– On May 26, 1938, the Nazis laid the foundation stone for the Volkswagenwerk near the town of Fallersleben. But first the factory produces armaments. After the war, the “city of the KdF car” becomes Wolfsburg.
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When you hear Wolfsburg, you think of Volkswagen: there is hardly any other city in Germany whose existence is so closely linked to an industrial group. In fact, Wolfsburg’s origins go back to the automaker. When the VW plant was founded in 1938, there were hardly more than a few villages in the agricultural region in the east of Lower Saxony. For the production of the VW Beetle, a new city with 100,000 inhabitants is to grow – the “City of the KdF car near Fallersleben”. After the end of the war, the Allies pushed for a renunciation of the National Socialist name. On May 25, 1945, the city was renamed Wolfsburg. A historical city portrait.
Housing construction for the workers of the Volkswagenwerk begins in 1938, but the dream of a modern Autostadt does not turn into anything. During the Second World War, the Volkswagenwerk produced armaments with forced laborers, prisoners of war and inmates from concentration camps. At the end of the war in 1945, about two thirds of the facilities were destroyed, but the residential areas were hardly. However, there are only around 2,200 apartments in stone houses and numerous barracks. On May 25, 1945, the assembly of the city council decided on the allies for the new name Wolfsburg. It goes back to a castle on the Aller, which was first mentioned in documents in 1302 as “Wolfsburg”.
The Allies give the green light
According to a company historian at Volkswagen, it was only when the British military government decided to start beetle production in December 1945 that the city and the company were given new prospects. New plans for a city with 35,000 inhabitants are emerging.
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North tour
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North tour
On March 8, 1950, the first VW vans rolled off the production line in Wolfsburg as standard: the Bulli T1 has achieved cult status like the VW Beetle. It is a symbol of the economic miracle.
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Refugees from the east ensure that Wolfsburg grows rapidly and already has more than 30,000 inhabitants in 1952. New districts, schools, a hospital and the city hall are built. Wolfsburg’s lifeline is the Volkswagen plant, which successfully produces cars: on August 5, 1955, the millionth VW Beetle rolls off the assembly line. And the VW Bulli, which has been in series production since 1950, also becomes a bestseller. But the city with around 55,000 inhabitants has neither a town hall nor a train station. They follow in 1957 and 1958.
Work for Germans and Italians
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In the 1960s, thousands of workers flocked through VW’s factory gate every day. The group is growing rapidly – and with it Wolfsburg.
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VW’s personnel requirements continue to increase. Jobs and good wages attract people from all over Germany to the border with the GDR. Since the early 1960s, many guest workers have also migrated from Italy. Wolfsburg is still considered the largest Italian city north of the Alps. But by no means all of the people on VW’s payroll also live in the city. Tens of thousands of them commute to work from the surrounding area, some of them themselves Brunswick and Hanover.
History shapes structure and cityscape
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Wolfsburg is named after this castle after the war in 1945.
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Since the territorial reform of 1972, 20 other municipalities and towns in the region have belonged to Wolfsburg, which has 131,000 inhabitants. The number is now around 125,000. On the whole, however, the VW city is not considered an attractive place to live. It lacks a charming old town as well as the flair of university cities such as Göttingen.
History shapes structure and cityscape: Apart from the castle, there are hardly any historical buildings in the core city. Houses from the 1950s and 60s characterize the picture. Even the church, a centuries-old building in other cities, dates from 1951, like the Catholic parish church of St. Christophorus. The many incorporated parts of the city present themselves quite differently: their core mostly consists of historic half-timbered houses around which single-family houses from all post-war years were built. With 204 square kilometers, the area of the extensive city is just as large as that of Hanover – with only a quarter of the population.
VW remains dominant
Volkswagen supports the city comprehensively in the competition for coveted workers. On the one hand, the millions of taxes benefit the community, on the other hand, the group regularly receives direct donations for the construction of facilities such as swimming pools, theaters or town halls. Even the Bundesliga kickers of VfL Wolfsburg are unlikely to play in the top league without VW.
City portrait
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Wolfsburg offers attractive tourist destinations such as the Phaeno science show and the Allerpark leisure area.
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The city leaders have been trying for years to reduce this dependency and to establish Wolfsburg as a tourist destination. This is how ambitious projects such as the Phaeno science show came about Art museum and the Badeland. The 2004 State Garden Show attracted tens of thousands of visitors to the city. The heart and center of the city is still the VW plant. The center dominates between the pedestrian zone and the castle. From the busy Berlin bridge over the Mittelland Canal and the railway line, the view of the Volkswagen Group’s Autostadt with its two striking glass towers, in which new cars are waiting to be delivered. Changing exhibitions on technical topics take place under the care of Volkswagen as well as cultural offers, such as the “Movimentos“Festival weeks in early summer with contemporary dance, concerts, readings and matinees.
A Volkswagen for everyone: the Nazis promised the Germans. On May 26, 1938, they laid the foundation stone for the VW plant – and produced armaments there.
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The millionth VW Beetle rolled off the assembly line in Wolfsburg on August 5, 1955 – the start of a success story. The car becomes a symbol of the economic miracle.
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75 years ago, on May 8, 1945, the war ended with the unconditional surrender of the Wehrmacht. The Allies had previously liberated many cities and concentration camps. A dossier.
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After the Second World War, the German cities were in ruins. People are hungry and are looking for shelter. Germany is divided into four zones of occupation. The FRG and GDR were founded in 1949.
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