours of the grounds, and answering any question I might ask of her through emails and in person throughout my visits. Also at the Autostadt, I am grateful for the discussions I had with Dr. Wolfgang Kaese, who is in charge of a wonderful bookshop, and who knows so much about cars and their history. Thanks also to the administrative staff at the Autostadt for helping me find resources and photos.

  Time after time, I was astonished by the good nature and generosity of so many in Wolfsburg, and that is especially true of the staff of the Institut für Zeitgeschichte und Stadtpräsentation, especially Alexander Nedelkovski and Katje. Thank you for helping me navigate your archives and photo collections, and for always helping me to track down the right person, place, or date. In Wolfsburg, I am also very thankful to the beautiful and effervescent Renate Riemer for the tours and the talks, the lunches, and for giving me a look at the history of Wolfsburg from someone who had lived through much of it herself. Thanks also to Anna Krause and Axel Bosse, to Justin Hoffmann at the Kunstverein Wolfsburg, to Susanna Pflieger, Stadt Galerie Wolfsburg, to the staff of the Wolfsburg library, and to all those who work for the Volkswagen Auto Museum.

  Special thanks also goes to journalist and photographer Klaus Gottschick for sharing his memories of Nordhoff with me, as well as his photos.

  I would also like to thank Juliane Aswald and Brian Amelung of the Volkswagen factory in Dresden, for their hospitality, for the tour, and for answering all my questions not only about the Phaeton but also about car history in Germany. Thanks also to all the exceedingly professional and excellent staff members of the libraries in Germany, especially the Gedenkbibliothek in Berlin, and to the Arsenal in Berlin for the film series of old Volkswagen promotional films, to the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein for providing such an amazing video archive, and to Silke Wittig for helping me to navigate through those archives. I also appreciate the collection of the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin, and the Technikmuseum in Munich, and I am also thankful to the very knowledgable and efficient staff at the British Library in London, and to the transportation museum and archives there as well. And thanks especially to so many friends in Europe, some of whom I must name here because of the role they played (whether they know it or not!) in my discovery of Wolfsburg, and the good luck I had there: Anne Koenig, Jan Wenzel, Micz Flor, Kito Nedo, Tobias Zielony, Matthias Fischer, and Vera Tollmann. Thanks also to Adam Raymont and the Raymont family for so many gifts given in Berlin. And warmest thanks to Prague and London, for the unceasing exchange of emails and thoughts about so many topics and themes in this book. In case you doubt or have forgotten, I send you my sincere love.

  Thank you also to everyone who is a part of Pulse, to the amazing staff and the flux of personalities of the past seven years of the project, especially Jin Love and Nicola Gerndt. Big thanks also to that initial start-up staff at ICD, especially Mark Donfried, Nora Circosta, Stefanie Averwald, and Anya Kinneavy, and to all the interns an
d flux of staff over the years who have contributed so much. Thanks also to so many in Berlin for inviting me to conferences, lunches, or dinners in which I got a glimpse into the political and economic complexity of international relations, and to everyone there who have allowed me to ask them questions and learn from them as I’ve worked on this book.

  In the States, the staff at Volkswagen of America has been very helpful over the years, and I want to give warm thanks to Steve Keyes and Tom Wegehaupt, two former Volkswagen employees who have since moved on to other projects, but who helped me greatly when I was first starting out on this journey. More recently, I am greatly indebted to the wonderful energy and enthusiasm of Carsten Krebs and VW of A, and to many others on the Volkswagen staff, especially Sheriece Matias.

  Many in New York City have already been mentioned, but there are many more! One of the most charming and important presences in this whole process for me was the great Julian Koenig, and I am forever grateful to him for sharing his time, stories, and jokes. It is a pleasure to know you. Thanks also to his daughter Sarah Koenig for her time and patience and help. I also had the opportunity to spend a few afternoons talking with George Lois, and as everyone who knows him will tell you, he is a whirlwind of energy that one can never forget. Thank you George for being generous and kind, and thanks to his son Luke for his help in finding photos. Thanks also goes to Fred Papert for talking with me about his two former business partners, and for just being an interesting and intelligent guy.

  I was very nervous the first time I went to meet Bill Bernbach’s son, John, and so I would like to thank him for making time in his schedule to answer my many questions, and for being kind and helpful in every way. Thanks also to his wonderful secretary at Engine, Debbie Brown, and to a fellow-southerner, Laura Hynes.

  I am also very grateful to Alicia Brindak at DDB Worldwide for answering all my questions and putting me in touch with the people I needed to speak with, as well as helping me to find photos and permissions. Thanks also to Jeff Swystun at DDB for his support and help with this book. I also have to thank the original Doyle Dane Bernbach staff, and so many who helped build and create it. Much respect goes to the memory of Helmut Krone, and to his daughter Kathryn Krone. Thanks and respect must also be given to legends and legacies of Bill Charmatz, Bob Gage, Phyllis Robinson, Bob Levenson, Helmut Schmitz, David Oglivy and Paul Rand. Thanks to the wonderful staff and wonderful resources of the New York Public Library, to the Ad Club and the One Club in NYC, to Bob Contant and Terry McCoy, and the entire staff of St Marks Bookshop, past and present; to Greg Foley for sharing his creative spark and essential advice, to Marilyn Apelson for the dinners full of deep literary discussion, to Wade Lawrence at the Bethel Museum for his generosity, and to Marlon Stolzman, whose friendship and support has changed my life immeasurably: I’m so glad you noticed that hot pink folder at IMG! Your friendship is a rare gift.

  This list seems to be ordered by cities, and on that note, I’d like to express gratitude to a few more. Much gratitude goes to Detroit and its automotive legacy, as well as to the staff at the archives and museums of Ford and GM. Thanks also for the awakenings I’ve had in D.C.; and to so many in Seattle, for the support, the faith, the endurance, and especially for the love that your presence in my life allows me to feel. Also to R., a rare and true intellectual soulmate, for the tender, mindful communication and love.

  Very warm thanks to the Carolinas and all my family there, especially my grandmothers and great grandmother, who have taught me as much about story as anyone. Thanks also to my aunts and uncles in the north, to the many libraries all over the country that I’ve frequented in my research, to Savannah’s School of Art and Design, and to the members of my family in my hometown of Atlanta, especially to my father for always encouraging me to follow my dreams, to my mother for always letting me know that I have a place to come back to, and my brother for showing me that true inner transformation is real. Thanks also to Allison, Emily, Colleen, and Dori, for all the years of friendship, support, patience and faith in this book.

  I have to also thank all the German musicians, writers, and philosophers who inspired me from a very young age, and who are, as much as anything else, responsible for my pilgrimage to Germany, and thus for my eventual discovery of this story, a story which I am thankful for as well, as it has taught me a great deal, and given me an inspiring journey, as well as the chance to meet and work with many beautiful people. In writing this book, I was gifted access to the public and personal archives and memories of so many. It took a delicate balance on all our parts, and I was lucky enough to be able to find people who were willing to seek out the truth with me, though no doubt there is still more truth yet to be discovered.

  One of the hardest things in writing this book was not being able to include every story, name, and moment that happened. And in that sense especially, please know that any and all mistakes in this book are my own. There were also times when one person’s memory or take on an event differed from another. This is human nature, and it makes our lives rich and full of fruitful debate, but it is not easy to present such a vast web in linear and concise fashion. I’ve tried my best, and I am still learning, but I only hope that everyone who helped with this story can feel my deep admiration and respect for all their work and openness and talent. All their lives and contributions are rich and nuanced, and they matter much more than this book can tell.

  Bibliography

  Unpublished Sources

  Letters

  From Ed Russell to Julian Koenig • Letters from Ed Russell to Advertising Age

  Interviews

  Volkswagen workers, Wolfsburg Museum Collection

  Film

  Auto-Kino: Unternehmensfilme von Volkswagen: Silikose (1949/51); Sinfonie eines Autos (1949), und Sisu—Tiere im nordischen Urwald (1952). Guenter Riederer, Kino Arsenal: Eine Veranstaltungsreihe von CineGraph Babelsberg, Berlin-Brandenburgisches Centrum fuer Filmforschung und dem Aresenal, in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv, der Deutschen Kinemathek und der Historischen Kommunikation der Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. Berlin, 19 April 2010.

  Collections and Archives

  Stadt Wolfsburg, Institut fuer Zeitgeschichte und Stadtpraesentation, Wolfsburg • Volkswagen Corporate Archive, Wolfsburg • Volkswagen of America Archive, Herndon, VA • New York Public Library, New York • British Library, London • Stadt Archive, Berlin • Zentral- und Landesbibliothek Berlin • Deutsches Technikmuseum, Berlin • Deutsches Historisches, Berlin • Porsche Archive, Stuttgart • Library and Media Center at Savannah School of Art and Design, Savannah • Stadtbibliothek Wolfsburg • Technical University, Berlin • The Henry Ford, Dearborn Michigan • General Motors, Online Archive • Opel, Media Archive

  Dissertations

  Nedelkovski, Aleksandar. Kunst als identitätsstiftendes Medium untersucht am Beispiel der Ausstellung ‘Heidersberger: Stadt-Werk, 1963.’ Technische Universität Kaiserslautern: Master-Fernstudiengang “Management von Kultur- und Non-Profit-Organisationen.” Abgabedatum: 30 April 2010.

  Turner, Ian David. British Occupation Policy and Its Effects on the Town of Wolfsburg and the Volkswagenwerk 1945–1949. Department of European Studies and Modern Languages, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, Submitted: 15 October 1984.

  Author Interviews/Discussions

  John Bernbach, NYC • Axel Bosse, Wolfsburg • BCN New York City • Manfred Grieger, Wolfsburg • Ulrike Gutzman, Wolfsburg • Carl Hahn, Wolfsburg • Justin Hoffman, Wolfsburg • Wolfgang Kaese, Wolfsburg • Julian Koenig, New York City • Dieter Landenberger, Stuttgart • Andrea Mueller, Wolfsburg • George Lois, New York City • Renate Riemer, Wolfsburg

  Published Sources

  Book of Nations, New York World’s Fair, Volume 785 by William Bernbach, Herman Jaffe, Clarence Pearson Hornung. New York, Winkler & Kelmans, 1939.

  Koehler, Volkmar. Kulturpolitik in Wolfsburg—die Anfänge. Stadt Wolfsburg, Institut fuer Zeitgeschichte und Stadtpraese
ntation, 2010.

  Strauss, Werner. Wolfsburg—Kleine Stadtgeschichte. Wolfsburg, Texte zur Geschichte Wolfsburg, Stadt Wolfsburg, 2002.

  Auto Museum Volkswagen: Schatzkammer der Marke. Wolfsburg, Stiftung Auto Museum Volkswagen.

  Directive to Commander-in-Chief of United States Forces of Occupation Regarding the Military Government of Germany; April 1945 (JCS 1067): United States Government.

  The Fireside Chats of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Radio addresses to the American people broadcast between 1933 and 1944.

  The Jewish Question: A Selection of Articles (1920–1922) published by Mr. Henry Ford’s paper The Dearborn Independent and reprinted later under the general title of “The International Jew.” 1936.

  The German-American Relationship: The Importance of Vision: Speech by the Ambassador of the United States of America Richard R. Burt on the Occasion of Ceremonies Commemorating the Fortieth Anniversary of Secretary of State James F. Byrnes’s “Rede der Hoffnung,” Given at the Grosses Haus of the Wuerttembergisches Staatstheater Stuttgart, September 6, 1986. U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germany.

  Public Relations, Edward L. Bernays and the American Scene. Internet Source: F. W. Faxton Company: Annotated bibliography of, and reference guide to, writings by and about Edward Bernays from 1917 to 1951.