1949 volkswagen documentary: kleiner Wagen grosse Liebe

This 55 minute 'infomercial' was shot in Germany in 1949. Even for the standards of those days the qalitiy of photographic is poor. The storyline is very thin and a bit staged.
But realize that this movie was made only 4 years after the traumatic war. In the ruins of Germany this motion picture was an amazing display of positivity and hope for the future. The Volkswagen factory in Wolfburg was responsible for 25% of Germany's production. In 1949 many former slave labourers worked in the factory. They decided to stay after the end of the war.
The first minutes of the film sounds like a wartime 'deutsche Wochenschau'. The powerful somewhat bombastic music amplifies that atmosphere.
The film was a collaboration between Esso and the Wolfsburg volkswagen plant. This was only 4 years after the war. Only few could affort to drive a car. Amazing is to see the early split window car playing a main role in the film: Kleiner Wagen, grosse Liebe. The pretty lady in this clip is Hilde Hildebrand. She was a well known german pre-war actress. She plays alongside less well known actors like Jakob tiedtke, Beppo Brem in this film.
More info about Kleiner Wagen... grosse Liebe can be found here:
www.volkswagen...
Deutsch:
Eingebettet in eine Rahmenhandlung, welche die Besichtigung des Werks durch eine Besuchergruppe zeigt, gibt der Film zunächst einen Einblick in den Fertigungsablauf. Danach setzt eine Spielhandlung ein, in deren Mittelpunkt der autobegeisterte Mechaniker Klaus und seine Freundin, die Fahrschülerin Inge, stehen. Immer wieder unterbrochen von verschiedenen Spielszenen findet der Film seinen
Höhepunkt in der Überführung eines Neuwagens aus dem Werk nach Süddeutschland. Inge und Klaus machen sich gemeinsam auf dem Weg und singen am Schluss das Lied vom „Auto-Koller“.