Hitler's Mercedes. Part 2 of Mercedes-Benz 125 years of Innovation

In an earlier post, we have mentioned about Mercedes-Benz's 125th Anniversary celebration. Well we won't mention the classics that most sites have / will be talking about. What we will be discussing however, are two Mercedes-Benz models that we are pretty sure you won't see them being displayed in any of Mercedes-Benz's public events - Herr Adolf Hitler's Mercedes. For better for worse, the Führer actually had pretty fine taste in cars, which in itself is not unique trait amongst dictators. Idi Amin had a fleet of Mercedes 600 Grossers and Citroen SMs. But what made Hitler different was that for whether we like it or not, that shit Hitler played a pivotal role in Germany's lead in the automotive industry. Part of Hitler's Aryan race supremacy propaganda was for Germany to dominate all sporting events, including motor racing. Silver Arrows grand prix racers and Streamliner bodied road racers, by Mercedes-Benz, as well as Auto Union were soon dominating racing circuits and road races around the world. Tax advantages were arranged for German car companies and the German auto industry took off. German car companies don't like to talk about this part of their history, but whether we like it or not, it did took place.

Hitler had a particular fondness for Mercedes-Benz vehicles. He had two special models built primarily for the exclusive use by the Third Reich; the W07 770 Kompressor limousine and the 4-wheel drive 6-wheeler (6x4) W131 G4 Grosser cross-country limousine. In most cases, these models were all armoured. But the Führer also have a particular fondness for convertibles. In almost any public drive by events, he is always seen in a convertible, which is kind of illogical for a man who known for his paranoia on personal safety. So the floorboards were bomb proof, body panels and windows were bullet proof but the man would stand in an open-top armoured car. So all the 770K and G4 Grossers designated for the Führer's official and private use were made in convertible bodies. A number of his official G4 Grosser's however had closed top body construction, these served either as a radio vehicle (which doubles as his emergency ambulance) or a luggage vehicle. These trio of cars would normally accompany Hitler's extended trips on the road.

Mussolini and Hitler in a 770K, Berlin, September 1937.

Mussolini and Hitler (seated in middle row) in a G4, Colonel Friedrich Hoßbach seated behind Hitler in Mecklenburg and Pomerania, Germany, Sep 1937.

A G4 parade car

Both 770K and G4 Mercedes are probably the some rarest Mercedes-Benz models in history. 57 units of G4 were built but only 3 remained after 1945. One of which still survives until today under the care of the Spanish Royal family, who took over the vehicle from the late Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco. Hitler presented one of his G4 to Franco, when the Spanish dictator volunteered his troops to fight against Stalin on the Russian front. The G4s were in reality luxury off-road lorries! It twin axles in the rear, both driven. It is not a proper off-road vehicle because its front wheels were not driven. Because of the armour, it weighed over 3500 kg and had a top speed of only 65km/h.

Dictator Franco's restored G4.

The W07 770K

A 770K armoured convertible was presented to Hitler by Mercedes on his 50th birthday on April 1939. The massive limousine weighed over 4760kg and had a fuel economy of 1.75km per liter. Its wheels were multi-chambered anti-explosion to prevent against gunfire, but as a result it can go no faster than 80km/h. At that speed, it doesn't seem like a very good way to protect oneself.

There were many claims by classic car traders claiming to have Hitler's car. But it needs to be pointed out that none of these claims have been confirmed by Mercedes-Benz Classics. There are various adjusters by these supposedly classic car experts, but as any seasoned classic car collector will tell you, a lot of it is just highly paid guess work, especially in dealing cars like these where tracking down the exact history is extremely tricky. The last 770K sold in 1973, allegedly claimed to be Hitler's 770K was proven to be false. Tracking down the exact chassis number of Hitler's private and official cars is rather difficult as those documents are considered war time records. Hitler's main parade car had the license plate IA 148461.

Below is a short excerpt from a documentary mentioning Hitler's 770K


Incidentally, two of the three WWII villains fancied Mercedes-Benz. Emperor Hirohito also had a Mercedes 770K, but his had a closed body construction. Mussolini was the odd one, as he choose to be chauffeured in a Lancia.

Mercedes-Benz had a complicated role in WWII. The company was ran by a board, not a one man show. Member of the Daimler-Benz board Hermann Koehler was critical of the Nazis and was convicted by the Nazis and shot in 1943. Another board member Jakob Werlin however was an ardent Nazi supporter and his compliance ensure Daimler-Benz's continued access to the government's highest levels.

Anyway, modern day Germans are overly sensitive about their Nazi history. The German people and government of Germany today are still deeply sorry over the events of WWII. Even sale of Nazi theme materials and memorabilia is banned in Germany and places like Auschwitz are kept to remind the public that never again must the world allow such evil to rise. German history books never white wash their role in WWII. Plus, it wasn't that the whole of Germany went along with Hitler. Even within the German army and military intelligence, there were various separate attempts, to assassinate Hitler. Tom Cruise even acted in a movie along this theme in "Valkyrie." Even a Christian pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer took part in the assassination attempt. The rest of the world have accepted a closure on that chapter of history and society have forgiven, reconciled and moved on. In any discussion about Nazi history, it is usually the Germans who are more upset than anyone else. At a time of great evil, a few good men rose up against what is morally wrong - Oskar Schindler who protected the Jews and John Rabe who protected the Chinese in Nanjing from the rampaging Japanese army. Till today the legacy of John Rabe continued to be remembered by the Chinese people. Like wise Oskar Schindler by the Jews all around the world. May the future remember that in times of great evil, a few good men can still rise up. This is why history must never be allowed to be distorted by self serving nationalists. We can't changed the past and the only way to right the wrong done by the previous generation is to apologize, reconcile and move on. Only then can the chapter be closed and for the future generation to learn.

The same however cannot be said about Japan, who continues to distort their public school history books on Japan's role in WWII, and Japanese politicians continue to pay respect to dead war criminals in an annual semi-religious ceremony at the Yasukuni Shrine. The minority Japanese citizens who wanted to push for reconciliation with Japan's war crimes are ridiculed, threatened and considered to be disgraceful to Japan. China, who suffered the biggest casualty at the hands of the Japanese Imperial army in the Nanking Massacre is understandably massively upset and would launch an almost annual diplomatic offensive with regard to the Yasukuni Shrine visit by any Japanese Prime Minister. Tachikawa which later became Prince, which was later acquired by Nissan along with Mitsubishi and Fuji (Subaru), as well as Toyota, all made fighter planes that bombed Pearl Harbour, as well as the rest of Asia. But these companies were never subjected to the same inquiries that Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen were subjected to for their roles in assisting the Axis powers. The occupying American forces setup military base in Japan and a few years later used it as a base to launch campaigns during the Korean war. Both Nissan and Toyota were supplying military trucks to the American army fighting the Korean War. And that, was part of the reason the Japanese imperial system remained and Japanese companies were not subjected to the same inquiries as the Germans. History is written by the victor. You are not going to read this in either Toyota or Nissan's official history, but it was the American military contracts that pulled both Nissan and Toyota, especially Toyota out of the post-war years and allowed it to pull ahead of its competitors.

But like Germany, not all of Japan were in support of the things done in the name of Emperor Hirohito. A Japanese medical officer Hiroshi Yamasaki was so disturbed by the things he saw, and decided that he had to stay back in China to help attone for the wrongs done by the Japanese people. Read more about his story here and here.

Read an earlier on Mercedes-Benz 125 years of Innovation : Part 1 here. Like what you read? Share this on Facebook by Liking this post or join our Facebook page here.