600,000 people sent in $100 deposits for this thing—!😧 (Dumbass is laughing all the way to the bank. )

  • Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world
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    12 hours ago

    The vehicle that we today call the Volkswagen Beetle was at its inception called the KdF-Wagen. Nazi Germany had this whole scheme where you could save up stamps in a little booklet and when you got enough stamps, you could redeem them for a car.

    No one ever got their cars, though many Germans had saved up enough stamps. Sure they built a few, but they went to government officials. It was a scam.

    KdF-Phone.

    • Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de
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      10 hours ago

      KdF = Kraft durch Freude = power through joy

      They also used that branding for holiday camps etc. For example here’s the arial view of the Koloss von Rügen holiday complex in Prora, which also never saw any visitors because they didn’t finish it before they started the war: