‘Fuhrerschein’

When 43-year-old Adolf Hitler and the “Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei” (NSDAP – Nazi Party) came to power in 1933, Germany was on the cusp of the greatest depression known in modern times. Six million Germans (25% of the available workforce) were unemployed, and thousands died from diseases caused by malnutrition, or from outright starvation. The country had been stripped of much of its manufacturing concerns due to the vengeful Treaty of Versailles, further decreasing the economic recovery that would only come much later.

During these trying times, most German people thought more about basic necessities than luxury and convenience, such as automobiles. These were seen then as “play things” of the rich more so than those of the common man who tried to daily eke out a living for himself and his family. All this began to change with the coming of the young revolutionary, Hitler, and his promise of a brighter social and economic future.

In 1929, just prior to the Great Depression, 1 in 5 Americans owned an automobile compared to only 1 in 134 German citizens. Those living in rural Germany generally still depended on horse-drawn wagons to transport riders and goods along primitive roadways. The “Wehrmacht” (Germany armed services), though boasting of the best trained soldiers, regardless of their limited and treaty-controlled resources, used actual horsepower to move men and equipment across installations and practice battlefields. With their “new revolution”, the NSDAP planned to change this by increasing the production of motorized vehicles and adding greatly to the number of drivers and owners among the “national community”. These steps were taken to give the public appearance of social and economic victories by the Nazi Party, while covertly developing the driving skills of future soldiers who would operate military vehicles needed in Hitler’s plans of European conquest.

At the encouragement of the new regime, manufacturers such as Horch, DKW, Wanderer, Audi, Opel, Mercedes, Ford and many others increased automotive production as the economy slowly improved, and consumer needs became greater. To promote driving, the Hitler government in June, 1933, announced the massive building program of 4,000 additional miles of autobahn highway to cross the German countryside. New drivers were required to obtain a “Fuhrerschein” (driver’s license) as roadways became more congested with the growing number of motorists and their vehicles.

Civilian drivers’ licenses were divided into four classes, each of which authorized vehicle operative limits ranging from small-engine motorcycles to large multi-axle trucks. Both written and physical on-the-road examinations were given to candidates which tested their driving skills, knowledge of the roadway laws, street signs, arm-signal turns, parking procedures and other functions necessary for safe and orderly travel. Failures to adhere to the driving rules, such as those concerning erratic driving or causing an accident could be met with severe penalties and license revocation.

When the NSDAP had come to power in 1933, speed limits, even in crowed urban areas, were initially abolished. In the following 6 years until 1939, more than 8,000 people were killed and 40,000 injured on German roadways, making Germany the most hazardous country in all of Europe in which to drive. Soon after, Hitler had speed limits imposed in many areas to save lives (and public embarrassment) for his utopian state. In keeping with the Nazi ideals, Jewish people, as “non-Aryans” and therefore “non-citizens”, who lived in the Reich had their drivers’ licenses revoked following the publication of the Nuremburg laws in 1938.

After passing the appropriate tests, civilian driver licenses were issued or updated at a designated police station. The permits consisted of 4 x 6-inch, two-page folded gray oilcloth documents containing the owner’s stapled or glued photo and personal information such as name, birthdate, address, class of vehicle operation permitted and authorized police precinct stamp. These were to be carried by the recipients during all times of vehicle operation. Young people who had not been able to even dream of driving a motor vehicle found an open avenue by enrolling in the “Nationalsozialistishes Kraftfahrkorps” (NSKK). To join the NSKK, civilian licenses were not mandatory, and driving skills were taught to members for the use of motorcycles, automobiles and trucks, often used to transport other political groups around.

Wehrmacht Fuhrerschein permits for military members could be obtained after a soldier had been trained to drive certain military vehicles and passed a thorough examination. Military licenses were divided into three classes: “Klasse” 1 for motorcycles, 2 for trucks, and 3 for automobiles. Gray oilcloth was used for these permits, which contained photos of the drivers early in the war. Photos were dropped later due to logistics, supplies and expediency. Information recorded on the front and two interior pages included the owner’s name, unit, birth date, date of issue, issue number, license class and company authorization stampings.

By the spring of 1945, driver’s licenses were unnecessarily carried by many civilians who could no longer operate vehicles due to wartime restrictions, damages and shortages. At the same time, military personnel were not typically questioned about their authorization to drive during the pitched battles and last retreats of Hitler’s war machine. When the conflict finally ceased, and the NSDAP regime was stopped dead in its tracts, many licenses were quickly de-Nazified (by blotting over or otherwise removing swastikas). They then found new purposes as identification papers along with other past documents of the failed Third Reich.