Saturday 8th October 1949

The British military government placed the trusteeship of the Volkswagen factory in German hands. Acting on the orders of the British military government, Major Ivan Hirst ensured that civilian production of Volkswagen saloons could be started in December 1945, a move akin to the British founding the factory a second time. Initially aimed mainly at the occupational forces, Volkswagen cars built in Wolfsburg soon attracted interest among private customers and people abroad.