Motor Schau February 1939 with KdF Car Secrets

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NAZI SECRET KdF CAR OR VOLKSWAGEN EXPOSÉ

THE VERY RARE FEBRUARY 1939 ISSUE OF THE NAZI MAGAZINE MOTOR SCHAU
FEATURING
DIE GEHEIMNISSE
DES KdF WAGENS
OR
THE SECRETS OF THE VOLKSWAGEN

PLEASE NOTE: this is one of several USM Books webpages listing very rare and historically important Nazi Volkswagen or KdF Wagen material. At the bottom of this page you will find links to other Volkswagen related web pages.

There were many magazines published in Nazi Germany concerned with the subjects of cars, motorcycles, aircraft, busses and trains, but none of them were anywhere near as well done or as successful as ,,Motor Schau’’ (The Motor Show).

Motor Schau was a big, oversized 10 x 13-3/4 inch trade and consumer magazine which concentrated on every aspect of the “motor business” not only in Germany, but around the world. Its emphasis was Germany and German equipment and every big issue was packed with features, news and advertising related to the motor trades. Unlike the other German motoring magazines, every issue of Motor Schau had a striking industry related cover and lots of color inside.

Motor Schau was founded and published by Adolf Hitler’s good friend Jakob Werlin, who not only advised Hitler on the purchase of automobiles but also often accompanied him to the annual German Auto Show (Automobil-Ausstellung Berlin) and other motor related events. Werlin was one of the five directors of Daimler-Benz and described himself in his own magazine as a, “collaborator with the Führer in the question of the motorization of Germany”. The magazine was published by Motorschau Verlag Dr. Georg Elsner & Co. in Berlin on a monthly basis in the beginning and a quarterly by mid 1943.

Examples of Motor Schau are only rarely offered for sale. It was a specialty magazine at the time it was published (1937 - 1944) and during the cold and hunger winters of 1945, 1946 and 1947, a great many were burned in stoves and fireplaces as fuel. On this web page we offer viewers a rare opportunity to look at thumbnail images of many Motor Schau covers. Those magazine images are from our archive and the magazines are not offered for sale.

The magazine we offer here is the February 1939 first Motor Show issue (there were two issues published during the Internationale Automobil und Motorrad Ausstellung Berlin 1939) featuring the new Deutsche Arbeitsfront (DAF or German Labor Front) KdF (Kraft durch Freude or Strength Through Joy Organization) Car on the front cover.

The lead article in the magazine was written by Porsche engineer Lothar Balling of Stuttgart and is entitled ,,Die Geheimnisse des KdF-Wagens’’ or “the Secrets of the Volkswagen”. The long article beautifully illustrated with about one dozen rare photographs of the KdF Car, has lengthy captions for each photo in English, French, Spanish and German. The photos show many of the advanced technical elements of the Käfer (Beetle) in perfectly clear close-up shots.

The opening photo in the magazine (left) shows Hitler, Dr. Robert Ley, Dr. Porsche and Jakob Werlin examining a scale model of the new Volkswagen.

An article in English welcomes visitors to the Berlin Automobile and Motorcycle Show which anticipated an attendance of nearly a million people. The theme of the show was “Germany of Today - Wonderland of Traffic”.

There are also articles on the new 75 horsepower Audi, the BMW-R23 motorcycle and German Formula racing cars. There is an aviation article written by Kurt Tank entitled “An Emergency Landing in France”.

The magazine contains wonderful color and black & white advertisements for Ford trucks and cars, NSU motorcycles, Hanomag cars, Büssing-Nag trucks and the International Motor Show itself.

The half-page index to advertisers at the back of the magazine has been removed (probably to request literature) but otherwise the magazine is complete and in excellent used condition.

This 1939 Motor Schau magazine with
KdF / VW Beetle secrets is **SOLD**.

Other original Third Reich KdF Wagen material offered on the USM website:

- KdF car purchase agreement material for KdF Wagen number 1149.

- The rare 1939 KdF glove box-type manual ,,Der KdF Wagen von A bis Z’’ .

- An original KdF Sparkarte application form.

- Additional Motor Schau magazines from 1939, 1940, 1941 and 1942.

This USM Books website is Copyright © 2007 by USM, Inc., and the text and images on it are fully protected by international copyright law. It is therefore, illegal for anyone to take any of the material found here and use it for their own purposes without our written permission, irrespective of any excuse they may feel they have for doing so.