James May: a car that changed the world

Josef Ganz 1 July 1898 – 1919

Budapest and Vienna

Josef Ganz is born in Budapest on 1 July 1898, the son of the journalist and writer Hugo Markus Ganz, and grows up in Vienna. Technology fascinates him early: he is granted his first patent at the age of twelve. In the First World War he serves in the German navy.

Josef Ganz in 1920 — Josef Ganz, photo from his motorcycle driving licence, 1920 Image: Josef Ganz Archive · Published on josefganz.org. Reuse only with the archive's permission.

In this chapter

1 July 1898 Born in Budapest His father, Dr Hugo Markus Ganz, came from Germany and wrote for the Frankfurter Zeitung and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
c. 1910 A first patent at twelve Fascinated by technology from an early age, Josef Ganz is granted his first patent at the age of twelve.
1914–1918 In the German navy During the First World War Ganz serves in the German navy. Only afterwards does he begin his engineering studies.

Sources

Biography — Josef Ganz Archive
Josef Ganz and Ferdinand Porsche, with the year-by-year timeline — Josef Ganz Archive Timeline, entry 1898: born in Budapest, grows up in Vienna.

Back to Budapest and Vienna

Josef Ganz 1 July 1898

Born in Budapest

His father, Dr Hugo Markus Ganz, came from Germany and wrote for the Frankfurter Zeitung and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Like his father, Josef would later work as a journalist.

Sources

Biography — Josef Ganz Archive

Back to Budapest and Vienna

Josef Ganz c. 1910

A first patent at twelve

Fascinated by technology from an early age, Josef Ganz is granted his first patent at the age of twelve.

Sources

Biography — Josef Ganz Archive

Back to Budapest and Vienna

Josef Ganz 1914–1918

In the German navy

During the First World War Ganz serves in the German navy. Only afterwards does he begin his engineering studies.

Sources

Biography — Josef Ganz Archive

Josef Ganz 1919–1927

Studies and first designs

After the war Ganz studies mechanical engineering, first in Austria and from 1920 in Germany. As a student he wants to build a people's car for the price of a motorcycle: in 1923 he draws his first small car, the Ganz-Klein-Wagen. He graduates as Diplom-Ingenieur in 1927.

Prospectus for the Ganz-Klein-Wagen, 1923 Image: Josef Ganz Archive · Published on josefganz.org. Reuse only with the archive's permission.

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Sources

Biography — Josef Ganz Archive

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Josef Ganz 1919–1927

Mechanical engineering

Ganz studies mechanical engineering, first in Vienna and from 1920 at Darmstadt in Germany, and graduates as Diplom-Ingenieur in 1927. The sources do not agree on the year of his diploma: the German embassy wrote 1927 in 1965, Metternich gives 1928, and the German Wikipedia article says October 1926 without a reference.

Sources

Josef Ganz and Béla Barényi — Josef Ganz Archive Studies in Vienna and Darmstadt.
Biography — Josef Ganz Archive
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Australia, note of 18 October 1965, and the Australian replies of 24 November and 1 December 1965 , National Archives of Australia, NAA: A1838, 1535/25/17 (item 3349216), 1965 The embassy note of 18 October 1965 gives 1927.
Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990 Gives 1928.

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Josef Ganz 1923

The Ganz-Klein-Wagen

In 1923 Ganz makes his first sketches for a small, light two-seater: four wheels, a mid-mounted engine, independent suspension on all wheels and a streamlined body. The design is inspired by the Rumpler Tropfenwagen of 1921. A prospectus for the Ganz-Klein-Wagen survives.

Sources

Biography — Josef Ganz Archive
Josef Ganz and Béla Barényi — Josef Ganz Archive Ganz's 1923 design was a two-seater.

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Josef Ganz 25 April 1924

"Seppl" at the Villa Solina

On 25 April 1924 Josef, called "Seppl" in the family, writes a humorous poem with a drawing into the guestbook of the Villa Solina in St. Niklausen near Lucerne, the home of his uncle Alfred Ganz since 1918. He has come from a cure for his leg in Celerina. His father Hugo had already spent the summer of 1919 recovering at the villa, which from 1939 sheltered relatives persecuted by the Nazi regime.

Guestbook double page with poem and drawing by Josef "Seppl" Ganz, 25 April 1924 — Josef "Seppl" Ganz in the guestbook of the Villa Solina, 25 April 1924. Image: Estate of Alfred Ganz / Lorenz Schmid

Villa Solina with its tower, St. Niklausen near Lucerne — Image: Josef Ganz Archive

Sources

Lorenz Schmid: Alfred Ganz-Wolff: biography, Villa Solina and its guestbook — relatives.josefganz.org
Lorenz Schmid: Hugo Ganz — relatives.josefganz.org

Alfred Ganz and the Villa Solina (relatives.josefganz.org)

Josef Ganz 1928–1934

Motor-Kritik

Lacking the money to build his car, Ganz writes about it. In 1928 he becomes editor-in-chief of Klein-Motor-Sport, which he renames Motor-Kritik in 1929. The magazine attacks outdated designs and corruption in the industry and the press, and campaigns for a German Volkswagen with a central tube, swing axles and a rear engine. The industry answers with lawsuits, slander and an advertising boycott.

Cover of Klein-Motor-Sport no. 10, 1928, "The Car of the Future" — Klein-Motor-Sport no. 10, 1928, showing "The Car of the Future" Image: Josef Ganz Archive · Published on josefganz.org. Reuse only with the archive's permission.

In this chapter

Sources

Motor-Kritik — Josef Ganz Archive
Biography — Josef Ganz Archive
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Australia, note of 18 October 1965, and the Australian replies of 24 November and 1 December 1965 , National Archives of Australia, NAA: A1838, 1535/25/17 (item 3349216), 1965 The embassy note of 1965 dates his editorship 1928–1934.

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Josef Ganz 1928

Editor-in-chief of Klein-Motor-Sport

Shortly after his diploma Ganz takes over the small magazine Klein-Motor-Sport. Issue 10 of 1928 already shows "The Car of the Future" on its cover. In 1929 he renames the magazine Motor-Kritik. The biography page of josefganz.org gives 1927 for his appointment, the Motor-Kritik page and the 1965 embassy note 1928.

Sources

Motor-Kritik — Josef Ganz Archive
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Australia, note of 18 October 1965, and the Australian replies of 24 November and 1 December 1965 , National Archives of Australia, NAA: A1838, 1535/25/17 (item 3349216), 1965
Biography — Josef Ganz Archive Gives 1927.

Back to Motor-Kritik

Josef Ganz 1928–1933

The campaign for a German Volkswagen

Motor-Kritik gives supportive but fierce criticism, fights corruption in the car industry and the trade press, and promotes new technology: light cars with a central tube frame, swing axles and a rear engine, the "Deutscher Volkswagen". Car makers respond with lawsuits, slander campaigns and an advertising boycott; every attack only increases the magazine's publicity.

Motor-Kritik no. 1, 1931, with Josef Ganz designing the Ardie-Ganz prototype — Motor-Kritik no. 1, 1931, with a close-up of Josef Ganz designing the Ardie-Ganz prototype Image: Josef Ganz Archive · Published on josefganz.org. Reuse only with the archive's permission.

Sources

Back to Motor-Kritik

Josef Ganz 1929

Patent for a central-tube chassis

Ganz files a German patent application for a chassis with a rear central tube (DE 528 643). It is one of the patents on which the Standard Superior will later be built.

Sources

Josef Ganz and Ferdinand Porsche, with the year-by-year timeline — Josef Ganz Archive Timeline, entry 1929.

Back to Motor-Kritik

Josef Ganz August 1932

An article by Béla Barényi

In August 1932 Motor-Kritik prints an article by the young engineer Béla Barényi (vol. 12, no. 15, pp. 348–353). The two men knew each other; Barényi later won a court case over the authorship of the Beetle's basic design.

Sources

Béla Barényi: Motor-Kritik 12 (1932), no. 15, August 1932, pp. 348–353 , 1932
Josef Ganz and Béla Barényi — Josef Ganz Archive

Josef Ganz and Béla Barényi

Josef Ganz 1930–1934

Maikäfer and Standard Superior

In the summer of 1930 Ganz builds his first prototype at the motorcycle maker Ardie in Nuremberg, in May 1931 the Maikäfer at Adler in Frankfurt. Daimler-Benz and BMW hire him as a consultant. In February 1933 the Standard Fahrzeugfabrik shows the Standard Superior, built on his patents, at the Berlin motor show: 1,590 Reichsmark.

Josef Ganz at the wheel of the Maikäfer with Paul Jaray, 1931 — Josef Ganz behind the wheel of the Maikäfer with the streamlining pioneer Paul Jaray, 1931 Image: Josef Ganz Archive · Published on josefganz.org. Reuse only with the archive's permission.

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Sources

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Josef Ganz June 1930

The Ardie-Ganz prototype

In the summer of 1930 Ganz builds a first prototype of his Volkswagen at the motorcycle manufacturer Ardie in Nuremberg: a central backbone chassis, independent suspension with swinging rear half-axles, a mid-mounted engine and a streamlined body. He had discussed a small car with Zündapp's director Fritz Neumeyer before, but built it at Ardie.

Sources

Back to Maikäfer and Standard Superior

Josef Ganz 1931–1933

Consultant to Daimler-Benz and BMW

Besides Adler, Ganz works as a consultant engineer for Daimler-Benz and BMW, where the first models with independent wheel suspension are developed: the Mercedes-Benz 170 and the BMW AM1. He persuades Daimler-Benz's director Wilhelm Kissel and technical director Hans Nibel to develop rear-engined models under his supervision.

Sources

Josef Ganz and Daimler-Benz

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Josef Ganz May 1931

The Maikäfer

As technical consultant to the car maker Adler in Frankfurt, Ganz builds a second, sturdier prototype, completed in May 1931 and nicknamed Maikäfer (May bug). News spreads quickly, and many engineers test the car.

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Sources

Back to The Maikäfer

Josef Ganz May 1931

What the Maikäfer had, and what not

The Maikäfer had a central tube frame, a swing rear axle without differential and brakes on the rear wheels only. Ganz had chosen the simplest, cheapest solution.

Sources

Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990, no. 41, p. 71
Maikäfer prototype — Josef Ganz Archive

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Josef Ganz October 1931

Visitors from the Porsche office

In October 1931 Ferry Porsche and Adolf Rosenberger of the Porsche design office come to Frankfurt to test-drive the Maikäfer. In November Ganz writes in Motor-Kritik that he has taken many colleagues from the press and members of "the competition" for drives; the cover shows the Maikäfer with two men on board, whom Paul Schilperoord identifies as Ferry Porsche and Rosenberger.

Sources

Josef Ganz and Ferdinand Porsche, with the year-by-year timeline — Josef Ganz Archive Timeline, entries 1931.

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Josef Ganz February 1933

The Standard Superior

In February 1933 the Standard Fahrzeugfabrik of Ludwigsburg introduces the Standard Superior, a Volkswagen built on Ganz's patents, at the Berlin motor show. Adolf Hitler, chancellor for two weeks, opens the show and takes an interest in the car and its price of 1,590 Reichsmark. The brochure calls it "the fastest and cheapest German Volkswagen".

Brochure for the Standard Superior, 1933 — Brochure advertising the Standard Superior as "the fastest and cheapest German Volkswagen", 1933 Image: Josef Ganz Archive · Published on josefganz.org. Reuse only with the archive's permission.

In this chapter

Sources

Standard Superior — Josef Ganz Archive
Biography — Josef Ganz Archive
ADAC-Motorwelt no. 29, 21 July 1933, p. 8 (test report on the Standard Superior) , 1933 The ADAC test report gives a price of 1,620 Reichsmark.

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Josef Ganz February 1933

The first model, a two-seater

The first Standard Superior is a two-seater coupé with a rear-mounted two-cylinder engine, a central tube chassis and brakes on the rear wheels only.

Sources

ADAC-Motorwelt no. 29, 21 July 1933, p. 8 (test report on the Standard Superior) , 1933
Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990, no. 41, p. 71
Standard Superior — Josef Ganz Archive

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Josef Ganz September 1933

Standard Merkur and the 1934 Superior

In September 1933 the Standard Fahrzeugfabrik presents the larger Standard Merkur together with a revised Superior. The 1934 Superior gains a rear seat with room for two children, a car for a small family.

Sources

Josef Ganz May 1933 – March 1934

Arrest and professional ban

In May 1933 the Gestapo arrests Ganz on fabricated charges of blackmailing the car industry. He is released after a month and can prove his innocence, but has to give up the editorship of Motor-Kritik. His contracts with the industry end; in March 1934 the Nazi government bans him from publishing altogether.

Motor-Kritik no. 10, 1933, dedicated to roads and the people's car — Motor-Kritik no. 10, 1933, dedicated to "roads and the people's car", the last issue before his arrest Image: Josef Ganz Archive · Published on josefganz.org. Reuse only with the archive's permission.

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Sources

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Josef Ganz 1933 – March 1934

The industry contracts end

By the Berlin motor show of March 1934 Ganz has lost all his German contracts. Daimler-Benz later stated that it had never denounced him; on 22 January 1935, with Ganz already living in Switzerland, the two sides reached an agreement, and the inventions contract was put back into force in June 1935 until Ganz's lawyer terminated it with effect from 31 March 1936.

Sources

Josef Ganz and Daimler-Benz — Josef Ganz Archive

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Josef Ganz May 1933

Arrested by the Gestapo

Some of Ganz's enemies in the car industry use their influence with the new government to have him arrested by the Gestapo in May 1933 on falsified charges of blackmailing the German car industry. The last issue of Motor-Kritik before his arrest is dedicated to "roads and the people's car". After one month he is released and able to prove his innocence.

Sources

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Josef Ganz June 1933

Forced out of Motor-Kritik

After his release Ganz has to give up his position as editor-in-chief. His colleague and close friend Georg Ising takes over; Ganz keeps writing for Motor-Kritik until March 1934.

Sources

Motor-Kritik — Josef Ganz Archive

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Josef Ganz December 1933 – May 1934

Tatra's patent complaint

In December 1933 Tatra accuses Ganz of violating its patent DRP 549602 with his patent DRP 587409. Both concern a mid-mounted engine, but Tatra's describes a three-wheeler with a drive shaft to a single rear wheel, Ganz's an engine, gearbox and clutch built as one unit onto the central tube with direct drive to swinging rear half-axles. The Patent Office in Berlin rejects Tatra's claims in late March 1934 and the appeal in May 1934.

Sources

Josef Ganz and Tatra

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Josef Ganz March 1934

Publication ban

In March 1934 the Nazi government issues a full publication ban for Josef Ganz. His voice in Germany falls silent.

Sources

Motor-Kritik — Josef Ganz Archive

Josef Ganz April 1934 – 1935

Escape

In 1934 Ganz leaves Germany. The same year the Reich association of the automotive industry commissions Ferdinand Porsche to design the Volkswagen, and the Standard Fahrzeugfabrik is forbidden to use the word Volkswagen in its advertising. By January 1935 Ganz is living in Switzerland.

Motor-Kritik no. 4, 1933, showing the chassis of the Standard Superior Image: Josef Ganz Archive · Published on josefganz.org. Reuse only with the archive's permission.

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Sources

Back to Escape

Josef Ganz 1934

Standard may no longer say Volkswagen

The Standard Fahrzeugfabrik, which has just released a model with room for a family with two children, is forbidden to use the name Volkswagen in its advertising.

Sources

Biography — Josef Ganz Archive

Back to Escape

Josef Ganz June 1934

Leaving Germany

Ganz flees Germany in 1934. The biography page of josefganz.org gives June 1934, the page on Daimler-Benz says "later in 1934"; the exact date is to be confirmed from the book.

Sources

Back to Escape

Josef Ganz 22 January 1935

Living in Switzerland

When Daimler-Benz and Ganz reach their agreement on 22 January 1935, Ganz is already living in Switzerland. He settles there for good in the summer of 1935.

Sources

Josef Ganz 1935–1950

Switzerland

Ganz settles in Switzerland in the summer of 1935. With the support of the federal authorities he develops a Swiss Volkswagen: three prototypes in 1937, a six-day test drive in 1938, a contract with Rapid for a pre-series. The war stops everything; Ganz is caught between the Gestapo, the Swiss aliens police and officials who claim the project for themselves. After 1945 he fights lengthy court battles and leaves Switzerland in 1950.

Josef Ganz in the aluminium-bodied Silberfisch prototype, 1938 Image: Josef Ganz Archive · Published on josefganz.org. Reuse only with the archive's permission.

In this chapter

Sources

Biography — Josef Ganz Archive
Rapid Swiss Volkswagen — Josef Ganz Archive
Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990, no. 42, pp. 65, 67

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Josef Ganz 1935–1947

The Swiss Volkswagen

From 1935 Ganz works on a Swiss Volkswagen: prototypes at Motosacoche in Geneva, test drives across the country, a pre-series at Rapid. Around forty cars are built after the war; three of them survive.

In this chapter

Sources

Rapid Swiss Volkswagen — Josef Ganz Archive

Back to The Swiss Volkswagen

Josef Ganz 1935

Arrival and demonstration

In the summer of 1935 Ganz settles in Switzerland and demonstrates his Maikäfer and a Standard Superior to representatives of the federal labour authorities. They note the Maikäfer's "astonishingly good road holding" and decide to investigate production in Switzerland.

Sources

Back to The Swiss Volkswagen

Josef Ganz October 1936

Contract for a Swiss Volkswagen

In October 1936 a contract is signed for the development of a Volkswagen according to Ganz's Swiss patents.

Sources

Rapid Swiss Volkswagen — Josef Ganz Archive

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Josef Ganz 1937

Three prototypes at Motosacoche

In 1937 Motosacoche in Geneva builds three prototypes. They use a backbone chassis with the engine and gearbox just ahead of the driven rear swing axles, and a streamlined two-seater convertible body much like the 1923 design. Ganz chose an open two-seater because it was the cheapest to build.

Sources

Rapid Swiss Volkswagen — Josef Ganz Archive

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Josef Ganz October 1938

Six days across Switzerland

In October 1938 one of the prototypes completes a six-day test drive all over Switzerland. The report concludes that it went "splendidly". Rapid Motormäher AG, a maker of motor mowers, is contracted to build twenty to forty pre-series cars; licensed production in Poland and France is planned.

Sources

Rapid Swiss Volkswagen — Josef Ganz Archive

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Josef Ganz 1946–1947

The Rapid pre-series

After the war Rapid Motormäher AG in Dietikon near Zurich builds around forty pre-series cars, but a larger series is never realised. Three cars are known to survive: one unrestored at the Louwman Museum in the Netherlands, one restored at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne, and one apparently with a collector in India. Metternich counts 34 cars sold.

Sources

Rapid Swiss Volkswagen — Josef Ganz Archive
Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990, no. 42

Back to Switzerland

Josef Ganz 1939–1945

The war years

With the outbreak of war all plans stop. Ganz is again under threat from the Gestapo and from Swiss officials who try to claim the Swiss Volkswagen project as their own. He narrowly avoids internment in a labour camp for immigrants or being handed over to Germany.

In this chapter

Sources

Back to The war years

Josef Ganz 1941

Ordered to a labour camp

Ganz is ordered to a labour camp for immigrants, which he narrowly avoids. The records of these years in the Swiss archives are being evaluated; the findings will be added here.

Sources

Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990, no. 42, pp. 65, 67
Rapid Swiss Volkswagen — Josef Ganz Archive

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Josef Ganz March 1941

Work ban and the aliens police

In March 1941 the Swiss authorities ban Ganz from working. A dispute with the aliens police (Fremdenpolizei) follows.

Sources

Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990, no. 42, pp. 65, 67

Back to Switzerland

Josef Ganz 1945–1950

Court battles and departure

After the war Ganz goes to court against his Swiss and German adversaries. Accused of being a charlatan, he is defended by Robert Braunschweig, editor of the Automobil Revue. In 1950, worn down by years of litigation, he leaves Switzerland for Paris.

In this chapter

Sources

Biography — Josef Ganz Archive
Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990, no. 42, pp. 65, 67

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Josef Ganz 1948

A letter to Das Auto

In a letter to the German magazine Das Auto, Ganz writes that his Maikäfer and his Ardie car, not the Tatra, were decisive for the development of the Volkswagen, and that Porsche built a rear-engined car for Zündapp in 1930/31 after Ganz had written an exposé for the company. The letter shows what Ganz himself claimed in 1948.

Sources

Josef Ganz: Letter to the editor, Das Auto, 1948, no. 10, p. 20 , 1948
Josef Ganz and Ferdinand Porsche, with the year-by-year timeline — Josef Ganz Archive Timeline, entry 1948.

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Josef Ganz 10 April 1948

Defended by the Automobil Revue

After 1945 Ganz is publicly called a charlatan. On 10 April 1948 Robert Braunschweig, editor of the Automobil Revue, takes his side in print.

Sources

Robert Braunschweig: Automobil Revue, 10 April 1948 (defence of Josef Ganz; cited after Metternich 1990, no. 42) , 1948
Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990, no. 42, pp. 65, 67

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Josef Ganz 1950

Leaving Switzerland

In 1950 Ganz leaves Switzerland and settles in Paris. The sources differ on the circumstances: the biography page of josefganz.org speaks of being forced to leave in October 1950, the German embassy wrote in 1965 that he was employed in the French car industry from 1949, and Metternich is silent on the matter.

Sources

Biography — Josef Ganz Archive
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Australia, note of 18 October 1965, and the Australian replies of 24 November and 1 December 1965 , National Archives of Australia, NAA: A1838, 1535/25/17 (item 3349216), 1965
Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990

Josef Ganz 1950–1951

Paris

Ganz moves to Paris in 1950. He has contacts in France: for the Julien company he had designed the small MM5 and MM7 in 1947–1949. But against the German Volkswagen, now conquering the world, a new small car no longer stands a chance. On 11 August 1951 he boards a ship in Marseille, bound for Australia.

Julien small car, late 1940s — A Julien small car, the French project Ganz worked on in 1947–1949 Image: Josef Ganz Archive · Published on josefganz.org. Reuse only with the archive's permission.

In this chapter

Sources

Biography — Josef Ganz Archive
Julien MM5 and MM7 — Josef Ganz Archive
Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990, no. 42

Back to Paris

Josef Ganz 1947–1949

The Julien MM5 and MM7

For the Société des Études Automobiles M. A. Julien Ganz works on a new small car: the MM5 (1947–1949) and the MM7 (1949).

Sources

Julien MM5 and MM7 — Josef Ganz Archive

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Josef Ganz 1949–1951

In the French car industry

According to the note of the German embassy in Australia of 1965, Ganz was employed in the French automobile industry from 1949 to 1951.

Sources

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Australia, note of 18 October 1965, and the Australian replies of 24 November and 1 December 1965 , National Archives of Australia, NAA: A1838, 1535/25/17 (item 3349216), 1965, p. 6

Back to Paris

Josef Ganz 11 August 1951

Departure from Marseille

After a longer stay in Paris, Ganz embarks at Marseille on 11 August 1951 for Australia.

Sources

Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990, no. 42
Biography — Josef Ganz Archive

Josef Ganz 1951 – 26 July 1967

Australia and Holden

In Australia Ganz works for General Motors-Holden from 1955. In 1958 Volkswagen chief Heinrich Nordhoff names him publicly as the editor who spurred the young engineers; in 1961 Ganz helps Volkswagen in the patent case brought by Tatra. After heart attacks in the early 1960s he lives at Edgewater Towers in St Kilda, Melbourne, where he dies on 26 July 1967.

Josef Ganz with his Holden in Australia, 1960s — Josef Ganz with his GM Holden car in Australia, 1960s Image: Josef Ganz Archive · Published on josefganz.org. Reuse only with the archive's permission.

In this chapter

Sources

Biography — Josef Ganz Archive
Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990, no. 42
Heritage plaque for Josef Ganz in Australia — Josef Ganz Archive, 23 July 2017

Back to Australia and Holden

Josef Ganz 1951

A new continent

In 1951 Ganz leaves the old world behind and arrives in Australia by ocean liner.

Sources

Biography — Josef Ganz Archive

Back to Australia and Holden

Josef Ganz 1 August 1955

At General Motors-Holden

From 1 August 1955 Ganz works for General Motors-Holden with a secure income, and stays until his retirement.

Sources

Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990, no. 42
Biography — Josef Ganz Archive

Back to Australia and Holden

Josef Ganz 13 November 1958 – 1965

Recognition from Wolfsburg

Accepting the Elmer A. Sperry Award for Volkswagen in New York on 13 November 1958, Heinrich Nordhoff names Josef Ganz as the only figure from the car's early history besides Porsche: the editor who spurred young engineers. In 1961 Ganz helps Volkswagen in the patent case brought by Tatra, and articles by Dieter Grossherr recall him. In his last years he receives an honorary stipend from Wolfsburg.

Sources

Heinrich Nordhoff: Acceptance speech, Elmer A. Sperry Award, 13 November 1958 (cited on josefganz.org, Ganz and Porsche) , 1958
Josef Ganz and Ferdinand Porsche, with the year-by-year timeline — Josef Ganz Archive Timeline, entries 1958 and 1961.
Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990, no. 42

Back to Australia and Holden

Josef Ganz c. 1962–1967

Edgewater Towers, St Kilda

After a series of heart attacks in the early 1960s Ganz is almost bedridden. He moves into Edgewater Towers, Melbourne's first privately developed high-rise apartment block, on Marine Parade in St Kilda, and lives there until his death.

Sources

Back to Australia and Holden

Josef Ganz 18 October 1965

The Order of Merit that never came

On 18 October 1965 the embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Canberra argues that Ganz should receive the Order of Merit: as editor of Motor-Kritik he "took a keen interest in the development of a German Volkswagen and, together with other engineers like Professor Porsche, has greatly contributed to realizing this project". On 24 November and 1 December 1965 the Australian authorities refuse, citing their rules on foreign decorations. The file does not show that the award was ever offered to Ganz.

Sources

Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Australia, note of 18 October 1965, and the Australian replies of 24 November and 1 December 1965 , National Archives of Australia, NAA: A1838, 1535/25/17 (item 3349216), 1965, pp. 3–7
Biography — Josef Ganz Archive

Back to Australia and Holden

Josef Ganz 26 July 1967

Death in St Kilda

Josef Ganz dies on 26 July 1967 in St Kilda, Melbourne, largely forgotten. He leaves behind an archive of letters, drawings and documents, the material from which his story could finally be told.

Sources

Heritage plaque for Josef Ganz in Australia — Josef Ganz Archive, 23 July 2017
Did St Kilda man invent the Volkswagen?, The Age, 23 July 2017 , 2017
Biography — Josef Ganz Archive

Josef Ganz 27 July 1967 – today

Forgotten and rediscovered

For decades the name Josef Ganz is missing from the story of the Volkswagen. In 1990 the Automobil Revue prints a two-part series on him. Paul Schilperoord's research leads to the biography, published in Dutch in 2009 and in English and German in 2011; a heritage plaque in St Kilda follows in 2017, a documentary in 2019, and museums put his cars on show.

Portrait of Josef Ganz, 1960s — Image: Josef Ganz Archive · Published on josefganz.org. Reuse only with the archive's permission.

In this chapter

Sources

Books — Josef Ganz Archive
Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990
About the Josef Ganz Archive

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Josef Ganz 4 October 1990 – 11 October 1990

Automobil Revue 1990: VW influence acknowledged

In October 1990 the Swiss Automobil Revue publishes a two-part series on Josef Ganz by Metternich. One section is headed "VW influence acknowledged"; a caption says that a good part of Ganz's thinking went into the famous Volkswagen. The author also prints the criticism: the defects of the Rapid, and that Ganz "not seldom stood in his own way".

Sources

Metternich: Josef Ganz, two-part series in Automobil Revue no. 41 (4 October 1990, pp. 69, 71) and no. 42 (11 October 1990, pp. 65, 67) , 1990

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Josef Ganz 2004–today

Paul Schilperoord's research and the biography

In 2004 the Dutch journalist Paul Schilperoord begins researching Ganz's life and work from the archive he left behind. His biography appears in Dutch in 2009 (revised edition 2014), in English and German in 2011, and later in Portuguese. The research continues to this day.

Sources

About the Josef Ganz Archive
Books — Josef Ganz Archive
Paul Schilperoord: The Extraordinary Life of Josef Ganz. The Jewish Engineer Behind Hitler's Volkswagen , RVP Publishers, New York, 2011
Paul Schilperoord: Die wahre Geschichte des VW-Käfers. Wie die Nazis Josef Ganz die VW-Patente stahlen , Verlag Huber, Frauenfeld (an imprint of Orell Füssli, Zürich), 2011

About us: Paul Schilperoord

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Josef Ganz 2005–today

The family joins in

In 2005 a Tages-Anzeiger article on Schilperoord's research reaches the Ganz family. Lorenz Schmid, a descendant of Ganz's uncle Alfred, travels with his father to The Hague to meet Paul. From then on the two work together on the archive, the website and the events, to this day.

Sources

About us: Lorenz Schmid

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Josef Ganz 2009

The first book, and the Maikäfer at Zandvoort

In 2009 the first book about Josef Ganz is published in the Netherlands. At the launch, Paul Schilperoord and Lorenz Schmid drive the original 1931 Maikäfer prototype on the Zandvoort racing circuit.

Paul Schilperoord and Lorenz Schmid in the 1931 Maikäfer prototype at Zandvoort, 2009 — Paul Schilperoord at the wheel and Lorenz Schmid in the 1931 Maikäfer, Zandvoort, 2009. Image: Josef Ganz Archive

Sources

About the Josef Ganz Archive

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Josef Ganz 1 June 2014

The Maikäfer unveiled at the Louwman Museum

On 1 June 2014 Paul Schilperoord presents the updated Dutch edition of his book at the Louwman Museum in The Hague. The museum unveils the original 1931 Maikäfer prototype to the public, during a show of pre-1967 Beetles.

Presentation at the Louwman Museum, The Hague, 2014 — Image: Josef Ganz Archive

Sources

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Josef Ganz 8 January 2015 – 11 January 2015

James May: a car that changed the world

At the London Classic Car Show 2015, Top Gear presenter James May shows the original 1933 Standard Superior rolling chassis in his exhibition "Cars That Changed The World", one of only thirteen cars. May calls Ganz the respected Jewish engineer who came up with the basic layout and philosophy of the Beetle.

James May with the 1933 Standard Superior chassis, London Classic Car Show 2015 — Image: Josef Ganz Archive

Sources

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Josef Ganz April 2016

"Nudnik. Forgetting Josef Ganz" in Wolfsburg

In the exhibition "Wolfsburg Unlimited. A City as World Laboratory" at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, the artwork "Nudnik. Forgetting Josef Ganz" brings the forgotten engineer back to the city of the Volkswagen.

The installation Nudnik. Forgetting Josef Ganz at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, 2016 — Image: Josef Ganz Archive

Sources

'Nudnik. Forgetting Josef Ganz' at Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg — Josef Ganz Archive, 17 April 2016

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Josef Ganz April 2017 – 28 April 2019

The Standard Superior Type 1 is restored

A crowdfunding campaign launched in 2017 finances the restoration of a 1933 Standard Superior Type 1. By September 2018 the car is 95 percent complete and is filmed for the documentary; on 28 April 2019 it is presented to the public at the film premiere in the Louwman Museum.

The Standard Superior Type 1 during restoration, 2018 — Image: Josef Ganz Archive

Sources

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Josef Ganz 26 July 2017

A heritage plaque in St Kilda

For the 50th anniversary of his death, the City of Port Phillip honours Ganz with a heritage plaque at Edgewater Towers, naming him among the notable residents of the building.

The heritage plaque at Edgewater Towers naming Josef Ganz — The City of Port Phillip plaque at Edgewater Towers, St Kilda, 2017. Image: Josef Ganz Archive

Sources

Heritage plaque for Josef Ganz in Australia — Josef Ganz Archive, 23 July 2017
Did St Kilda man invent the Volkswagen?, The Age, 23 July 2017 , 2017

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Josef Ganz February 2018

Honoured at the Louwman Museum

In February 2018 the Louwman Museum in The Hague, which owns an unrestored Rapid Swiss Volkswagen, honours Josef Ganz.

Sources

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Josef Ganz June 2018

"Josef Ganz im Silberfisch": art at his first Swiss address

For the exhibition "Neuer Norden Zürich" the artist Rémy Markowitsch places "Josef Ganz im Silberfisch", based on a photograph from the archive, outside In der Hub 16 in Schwamendingen: Ganz's first address after moving to Switzerland in 1935. The house was destroyed in 1944 by accidental Allied bombing.

Josef Ganz im Silberfisch by Rémy Markowitsch, Zurich-Schwamendingen, 2018 — Image: Josef Ganz Archive

Sources

Neuer Norden Zürich: 'Josef Ganz im Silberfisch' — Josef Ganz Archive, 11 June 2018

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Josef Ganz April 2019

The documentary: Ganz, How I Lost My Beetle

In April 2019 the Dutch documentary "Ganz: How I Lost My Beetle" is released. The film team had followed Paul Schilperoord's research, including the plaque ceremony in St Kilda.

Sources

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Josef Ganz 2020–today

The archive today

The Josef Ganz Archive at josefganz.org collects the documents, the cars and the research. New finds from Swiss archives are being evaluated and will be added to this timeline as entries with their sources.

Sources

About the Josef Ganz Archive

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Josef Ganz 5 June 2020 – 12 September 2020

At the Swiss Museum of Transport, and on SRF 10vor10

From June 2020 the 1933 Standard Superior Type 2 is on show at the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. On 10 September Swiss television's news magazine 10vor10 presents Josef Ganz as the unknown inventor of the Beetle, and two days later the documentary is screened at the museum, with the 1931 Maikäfer on stage.

The 1931 Maikäfer on stage at the Swiss Museum of Transport, 12 September 2020 — The 1931 Maikäfer on stage at the Swiss Museum of Transport, Lucerne, 12 September 2020. Image: Josef Ganz Archive

Sources

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Josef Ganz 12 August 2020

On the radio: WDR 5 tells the story

On 12 August 2020 the German station WDR 5 broadcasts "Die andere Wahrheit: Josef Ganz und der VW-Käfer" in its programme WDR 5 Profit, with Lorenz Schmid of the Josef Ganz Archive.

Sources

Die andere Wahrheit: Josef Ganz und der VW-Käfer — WDR 5 Profit, 12 August 2020 , Westdeutscher Rundfunk, 2020
Josef Ganz on the radio — Josef Ganz Archive, 24 May 2021

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Josef Ganz 17 June 2021

ArtOrt 021: film and dance in Heidelberg

From 17 June 2021 the UnterwegsTheater Heidelberg shows the documentary together with a dance performance in its series ArtOrt 021.

ArtOrt 021 at the UnterwegsTheater Heidelberg, 2021 — Image: Günter Krämmer / Josef Ganz Archive

Sources

Josef Ganz in Heidelberg: ArtOrt 021 — Josef Ganz Archive, 24 May 2021

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Josef Ganz May 2022

Ode to Josef Ganz: concert at the Casino Bern

In May 2022 the blues singer Philipp Fankhauser, the composer Sebastian Schwab and the conductor Wayne Marshall perform the "Ode to Josef Ganz" with the Bern Symphony Orchestra at the Casino Bern: a world premiere dedicated to the forgotten engineer.

Philipp Fankhauser and the Bern Symphony Orchestra at the Casino Bern, May 2022 — Ode to Josef Ganz: Philipp Fankhauser with the Bern Symphony Orchestra, Casino Bern, May 2022. Image: Josef Ganz Archive

Sources

Concert in honor of Josef Ganz at the Casino Bern, May 2022 — Josef Ganz Archive, 7 January 2023

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Josef Ganz 29 May 2024

Arte tells the story

On 29 May 2024 Arte France broadcasts a report on Josef Ganz and Lucerne in its daily arts series "Stadt Land Kunst" / "Invitation au voyage".

Sources

Josef Ganz on Arte — Josef Ganz Archive, 4 June 2024

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Josef Ganz April 2025

The film returns to the cinema: REX Bern

In April 2025 the Bern cinema REX screens "Ganz: How I Lost My Beetle" again, six years after its premiere.

Poster of the REX Bern screening of Ganz, How I Lost My Beetle, April 2025 — Image: REX Bern / Josef Ganz Archive

Sources

RexBern screens Ganz: How I Lost My Beetle — Josef Ganz Archive, 20 April 2025

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Josef Ganz 19 November 2025

Podcast: Note The Past

On 19 November 2025 Paul Schilperoord is the guest of Chris Abramson's podcast Note The Past, from the early people's car to Ganz's later contact with Heinrich Nordhoff.

Sources

Podcast Note The Past about Josef Ganz — Josef Ganz Archive, 23 November 2025

Contemporary history 1921

The Rumpler Tropfenwagen

Edmund Rumpler shows his streamlined "teardrop car" at the Berlin motor show: mid-mounted engine, swing axles, a drag coefficient that astonishes. The car inspires Ganz's first design of 1923.

Sources

Contemporary history 1923

Hyperinflation in Germany

In 1923 the German mark collapses; by November a US dollar costs more than four trillion marks. A car is out of reach for almost everyone, which is exactly the problem the young Ganz wants to solve.

Sources

Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic (Wikipedia)

Contemporary history June 1923

The Tatra 11 goes into production

Hans Ledwinka's Tatra 11 goes into production in Czechoslovakia with a backbone tube chassis and swing axles, the layout Ganz will champion in Motor-Kritik. Tatra later sues Volkswagen over its patents; in 1961 Ganz helps Volkswagen in that case.

Sources

Josef Ganz and Ferdinand Porsche, with the year-by-year timeline — Josef Ganz Archive Timeline, context 1923 and entry 1961.
Tatra 11 (Wikipedia)

Contemporary history October 1929

The crash of 1929

The Wall Street crash of October 1929 sets off the world economic crisis. In Germany unemployment soars and car sales collapse; cheap, light cars become the question of the day.

Sources

Wall Street crash of 1929 (Wikipedia)

Contemporary history 30 January 1933

Hitler becomes chancellor

On 30 January 1933 Adolf Hitler is appointed chancellor of Germany. Two weeks later he opens the Berlin motor show and calls for motorisation on the broadest level. For Ganz, a Jewish engineer and critic of the industry, the ground shifts within months.

Sources

Adolf Hitler's rise to power (Wikipedia)
Josef Ganz and Ferdinand Porsche, with the year-by-year timeline — Josef Ganz Archive Timeline, context 1933.

Contemporary history June 1934

Porsche is commissioned to design the Volkswagen

In January 1934 Ferdinand Porsche submits his "Exposé concerning the construction of a German Volkswagen"; in March he meets Hitler at the Hotel Kaiserhof. In June 1934 the Reich association of the automotive industry commissions him to design a Volkswagen for 1,000 Reichsmark, the car Ganz had campaigned for since 1928.

Sources

Josef Ganz and Ferdinand Porsche, with the year-by-year timeline — Josef Ganz Archive Timeline, entries 1934.
Biography — Josef Ganz Archive

Josef Ganz and Ferdinand Porsche

Contemporary history 15 September 1935

The Nuremberg Laws

On 15 September 1935 the Nuremberg Laws strip German Jews of their citizenship rights. Ganz, by then in Switzerland, loses his German citizenship in 1938.

Sources

Nuremberg Laws (Wikipedia)
Bettina Maria Brosowsky: Article on Josef Ganz, taz, 22 July 2016 , 2016 Citizenship withdrawn in 1938.

Contemporary history 12 March 1938

Austria is annexed

On 12 March 1938 German troops march into Austria; the country where Ganz grew up and studied becomes part of the Reich. The same year Ganz loses his German citizenship and is stateless.

Sources

Anschluss (Wikipedia)
Josef Ganz and Béla Barényi — Josef Ganz Archive Stateless after 1938.

Contemporary history 26 May 1938

The KdF-Wagen and its factory

On 26 May 1938 the foundation stone of the Volkswagen factory is laid near Fallersleben. Hitler names the car "KdF-Wagen"; saving stamps are sold to hundreds of thousands of Germans, none of whom will receive a car before the war.

Sources

Volkswagen Beetle (Wikipedia)
Josef Ganz and Ferdinand Porsche, with the year-by-year timeline — Josef Ganz Archive Timeline, context 1938.

Contemporary history 1 September 1939 – 8 May 1945

The Second World War

From September 1939 to May 1945 Europe is at war. Switzerland stays neutral but mobilises; refugees are tolerated, interned or turned away. The Volkswagen factory builds military vehicles instead of people's cars.

Sources

Contemporary history December 1945

Beetle production begins

Under British control, series production of the Volkswagen Beetle begins in Wolfsburg at the end of 1945. In 1948 Heinrich Nordhoff takes over the factory; the millionth Beetle leaves the line on 5 August 1955.

Sources

Josef Ganz and Ferdinand Porsche, with the year-by-year timeline — Josef Ganz Archive Timeline, context 1945.
Volkswagen Beetle (Wikipedia)

Contemporary history 30 January 1951

Ferdinand Porsche dies

Ferdinand Porsche dies in Stuttgart on 30 January 1951. Two books credit him alone with the whole Volkswagen concept; Béla Barényi sues their authors.

Sources

Josef Ganz and Ferdinand Porsche, with the year-by-year timeline — Josef Ganz Archive Timeline, entry and context 1951.
Ferdinand Porsche (Wikipedia)

Contemporary history 1967

Adolf Rosenberger dies

Adolf Rosenberger, the Jewish co-founder of the Porsche design office who had test-driven the Maikäfer in 1931, dies in Los Angeles in the same year as Ganz. He had been forced out of the company in 1935 and emigrated to the United States in 1938.

Sources

Josef Ganz and Ferdinand Porsche, with the year-by-year timeline — Josef Ganz Archive Timeline, context 1935 and 1967.

Josef Ganz

The story continues in the book

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