Volkswagen Beetle

The Volkswagen Beetle, known in its home country as the "Käfer" (beetle), was produced from 1938 to 2003, with a final sales figure of over 21,500,000 units. As it was a car produced from the very beginning with the ordinary person in mind, the versatile Volkswagen (known as the Beetle in English-speaking countries) went through a true "Beetlemania," the peak of which was observed in 1971 – production then reached 1,300,000 "beetles."

However, before it became one of the favourite cars in the West and a hippie counterculture symbol, it had to undergo many tests during its trial period in the Third Reich. It was then, when Hitler came to power in Germany, that the Volkswagen Beetle was designed by Ferdinand Porsche as a standard car for German citizens – so that everyone could afford it, so that it could accommodate two adults with three children, and so that it could reach speeds of up to 100 km/h. Hitler, a great fan of motoring, was evidently pleased with the Beetle, as the "beetle" also received a "war" version, for a time when petrol was scarce – the car was then powered by wood gas. The elites of the Third Reich travelled in such a version of the Beetle in the 1940s.

The production of the "beetle" was stopped in 2003, due to falling sales figures after 1971. Despite this, it remains a symbol of freedom – for millions of people, it was a universal means of transport, being a worthy companion during the daily commute to work or during summer trips to the farthest corners of Europe.

The drawing was created by Wrocław artist Paweł Grabowski.