The early development of the "Peoples Car" took root in two forms: first, with Dr. Ferdinand Porsche's quest to build a small car, and second, with Adolf Hitler's desire to emulate the very successful US car builder, Henry Ford. Essentially, Hitler hoped to build a propaganda machine that would draw support from the middle and working classes into his National Socialist Party and take advantage of the new Autobahn being constructed all across Germany. While the Volkswagen was primarily an offshoot of Adolf Hitler's socialist thinking, it was the inimitable Porsche who brought the vehicle's design and manufacture from concept to fruition.

This particular 1:43 scale German Volkswagen Type 87 convertible comes with the German Chancellor and his dog, Blondi. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 3-inches
Width: 1-1/2-inches

Release Date: August 2013

Historical Account: "Germanischer Urhund" - Blondi (1941 - April 29th, 1945) was the Chancellor's German Shepherd dog, given to him as a gift in 1941 by Martin Bormann. Blondi stayed with Hitler even after his move into the Fuhrerbunker located underneath the garden of the Reich Chancellery on January 16th, 1945.

The Chancellor was reportedly very fond of Blondi, keeping her by his side and allowing her to sleep in his bedroom in the bunker. This affection was not shared by Eva Braun, Hitler's companion (and later his wife), who preferred her two Scottish Terrier dogs named Negus and Stasi (or Katuschka). According to Hitler's secretary (Traudl Junge), Eva hated Blondi and was known to kick her under the dining table.

Blondi played a role in Nazi propaganda by portraying Hitler as an animal lover. Dogs like Blondi were coveted as "germanischer Urhund", being close to the wolf, and became very fashionable during the Third Reich.

Of course, his loyalty to his dog had limitations when all was crumbling around him. On April 29th, 1945, inside the Fuhrerbunker beneath the Reich Chancellory in Berlin, Germany's Chancellor was contemplating suicide as a means of evading capture by the advancing Red Army. That afternoon, Germany's Chancellor expressed doubts about the cyanide capsules he had received through Himmler's SS. To verify the capsules' potency, Germany's Chancellor ordered Dr. Werner Haase to test one on his dog, Blondi, and the animal died as a result.