Beetle or ape story sandwich?

What is the chance that the wife of 'Reich Commissioner' Seys Inquart has been driving somewhere between 1940-1945 in a Beetle from 1948?

Beetle or monkey sandwich?

When Eef Peeters, owner of the Arnhem War Museum 40-45 in Zeeland ran into the car of - according to say and various papers - the wife of the former Reich Commissioner Arthur Seyss Inquart, he thought he had found gold for his museum. It turned silver. Or bronze. Or according to some critical minds, the bad buy of the century.

After some research, De Kever is not one of them between 40-45, but in all probability it dates from largely 1948-1950. But details such as the 'war lamp' on the front screen, the KDF hubcaps and the steel footboard for the passenger, the all-terrain tires make the VW look 'real'. The trunk on the roof also seems original. According to the documentation, the car was owned by Gertrud Seyss Inquart. Anyway: the 'militarized' spectacle beetle must have had an adventurous life.

It looks exactly like a highly rare Type 82E 4WD or a T 87 Command Car. These were usually 4WD vehicles that were built on the chassis of 'Kübelwagen' in the period that Frau Seyss Inquart should have driven this car. The Typ 82 E was a Keverkoets on the off-road chassis of the VW Typ 82, the 'Kübelwagen'. Only the Typ 82 E did not have an 4WD. The Type 87 had 4WD. That T 82  The models and T 87s are now untraceable or unaffordable. Oh yes: there have also been some T92s.

To begin

The Arnhem War Museum 1940-1945 has the same endearingly impressive appearance as many small war museums in Belgium, France and England. Eef Peeters made his dream come true in an organically grown former school building. And that his museum does not have the top-tech appearance with interactive images and sound effects such as its Highly Serious Dutch counterparts? You can also see that as a plus.

An authentic historical find at the bakery in Burg Haamstede in Zeeland.

The Netherlands is teeming with hidden treasures. The car would have ended up in Zeeland through all kinds of wanderings and the owners would have had no knowledge of or interest or time for old cars. The idea was to use 'the trolley' as an attention grabber for the store. Just until it would have rusted away. An extra exciting detail: German tourists are said to have thrown all kinds of war ghosts into the car over the years. Boots. Documentation. Militaria… But whether he has roots in the time when the phenomenon was not even called 'Volkswagen', but KdF (Kraft durch Freude, the Nazi political movement that was supposed to structure leisure time in Nazi Germany)?

But museum owner Eef Peeters was told exactly what he wanted at the VW.

There were even 'war number plates' with swept crosses in the car. How really do you want it? The baker from Zeeland seemed honest. He told the story as he knew it. Upon hearing the preliminary facts behind the find, he immediately announced that he wanted to cancel the purchase. Eef Peeters did not respond to that neat offer. The car was, after all, roughly owned by Gertrud Seyss Inquart and De Brilkever brought quite a few extra visitors to the track of the 40-45 museum. Because 'de Vondst' buzzed nationwide through the media. The regional newspaper De Gelderlander first gave the news cheering and broadcasting.

And later said goodbye to the story with another article and an acidic editorial. The story was undermined. In England they would smile with the tongue in the cheek: "Never spoil a good story by telling the truth." But that museum owner had received more publicity than he could have paid in advertising space in his entire life. Up to the Telegraaf. So his purchase was a top purchase.

Good enough so ...

Museum owner Peeters finds his find interesting enough to be reborn in a military outfit that is as complete as possible. And that he is not factory original? Well, plenty of IMZ and KMZ M72s are also driving around, reborn as BMW R71. And in a museum setting, the presentation and appearance of the exhibited items is also important.

That rebirth, by the way, is not an easy birth. To say that the would be Kommandeurs Wagen has 'patina' is about the same as cautiously mumbling that various neighborhoods in Allepo are structurally in a lesser state. Below the line the beetle is a spectacle beetle. So within realistic limits it is worth the effort to put it back in order. And if he is there in a museum as a tribute to one of the greatest small exotics from WWII? Well, that is actually a very nice gesture.

The story as it was told.

"We have always suspected that it was from Seyss-Inquart, the Reich Commissioner for the Nazis in the occupied Netherlands." Thus former owners of this Beetle spoke. Museum owner and current beetle owner Peeters has sorted it out on the basis of various license plates and number plates. The Brilkever is said to have been registered in 1939 in Hanover. "After the German surrender, the beetle was parked in the garage of a villa in The Hague," said former owner Sonnemans. “Those people were pro-German. Such cars were taboo. If possible, they were set on fire. "

"The beetle was later sold to a blacksmith on Tholen, who refurbished it and used it as a delivery van." Through a private person in Serooskerke the car ended up at the end of the 60 at the brothers Harry and Mathieu Sonnemans. He apparently stood there for years as a spotlight for the store.

But the previous owners were, according to their own words, never so handy on the computer and, moreover, they were far too busy baking sweet pastries… During Peeters' further search, there were more obstacles. "You also have to call the factory in Wolfsburg and there they are really not waiting for questions about their war past." And now he is in Arnhem.

A visit to the 40-45 museum is highly recommended anyway. It is not too large-scale (due to lack of space) friendly and well-arranged. And there are nice motorized military vehicles from both warring parties. And now say for yourself: an NSU Kettenkrad? Is that a rare thing or not?

A cautious conclusion

To our information, there are only 667 type 92 and 699 Commander cars built between October 1942 to 1944. The chance that one of them has lived for years in the air-cooled VW club and then perhaps even longer among the German tourists in Zeeland seems about as great as the chance that Paul de Leeuw has a wildly passionate relationship with Queen Maxima. But if, after further investigation, the museum owner Peeters finds all the critics clues that his find is not a 'constructed car' but an 'Ecchie', he can invest marble floors on his museum and drink champagne all day long. In the meantime, a visit to his museum is definitely recommended.