# How Many Top Nazis Cars Survived WWII? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 20, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-top-nazis-cars-survived-wwii/419811 "2007-09-20T00:18:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-top-nazis-cars-survived-wwii/419811/1 "2007-09-20T00:18:08Z")
My question is prompted by the fact that museums seem to have quite a number of vehicles that belonged to high-ranking Nazis. For example, the Larz Anderson Museum (Brookline, MA) has a M-B limousine once owned by Hitler. There are several vehicles (specially modified) that belonged to Herman Goering (Head of the Lufwaffe) in museums in the USA. I wonder how these vehicles escaped destruction-post war germany was a mess! Or did these vehicles get sold to collectors right away? Did somebody in 1945 figure he could make a fortune by reselling Hitler’s car? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-top-nazis-cars-survived-wwii/419811/2 "2007-09-20T00:32:26Z")
Guderian, Halder, and Paulus all survived. von Kluge should have done. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-top-nazis-cars-survived-wwii/419811/3 "2007-09-20T02:05:15Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] My question is prompted by the fact that museums seem to have quite a number of vehicles that belonged to high-ranking Nazis. For example, the Larz Anderson Museum (Brookline, MA) has a M-B limousine once owned by Hitler. There are several vehicles (specially modified) that belonged to Herman Goering (Head of the Lufwaffe) in museums in the USA. I wonder how these vehicles escaped destruction-post war germany was a mess! Or did these vehicles get sold to collectors right away? Did somebody in 1945 figure he could make a fortune by reselling Hitler’s car? [/QUOTE] Supposition on my part but I imagine that many of the better examples of Nazi cars would have been appropriated by Allied staff for their personal use. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-top-nazis-cars-survived-wwii/419811/4 "2007-09-20T02:22:47Z")
If you’ve read _Band of Brothers_, it seems any time combat troops got hold of a nice Nazi car they trashed it before handing it over to officers - “Testing” the bullet-proof windows, draining all the oil or water to see how long it’ll run, driving them off cliffs, etc. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-top-nazis-cars-survived-wwii/419811/5 "2007-09-20T17:17:16Z")
There’s an archetypical Wehrmacht staff car, with a squarish bustle trunk, that shows up in \*every \* movie or TV show, like “Hogan’s Heroes” or “The Dirty Dozen”. Anybody know the make and model? I’m tempted to say it’s a Horch. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2007, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-top-nazis-cars-survived-wwii/419811/6 "2007-09-20T17:42:00Z")
[QUOTE=ralph124c] My question is prompted by the fact that museums seem to have quite a number of vehicles that belonged to high-ranking Nazis. For example, the Larz Anderson Museum (Brookline, MA) has a M-B limousine once owned by Hitler. There are several vehicles (specially modified) that belonged to Herman Goering (Head of the Lufwaffe) in museums in the USA. I wonder how these vehicles escaped destruction-post war germany was a mess! Or did these vehicles get sold to collectors right away? Did somebody in 1945 figure he could make a fortune by reselling Hitler’s car? [/QUOTE] Are you sure these cars actually belonged to Nazi big shots? I seem to recall that at one time there were six or seven Bonnie and Clyde “death cars” displayed at traveling carnivals and state fairs. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2007, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-top-nazis-cars-survived-wwii/419811/7 "2007-09-22T15:44:52Z")
[QUOTE=LonesomePolecat] Are you sure these cars actually belonged to Nazi big shots? I seem to recall that at one time there were six or seven Bonnie and Clyde “death cars” displayed at traveling carnivals and state fairs. [/QUOTE] [Hitler’s car](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hitlerscarnew.jpg). But Hitler had enough cars, I imagine, that each of the allies were able to get at least one apiece at war’s end. This one’s at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-top-nazis-cars-survived-wwii/419811/8 "2007-09-23T00:59:03Z")
Knowing Goering at least, Im sure he had dozens of cars, as did others Im sure, it wasnt exactly a regime known for frugality. So a few surviving isnt too surprising maybe? They were often quite valuable cars in their own right, some would have been kept intact for that reason alone Id have thought. Otara ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-top-nazis-cars-survived-wwii/419811/9 "2007-09-23T11:10:28Z")
Tony Sanchez’ book, Up and Down with the Rolling Stones contains a story about Keith Richards purchasing a former Nazi staff car for his personal use. I don’t remember them mentioning a specific former owner, however.