Volkswagen celebrates the 75th anniversary of Beetle production

Volkswagen is celebrating the 75th anniversary of one of the most important dates in its history. Against all odds, it launched series production of the Type 1 — which we know as the Beetle — on December 27, 1945.

Prior to that date, the factory in Wolfsburg, Germany, and the Beetle both faced a grim future. Although the car was developed before World War II, only 630 units were built during the conflict as the factory shifted its attention to the war effort. It was consequently bombed by Allied forces several times during 1944. When peace returned, it would have been much easier to level the factory, scrap the Beetle, and do something else with the site.

That's almost what happened, but the British government — which controlled the zone Wolfsburg was in after the war — desperately needed vehicles for its personnel to get around. After examining an early Beetle, officials ordered a batch of 20,000 cars from the factory in August 1945, and they doubled that number several weeks later. Initially, the goal was to produce 1,000 cars a month, meaning filling the order should have taken over three years. It likely wasn't lost on officials that the sizable order would keep workers in a job until at least 1948. Launching production was easier said than done; raw materials and fuel were difficult to come by, and finding ways to house and feed the workers was a logistical nightmare.