An 86-year-old graphic designer who says he was commissioned by
the Nazis to design the famous VW logo for Volkswagen is suing the
car company for failing to recognise his work, although he does not
want money, according to reports.
Nikolai Borg says the German company is too embarrassed by its
Nazi past to acknowledge its debt. He claims he was commissioned to
design the logo on the eve of the Second World War, a claim that
Volkswagen denies, arguing that the designer is unknown but that
the logo was submitted to the Third Reich's patent office for
copyright protection one year earlier, in 1938.
The original design featured the letter V above a W and
surrounded by a cog. After the war, Britain had the cog changed to
a circle and submitted that design for copyright protection in
1948. The Volkswagen or "people's car" project was part of the Nazi
Kraft durch Freude propaganda scheme run by the Deutsche
Arbeitsfront (DAF). The logo of the DAF was a swastika surrounded
by a cog – from which the VW logo appears to be derived.
The Austrian Press Agency reports that Borg is not seeking
money, but wants Volkswagen to make a joint press statement with
him acknowledging that he was the author of the design. His lawyer,
Meinhard Ciresa, said: "His heart’s desire is to have the
historical truth established. That is why we have not sued for a
single Euro."
