“The great gift for the last decade of this century”

328 days after the fall of the Wall, the turnaround was complete. On October 3, 1990, the GDR joined the “Scope of Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany according to Article 23 of the Basic Law”. This had been decided a few weeks earlier by the Volkskammer (East German parliament) in East Berlin. The way was clear for the reunification of Germany; it became effective on October 3, 1990. A memorable Wednesday 30 years ago, which is still a public holiday today. Volkswagen’s employee newspaper “Autogramm” appeared at the time on October 2, 1990, i.e. immediately before the day of German unity, and four weeks later on November 2, 1990. At the time, the editor-in-chief attached importance to “working out the realities of the company’s events in a journalistic manner”. The editorial team therefore took up what “is specific to VW, which is associated with the date October 3, 1990”.

The most important location for the coverage was Mosel. It was there, ten kilometers north of Zwickau, that Volkswagen began its involvement in the Trabant factory of VEB Sachsenring Automobilwerke after the fall of the Wall. The Polo was to roll off the production line at the “Trabi” factory. This meant a major transformation for the plant in Saxony and its employees.

In early September 1990, “Autogramm” also reported that Volkswagen had founded a “GDR sales company”. 11,500 models belonging to the Group were ordered in the former GDR in the first half of 1990, and around 20,000 Volkswagen and Audi models were expected for the second half.

On the day before the Day of German Unity the 10th edition of “Autogramm” of that year was published. On the front page: “Laying of the foundation stone for a new VW plant in Mosel/Zwickau”, which was completed on September 26, 1990 with Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl and the then Chairman of the Board of Management Carl H. Hahn. The inside section contained the article “Mosel is really taking off”, which provided all the facts and figures on this billion-euro investment project. The goal: By 1994, 6,800 employees are to produce 1,200 Golf models per day in two or three shifts at the new plant.

30 days after the Day of German Unity, the November issue of “Autogramm” was published. Noteworthy: In the “Autogramm” logo at the top left of the front page, there is a – hard to be overlooked – stamp indicating the “Focus: German Unity”.

In addition, the staff newspaper also noted the start of Polo series production: “The Polo is starting in Mosel”. Initially, the Trabi and Polo went bumper to bumper along the assembly lines – in double assembly. The first Volkswagen was an Alpine White Polo with 40 kW (55 PS). It was the first of exactly 17,978 Polos that were produced in Mosel.

Shortly after the day of German unification, Carl H. Hahn gave a speech at a conference in Berlin. “Autograph” quoted at length. The then Volkswagen boss noted that German unity was now complete: it was now time to “look beyond our new own borders and not just speculate about the price of unity”. He placed the turnaround in a historical context: “For every European, the challenge that has grown overnight is the great gift and the great task for the last decade of this century.”

“A secure perspective”

In the November issue, the “Autogramm” editorial team had put five special pages on German reunification and on Volkswagen in Saxony into print – with many original notes from both board members and employees. More than half a dozen employees from Zwickau asked themselves the question “What do you expect from the reunification – personally and professionally?”

The theme running through the employees’ statements were the expectations of a good future and secure jobs at Volkswagen. One example is Hans Joachim Lüdtke, a 41-year-old master craftsman in final assembly: “We actually hope that everyone who works here has secure prospects.”

These hopes have become reality. 30 years on: Zwickau now plays a key role in e-mobility within the Group. Volkswagen has invested more than one billion euros and converted the plant to produce e-cars. In 2021, around 300,000 e-cars are to roll off the production line here based on the Modular Electrification Toolkit (MEB) – the ID.3 and ID.4 are already in series production.