It seems like I've barely got my footing in London before I'm
flying off again, but this time it's to Germany. As Jews, many people have
different views on whether we should be going there, some people still feel
uncomfortable entering a country where they were persecuted less than 70 years
ago. My family recently bought a Volkswagen Golf. As Volkswagen was one of the
German companies that used Jewish forced labour under the Nazi regime, we had
never considered buying a car from them. But we researched their actions after
the war, and it turns out that Volkswagen has given compensation to individuals affected, and they also have a really great historical department, which aims
to make a permanent memorial to what occurred there. After getting in contact
with the department, they invited us to come to Wolfsburg in order to see their work and what they are trying to accomplish. Wolfsburg is where the Volkswagen headquarters is situated and it is one of the biggest and most impressive car
plants in the world. We arrived on Monday and were instantly
amazed. The city of Wolfsburg seems to rotate around the giant factory. It is
almost hard to get my head around the size of it (which is 6.57 square
kilometers). There are over 50,000 Volkswagen employees in Wolfsburg. Every
day, around 3,800 vehicles are produced. Our visit began with a tour from the very
lowest floors of the factory, where the bomb shelters still stand from WW2.
Inside was a large memorial dedicated to the forced and slaved laborers Volkswagen appropriated and used to produce their vehicles efficiently. We were
shown around by historian Dr Manfred Greiger and we so appreciated the upfront
way he and his company spoke about the atrocities committed. After seeing the
effort Volkswagen's historical department has put in to remembrance and
acceptance of their history, it was really nice for us to be able to see and
admire the modern factory in all its glory. 
I am always interested in finding new forms of art, and new possible professions in that field, and I really found that there in the Volkswagen factory. The factory is so big that we needed to see a video first, to hint at the departments we would not have a chance to see. These included the design and tool making stations, the huge paint factory and even a Volkswagen garden which dots plants around the factory. Next, the tour took us right from the separate car parts, to the assembling points, to the 'marriage' of car and engine, and to the final model. It is done using both manual workers and incredibly high-tech robots too, but all of it appears seamless. This really is a work of art that produces thousands of masterpieces every day.
I was pleased that I was able to see more of the design process when we were taken to the Wolfsburg Autostadt- the City of Cars. The mega 250,000 square metre complex is a Volkswagen theme park. Unfortunately, we only had an afternoon to spend there, but we were told that most people take around 3 days just to see everything on offer. Everything was amazing, but as an artist, I was inspired by the section devoted to design. In pride of place was a huge clay model of a car. The car designers have to make these to ensure all of their proportions are correct. I also learnt about the digital side of things where workers have to create cars in 3D years before production even starts. All of this was incredible to see, and were things that I could definitely see myself doing.
Other highlights included seeing the huge glass towers where the finished cars wait to be taken to their owners. No people can enter the dozens of floors of cars, so the towers are controlled by clever robots.
An entire building is devoted to historical cars, which look like they have just come off the production line. In contrast to this is the showroom given over to just one silver plated Bugatti Veyron.
After all this, I really have to admit this short visit has given me a big education. Seeing a major company like this giving such dedication to acknowledging and remembering its past is so important. It really demonstrates how the history can be used to make the future even better, and enjoyable for families like mine which would not have been able to appreciate this before. Additionally, I have seen another side in art and design which I am now very interested in. What a trip!Stay tuned for more from me
I am always interested in finding new forms of art, and new possible professions in that field, and I really found that there in the Volkswagen factory. The factory is so big that we needed to see a video first, to hint at the departments we would not have a chance to see. These included the design and tool making stations, the huge paint factory and even a Volkswagen garden which dots plants around the factory. Next, the tour took us right from the separate car parts, to the assembling points, to the 'marriage' of car and engine, and to the final model. It is done using both manual workers and incredibly high-tech robots too, but all of it appears seamless. This really is a work of art that produces thousands of masterpieces every day.
I was pleased that I was able to see more of the design process when we were taken to the Wolfsburg Autostadt- the City of Cars. The mega 250,000 square metre complex is a Volkswagen theme park. Unfortunately, we only had an afternoon to spend there, but we were told that most people take around 3 days just to see everything on offer. Everything was amazing, but as an artist, I was inspired by the section devoted to design. In pride of place was a huge clay model of a car. The car designers have to make these to ensure all of their proportions are correct. I also learnt about the digital side of things where workers have to create cars in 3D years before production even starts. All of this was incredible to see, and were things that I could definitely see myself doing.
Other highlights included seeing the huge glass towers where the finished cars wait to be taken to their owners. No people can enter the dozens of floors of cars, so the towers are controlled by clever robots.
An entire building is devoted to historical cars, which look like they have just come off the production line. In contrast to this is the showroom given over to just one silver plated Bugatti Veyron.
After all this, I really have to admit this short visit has given me a big education. Seeing a major company like this giving such dedication to acknowledging and remembering its past is so important. It really demonstrates how the history can be used to make the future even better, and enjoyable for families like mine which would not have been able to appreciate this before. Additionally, I have seen another side in art and design which I am now very interested in. What a trip!Stay tuned for more from me
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