So it’s up yours, Adolf

Hitler's drawing of a car for the people ... the beginning of a long line of Volkswagens

There will be much ado in the legal fraternity today at revelations of police investigating some goings-on involving a senior district court judge.

North Shore District Court judge Michael Lance QC has been interviewed by police officers investigating the keying of a car parked across the garage driveway of his $1 million Browns Bay, North Shore, apartment earlier this year.

Lance a former police complaints authority deputy head has vigorously denied the allegation, telling Sunday News he did nothing wrong.

The police investigation has focused on whether the judge intentionally used a key to scratch a Volkswagen Golf more than 20 times, causing $4000 damage, around 12.30pm on March 23.

Sunday News says Waitemata police have completed their inquiry, which has been reviewed by a senior lawyer outside Auckland, and they have interviewed Lance and other witnesses.

Police would this week announce whether Lance would be charged.

It looks like this one has gone all the way to the top.

The matter was being given last-minute consideration by police national headquarters, including likely consultation with Commissioner Howard Broad.

But Alf is deeply troubled not by what might have happened and/or who might have done it outside the judge’s apartment.

Nope. He is deeply troubled that anyone would want to own a Volkswagen Golf, let alone drive one.

No, there’s nothing wrong with the car from a driving point of view. Indeed, Alf is reliably informed it’s a highly regarded vehicle.

His objection is strictly on a matter of principle. The VW Golf has a lineage that can be traced back to that Adolf Hitler feller. Alf strongly disapproves of Adolf and pretty well all he did.

Among other things, Hitler is credited with sketching the drawing at the top of this posting in the summer of 1932 (although the exact provenance of the image is said to be in dispute).

The former artist, while contemplating ways to set Germany on a modern course, was inspired by his admiration for American auto-maker (and anti-Semite) Henry Ford to formulate an ingenious plan: To reduce unemployment, a massive program of public works would build the worlds first super-highway, the Autobahn, providing the Reich with a modern infrastructure.

To stimulate German industry, it was necessary to develop a car the average German could actually afford to own. Hitler would eventually give his drawing to the head of Daimler-Benz, Jakob Werlin, telling him:

“Take it with you and speak with people who understand more about it than I do. But don’t forget it. I want to hear from you soon about the technical details.”

Another source similarly credits Hitler with being the driving force behind the car.

In the 1930s, cars cost more than most people earned in a year. When Hitler became the chancellor of Germany in 1933, he promoted the idea of a car affordable enough for the average working person. The Volkswagen, which means “people’s car” in German, was essentially a political promise to win the public’s goodwill.

Hitler met with automotive designer Ferdinand Porsche in 1933 and charged Porsche with creating the new car. The chancellor required that the Volkswagen carry two adults and three children, go up to 60 miles per hour, get at least 33 miles per gallon, and cost only 1,000 reichsmarks. Hitler may also have named the car the Beetle.

In 1938, Hitler had the KdF Wagen factory built to produce the cars designed by Porsche. But by the time the factory was complete, Hitler had invaded Czechoslovakia and Poland. The factory was dedicated to building military vehicles, and the people’s car fell by the wayside during World War II.

After the war, the factory ended up in the British section of occupied Germany. The British military re-opened the factory, named it Volkswagen, and finally gave control of the company to the German government.

After 1948, Volkswagen introduced new models across Europe. By 1955, over 1 million cars had been built. The VW beetle started selling in the U.S., and in 1972 the people’s car overtook the Ford Model T to become the most popular car ever made.

So there you have it. Splendid little car, maybe.

But because of its associations with Hitler, Alf reckons it should be on the banned list.

Trouble is, to ban it would be be to behave in a highly authoritarian way, just as Hitler behaved.

Accordingly, he resists his strong urge to press for the car’s banning.

But anyone who scrapes a key through the paintwork should be exonerated on the grounds that this was not an act of vandalism – it was a robust expression of disapproval of Hitler and the Third Reich.

The case for the defence rests, Your Honour.