World War II History Repeats: A German Volkswagen Factory to Be Converted into Military Production Facility
The German automotive giant Volkswagen is currently negotiating with Israel’s defense company Rafael over the future of the Osnabrück plant.
This facility, which has produced civilian vehicles for decades, is planned to shift production to manufacturing components for the renowned air defense system "Iron Dome," including launchers, missile transport trucks, and generators.
For both parties, this deal is a matter of survival and expansion:
- Israel aims to enter the European arms market and supply air defense systems to Ukraine.
- Volkswagen seeks to prevent the closure of the factory. Amid the energy crisis, the Dresden plant has just announced its shutdown (the first in 88 years), making military contracts the only viable path to preserving 2,300 jobs at the Osnabrück site.
Notably, during World War II, Volkswagen (then under Wilhelm Karmann GmbH) underwent a similar transformation. In 1940, its civilian body production lines were converted to manufacture Nazi Germany's Wehrmacht truck cabs and aircraft parts. At that time, the factory employed forced laborers, including at least 500 women abducted from the Soviet Union.
Volkswagen is far from being the only German automaker with such a history—Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, BMW, Audi, and others all served Hitler’s war machine at various points.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1860820791803980/
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