The VW (
Volkswagen = "the people's car") started out as the "KdF Wagen" (KdF = Kraft durch Freude = Power through Joy) during the Nazi regime. It was a state owned factory meant to produce cheap cars for the masses as incentive for their work. This was already the famous "
Beetle" or "
bug", designed by
Ferdinand Porsche. But before the first KdF Wagen could be delivered the war started and the factory built cars for the army.
After the war most of Germany's industry was dismantled, but the British force decided to keep the KdF factory running. Later on the factory was privatized, and the patch of barracks known as "KdF Stadt" (KdF City) was named Wolfsburg, after a castle nearby.
Today Wolfsburg is a city of about 100,000, modern but somewhat boring. The Volkswagen factory still employs about 40,000 here.
Editors note: Fixed numerous typos - 8/30/12 - borgo