History of BMW - World War II

World War II

The German invasion of Poland and commencement of hostilities meant that manufacturing facilities in Germany were directed by the Nazi regime to re-focus on the manufacture of products required to support the war effort. For BMW, that meant an emphasis on production of aero (airplane) engines. Josef Popp argued against this, contending that, although financially lucrative, the change in focus would mean that the BMW AG would be heavily dependent on decisions made by the Nazi regime. In June 1940, he wrote to the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Emil Georg von Stauss, explaining that the situation could “threaten the very existence of BMW AG if there were any setback to aero engine production”. This change in focus did in fact lead to a significant increase in external control from political and military agencies, weakening the position of the BMW management and eroding the position of Franz Josef Popp, whose leadership of BMW had been relatively autonomous and autocratic to that point. Statutes enacted on October 1, 1940 required all subsidiaries to transfer profit and loss responsibility to BMW AG. Expansion of the aero engine business required several injections of capital to Flugmotorenbau GmbH, with the total capitalization of BMW AG increasing in stages to RM 100 million by 1944. Further restructuring was carried out in 1944, with centralization of sales in BMW AG and the GmbHs acting only as property companies.

The emphasis on aero engines caused significant changes in BMW AG's business. Motorcycle production located at the Munich manufancturing facility abandoned production of non-military motorcycles by 1940, producting only the R12 and the R75, which were supplied to the Wehrmacht. At the beginning of 1942, motorcycle production was transferred to Eisenach so that the Munich plant could be dedicated to aero engine fabrication, and in 1942, BMW abandoned motorcycle production altogether. BMW also ceased production of automobiles in 1940, since cars were not being producted for the military. Only automobile repair facilities were retained, along with a development department.

A wide range of aero engines were ultimately produced for the Luftwaffe, including one of the most powerful engines of the time - the BMW 801. Over 30,000 aero engines were manufactured through 1945, as well as over 500 jet engines such as the BMW 003. To enable this massive production effort, forced labor was utilized, consisting primarily of prisoners from concentration camps such as Dachau. By the end of the war, almost 50% of the 50,000 person workforce at BMW AG consisted of prisoners from concentration camps.

BMW AG plants were confiscated by Allied troops at the end of the war, and production of aero and jet engines for the Luftwaffe was shut down.