On May 28, 1937, the government of Germany—then under
the control of Adolf Hitler (above center) of the National
Socialist Party—formed a new state-owned automobile
company, then known as Gesellschaft zur Vorbereitung
des Deutschen Volkswagens. 

Later that year, it was renamed simply Volkswagenwerk, or
“The People’s Car Company.”

Originally operated by the German Labor Front, a Nazi
organization, Volkswagen was headquartered in Wolfsburg,
Germany.

In addition to his ambitious campaign to build a network of
autobahns and limited access highways across Germany,
Hitler’s pet project was the development and mass production
of an affordable yet still speedy vehicle that could sell for less
than 1,000 Reich marks (about $140 at the time).

VW Type 1 prototype.