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Both companies were Nazi funded : Hitler supported any company which demonstrated the technical superiority of Germany before the war , and gave ‘unlimited’ resources to companies which helped with the war effort.Channel 4 tonight (Sunday 26th July), a documentary looking at the rivalry between Mercedes Benz and the Nazi-funded Auto Union racing cars of the 1930s.
Both companies were Nazi funded : Hitler supported any company which demonstrated the technical superiority of Germany before the war , and gave ‘unlimited’ resources to companies which helped with the war effort.
Uhlenhaut stated this in an interview many years ago .
Mercedes got the lion's share of the funding, yet Auto Union achieved the record. MB couldn't participate in the GP as their performance would have been embarrassingly poor.Interesting that Auto Union was Nazi funded yet Hitler was seen in a Mercedes in many occasions. Both state and personal.
And you think that Auto Union didn’t ???Are we not forgetting that Mercedes, during the war used thousands of slaves and forced labourers including Jews, foreigners, and POWs. According to historian Bernard Bellon (Mercedes in Peace and War, 1990), at least eight Jews were murdered by DB managers or SS men at a plant in occupied Poland.
Erm , MB did compete in most of the GPs in the 1930s , right up to 1939 , and won their fair share of them .Mercedes got the lion's share of the funding, yet Auto Union achieved the record. MB couldn't participate in the GP as their performance would have been embarrassingly poor.
Erm, did you watch the program? I was referring to the speed trials and G P in Berlin immediately following the funding. Auto Union took the speed record round the AVUS track. MB did well in practice but pulled out before the actual race. Yes they then later participated in the pre-war GPsErm , MB did compete in most of the GPs in the 1930s , right up to 1939 , and won their fair share of them .
I do not have a television set so did not see this programme which clearly gives a very selective view of racing during this period .Erm, did you watch the program? I was referring to the speed trials and G P in Berlin immediately following the funding. Auto Union took the speed record round the AVUS track. MB did well in practice but pulled out before the actual race. Yes they then later participated in the pre-war GPs
How can you say that if you didn't see it?I do not have a television set so did not see this programme which clearly gives a very selective view of racing during this period
I share your irritations, but I guess the issue is that there are a limited number of subject matter experts who can also present in an engaging way? Obvious exceptions to that would include people like Lucy Worsley, Andrew Graham-Dixon and so forth, so there are some who have the combination of knowledge and ability to communicate.I suspect the commentators are briefed or use scripts, as they can’t possibly be an expert on...
I don’t need to see the programme to take issue with ‘MB couldn't participate in the GP as their performance would have been embarrassingly poor.’How can you say that if you didn't see it?
Those that did see it would have understood the context in which I posted.
Most big German companies try to play down their activities during the 30s and 40s but the simple fact is they had no choice : MB , AU , BMW , Maybach all were tasked with producing war machinery , MB possibly more diverse than the others , but all certainly made military vehicles , aero and marine engines and even armaments. Similarly with the likes of Krupp , Seimens , Blohm & Voss . They couldn’t say no .Overall I thought the program was ok, but disappointing. With the exception of the aero simulation work at the end it was light on information about the cars, and it also tip-toed around the Nazi influence and so was light on anything other than superficial historical commentary. Superficially interesting, but a bit of a missed opportunity then.
But if you had watched the program, you would know that that statement related solely to the Berlin GP on the Avus circuit in 1934, which was the first appearance of the Auto Union P-Wagen and the Mercedes W25, the Mercedes being withdrawn before the race due to poor performance in practice.I don’t need to see the programme to take issue with ‘MB couldn't participate in the GP as their performance would have been embarrassingly poor.’
That’s at variance with WN saying above that they did ‘quite well’ in practice ...But if you had watched the program, you would know that that statement related solely to the Berlin GP on the Avus circuit in 1934, which was the first appearance of the Auto Union P-Wagen and the Mercedes W25, the Mercedes being withdrawn before the race due to poor performance in practice.
The W25 had shown strong performance (hence did "quite well" in practice), but had a big reliability issue with the fuel system - either fuel pump or carburettor - and hence overall poor performance which resulted in the car being withdrawn. Which is all well-documented.That’s at variance with WN saying above that they did ‘quite well’ in practice ...
Indeed they were.the Auto Unions , even the late D types , were notoriously unstable
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