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  View original topic: The Extraordinary Life of Josef Ganz
pdc Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:46 pm

I want to report a very interesting book recently published and which sheds new light on the origins of the beetle.
The book is "The Extraordinary Life of Josef Ganz: The Jewish Hitler's Volkswagen Engineer Behind" (RVP Publishers, 2011). The book is the result of more than five years of research by Paul Schilperoord, a Dutch technology journalist who is studying industrial design in Italy.

The book present the story of Josef Ganz, a Jewish engineer and journalist, whose designs and published work in the 1930s laid out the basics for the Volkswagen Beetle; in 1934 he was arrested by the Gestapo, chased from Germany and nearly airbrushed out of history. He ended his life in Australia in 1967, almost completely forgotten.

Any opinion about it?

79SuperVert Mon Mar 12, 2012 1:57 pm

It's being discussed here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=376311

pdc Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:26 pm

Thank you, I missed the discussion and I will join it.
I realize that few people have read the book, and that the vast majority is skeptical about role Ganz had in the development of the concept.
In fact, the book provide a surprisingly large amount of "contemporary records" that deserves to be carefully examined before any comment be made.

EverettB Mon Mar 12, 2012 2:56 pm

79SuperVert wrote: It's being discussed here:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=376311

Please use this thread



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