VW accused of hiding Nazi past in Superbowl advert

THE German car giant Volkswagen has been accused of glossing over its Nazi past in a multimillion-dollar advertisement for the Superbowl.

In a commercial televised alongside the biggest American football game of the year, the company recalled its 75 years of history in the US.

It starts with the first VW Beetle arriving in New York by ship in 1949, attracting attention from pedestrians in the streets as it drives past.

The advert, called “An American Love Story”, then shows other popular models including the Type 2 campervans, the Rabbit, the new Beetle and the latest electric-powered ID.4 SUV.

However, the brand’s decision to begin the advert in 1949 has raised eyebrows among some social media users.

VW was set up 12 years before that date under Adolf Hitler, as part of efforts by the Nazi regime to produce cars that ordinary Germans could afford.

During the Second World War, the company switched to producing vehicles for the army and used thousands of slave labourers from concentration camps. After the war, it began producing again under British Army occupation. The company’s Type 1 – later renamed the Beetle – became the world’s bestselling car in the 1970s.

“Watching VW try and pretend their cars weren’t originally designed as family vehicles for Hitler’s vision for the German family, all the while playing Neil Diamond, who is Jewish, is the most surreal things [sic] I’ve seen in years,” one user on posted on Twitter.

Another wrote: “What a weird marketing tactic for #Volkswagen to take in their #Superbowl2024 commercial. Why would you focus on the history of VW when only about a decade before the commercial’s timeline starts (1949), VW was founded by the Nazis and used forced labour from concentration camps??”

Not everyone criticised the commercial, however. Ad Age, the marketing news outlet, noted it was the first VW Superbowl ad in a decade and gave it five stars, adding: “It does a great job of combining a sweeping legacy statement with a product tease – and in such an uplifting way. One of the most heartwarming, feel-good spots of the night.”

Volkswagen has been approached for comment.