More than 80 years ago, Jewish engineer Josef Ganz amazed the people of Frankfurt by racing his revolutionary “May Bug” prototype over the city streets and sidewalks. This lightweight, rear-engined car was part of his dream for the German people: a Volkswagen that anyone could afford. Two years later, Ganz presented his ‘German Volkswagen’ before Chancellor Adolf Hitler at the 1933 Berlin motor show – but as a Jew, he was soon arrested by the Gestapo and any connection between him and what soon became “Hitler’s Volkswagen project” was erased from the pages of history… until today.
With his books, compiled in meticulous research since 2004, Paul Schilperoord has brought to light the fate and history of the Jewish engineer Josef Ganz, who stands at the very beginning of the history of the “Volkswagen”. With this website Schilperoord and the Ganz descendant Lorenz Schmid honor the life of the genius born in Budapest/Hungary in 1898. Here you will find all information and activities around Ganz: the books, the documentary film, his vehicles, news about concerts and other cultural events, media and much more.
Watch the trailer of the documentary “GANZ: How I Lost My Beetle” from Suzanne Raes:
Learn more about the movie “Ganz: How I Lost My Beetle“
FROM THE PHOTO ARCHIVE OF JOSEF GANZ (“Focusing the Silverfish”) by Rémy Markowitsch
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Test-driving restored 1933 Standard Superior by Josef Ganz
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