"Nazis stole my idea!" (for VW logo)

dabitch's picture
Posted by dabitch on 18. July 2005 - 13:50

Nikolai Borg, 86 years old, retired ad agency owner and graphic designer has filed suit against VW claiming that the Nazis stole his logo. Almost 60 years later Mr Borg will finally meet VW in court next month to settle the score. From the Telegraph

Mr Borg claims that his involvement with VW began in June 1939 - six years after Adolf Hitler met Ferdinand Porsche to discuss his idea for a "people's car" that could carry five people, cruise at up to 62mph, return 33 mpg and cost only 1,000 Reichmarks.

Porsche came up with a number of designs that formed the basis of the VW Beetle. According to Mr Borg, who was born in Germany to Swedish and Russian parents, he was asked on the eve of the Second World War to design the VW logo by Fritz Todt, a Nazi transport minister in charge of building motorways.
"I was a 20-year-old student and had just won a top award for a logo for the Reich's youth hostel association," Mr Borg said last week. "That brought me to the attention of Dr Todt, who a year later became minister for weapons, munitions and armament.
....
"He called me to his office at the ministry and gave me three assignments: to design a logo for the company building the motorways, a lakeside resort, and Volkswagen. He said that the car logo was a new project and wanted me to get working on it straight away."
Mr Borg said he created three logos for the different names he was given for the new car company: VW, KDF or Kraft Durch Freude (power through joy) which was what Hitler called the project, and VWW or Volkswagen Werk (VW factory).

Via the ever-populated Swedish adforum Bold.

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