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→History
==History==
==History==
On May 26, 1938, [[Nazi]] dignitaries gathered near Fallersleben in northern Germany to lay the foundation stone for the Volkswagen Works. The [[Führer]] himself was present, predicting that this Volkswagen, initially known as the Kraft-durch-Freude-Wagen, or KdF-Wagen, would be “a symbol of the [[National Socialist]] people's community." The Volkswagen plant eventually became a massive complex known as the “City of the Kdf-Car” [“Stadt der Kdf-Wagen”] and was expected to produce at least 1.5 million cars annually. In reality, the plant had only just started small-scale production of what would become the Volkswagen Beetle when the company halted [[civilian]] production with the onset of [[World War II]]. The vast majority of Germans who completed their savings books never received their long-awaited People’s Cars, as Volkswagen went into military production.
===Volkswagen and Forced Labor===
The war posed a serious obstacle for Volkswagen, as the plant had been designed for the production of civilian vehicles. From its inception, it had never had a sufficient workforce. In search of labor, the massive complex at Fallersleben quickly began to deploy [[slavery|forced labor]]. Indeed, Volkswagen was among the first companies to take advantage of the forced labor of [[Soviet]] [[prisoners of war]].
==References==
==References==