Münch time
Out of all the bosses of Volkswagen, one name stands above all others – that of Heinz Heinrich Nordhoff. He led the company from 1948 until his death in 1968, and saw VW expand from basically a ruined factory churning out a single model to a German powerhouse sending its millions of vehicles across the globe.
Nordhoff is generally acknowledged as Volkswagen’s first chief. Except that’s not really true. He wasn’t even its first post-war boss. Two people filled that role before him, one of whom was removed because of his Nazi past while the other found himself unceremoniously ousted after Norhoff’s arrival. The latter was Dr Hermann Münch and his tenure at the top lasted a very brief one and a half years. Nevertheless, he helped put the nascent organisation on a firm footing that Nordhoff could build on, and also oversaw some significant milestones.
Ruined legacy
“He was a
