Did The Nazis Steal The Volkswagen - From A Jew?

Mechanically, it has a platform chassis with a center tube, a rear transaxle with a horizontal engine, a swing axle suspension in the back, and independent suspension in the front. The body is a simple aerodynamic shape.

If this all reminds you of a VW Beetle, it should. It's specifications are virtually identical to those laid down for Hitler by Ferdinand Porsche.

But a new book suggests that Porsche never designed the Beetle. And here's the shocking part: This light, simple, inexpensive car that the average person could afford, was built by Josef Ganz starting in 1923. He called his concept the Volkswagen and used the name Maikäfer (May Beetle) for the prototypes he made for his client companies.

So what happened to Ganz? He was arrested by the Gestapo in 1934 and eventually got out of Germany. But it appears the Nazis stole his work and the Volkswagen was not the evil spawn of the Nazis that many have believed.