I have long argued that the 'Nazi killing Tatra' story is entirely mythical. There was no horrific death toll of German officers killed driving their Tatras, nor were German officers ever banned from driving Tatras during the war, and no one ever called the Tatra "the Czech secret weapon." My own research into this story leads us back only as far as the 1980s in the UK, where this story suddenly appears, right at about the time that old consular Tatra T603s start to appear on market as the Czech Foreign Service starts its transition to the more modern T613. So where did this story first appear in print?
The answer is in Thoroughbred and Classic Car Magazine (UK), June 1983, in the article, "Forgotten Genius.", by Brian Palmer. "Brian Palmer talks to Albert K. Richter Dipl.-Ing about his idol, Hans Ledwinka, 'the forgotten engineering genius' and the incredible Tatra cars." https://tatrat600.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-life-of-albert-richter-by-brian.html
Palmer's article provides an overview of Hans Ledwinka's career from his start with Nesseldorfer in 1897 right through to his development of Tatra's highly advanced and innovative streamliners in the 1930s, through to his arrest, imprisonment and eventual exile to Germany. The article is enlivened by the first-hand recollections of Albert K Richter, a mechanical engineer working in Germany with some experience providing services for German Tatra owners. Tatras were a highly desirable vehicle in Germany with a number of high profile owners, such as Ernst Heinkel (below), Erwin Rommel and Nazi industry minister, Robert Ley.
After a discussion of Richter's wartime career grading German steel quality (which deteriorated as the war went on due to the lack of skilled steel workers and an increasing reliance of forced and slave labour), Palmer jumps to Richter's recollections of German problems with Tatras. The paragraph is quoted in full:
"Albert Richter's knowledge and personal experience driving and working on Tatras also caused him to be summoned to Command Headquarters in Berlin. A number of high-ranking officers occupying Czechoslovakia were using the Big Tatras for personal transport and at high speed, crosswinds or the uncertain swing-axle behaviour in cornering caused a number of them to come to grief. The army could not afford to lose its best men in this manner and they began to wonder whether the Tatra was the Czechs secret weapon against them. Richter argued that at modest speeds the Tatra was perfectly safe, indeed superior in many respects, to most vehicles then on the roads. High Command was not convinced, however, and the order went out that Tatras were verboten."Here within this single paragraph the entire myth is laid out. So, what can be said about this statement? How reliable is it? I note that almost every line in this statement is vague and unspecific. Firstly, Command Headquarters in Berlin? What command? Wehrmacht? OKH? Abwehr? Luftwaffe? Transport ministry? Secondly, high-ranking officers in Czechoslovakia. This is a very contemporary statement that doesn't make much sense from a 1940 perspective. There was no Czechoslovakia at this time, only the Greater German provinces of Bohemia and Moravia and 'independent' state of Slovakia. And who were these officers? Thirdly, the types of accidents are also vague - speed, crosswinds and uncertain swing-axle behaviour. Speed was always a problem for unwary Tatra drivers as these cars were extremely powerful and fast. The Tatra T87 owners manual carries explicit warnings about caution when driving at high-speed. https://tatrat600.blogspot.com/2021/10/1943-german-tatra-type-87-owners-manual.html But, swing-axle 'behaviour' and crosswinds is a modern conceit and never mentioned in contemporary reports because these cars were never driven in a manner that would put them at such risk. Finally, who is the 'High Command' and what exactly was 'verboten?'
Evidence of the Non-Existence of a German Tatra driving ban
If one wants to disprove the claim of a German driving ban for Tatras, one only needs to look at the abundant photographic record. Here is a small sample.
Before the war, the Czechoslovakian police had a Tatra T77a in service.
The Czechoslovakian military also used a Tatra T77a as a limousine for high ranking officers.
Photo from the Tatra Museum in Koprivince. The caption reads "In addition, the Luftwaffe used fast aerodynamic Tatra 87 vehicles during World War II and advisory units (picture from Yugoslavia)"
Officer Harz posing with the Tatra T87 he drove on official duties in France.
A German officer contemplates the view beside a Tatra T87 staff car (note the unit markings below the right headlamp).
An SS General is escorted to his Tatra T97 staff car. Note that an additional headlamp has been fitted to the bonnet.
Another Tatra T87 staff car used in SS service. This is how Tatras were used in military service - chauffeur driven by professional drivers for senior officers and VIPs.
A Tatra T87 on an inpection tour.
A Luftwaffe driver beside a very early Tatra T77. Note the addition of a central spotlight.
A German driver with a Tatra T97, again with an added central headlamp.
A happy group posing before a Tatra T87.
Luggage space was not well catered for in many cars of the 1930s, but luggage and fuel cans could always be strapped to running boards outside the vehicle. This wasn't really possible in the streamlined Tatras. Luggage was stored in the space behind the rear seats ahead of the engine firewall. This made it frustrating and time consuming to load and unload. This Tatra T87 is being refueled from spare jerry-cans beneath a bridge, which suggests its late in the war when travelling by road in daylight was extremely dangerous.
A Luftwaffe officer lighting a cigarette beside a Tatra T87 and Opel Admiral. This looks to be in either Russia, the Balkans or possibly Italy.
A Tatra staff car among a collection of vehicles in a front-line unit late in the war (approx 1944)
A Tatra T87 used as the staff car by General Bangerskis of the Latvian SS. Photographed on the Russian front late in the war.
A Tatra T87 staff car with holzgas tanks on its roof among a collection of troops.
Another Tatra T87 with holzgas tanks commandeered by Czech authorities during the surrender of German troops.
By the end of the war the US was operating a dozen or so captured Tatras in Italy and France.
An American driver behind the wheel of a captured Tatra T87. Note the German license plate still has Lutfwaffe eagles.
Ernst Heinkel's personal Tatra T87 was seized by American forces in 1945 and it became a staff car for Occupation Forces.
A captured Tatra T77A in rather poor condition used by the US Army.
Czech military police continue to use Tatras after the war. This Tatra T97 is being operated out of Prague.
A Tatra T87 being used by Occupation Forces.
A Tatra T87 being used by Soviet forces.
A late model Tatra T87 used by a Military Police unit.
Czech police unit.
This is only a small sample of photos of Tatra cars in active military service during the war so clearly 'verboten' did not mean that German officers were not permitted to use them. It's a ludicrous claim on its face. Unfortunately, this section of the Palmer article provides no direct quotes of Richter. It is entirely a paraphrase and all context is missing. I do believe that Richter was interviewed by German authorities as he claims, probably in the Transport Ministry, at some point after 1938 in order for them to form a view of the exotic Tatra T87's driving characteristics as clearly there were officers who sought to obtain one for official use. For whatever reason, these authorities were not prepared to endorse Tatras for official purposes. However, the evidence is undeniable that Tatra T87s, 97s and 57s were used officially, especially among the SS, who appear to be the most common users of these vehicles. It is well documented that they were used as staff cars in Italy and the Balkans by SS and Luftwaffe units. Palmer has introduced modern concerns about swing-axles into the article and exaggerated Richter's words to imply that there was a German ban, which is total nonsense.
Palmer's interview with Richter was subsequently summarized by Ray Thursby in the April 1987 Road and Track (UK) magazine. Thursby correctly observed that under German management, Tatra were prioritized on truck manufacturing but introduced the myth that the Tatra T97 was stopped because "the Germans considered the 97 to be too similar to their KdF-Wagen..." The two vehicles are nothing alike. He could not resist repeating the claim "The German high command also took note of the 87 - which continued in limited production throughout the war - and its strange handling qualities by issuing an order forbidding German officers to use 87s under any circumstances."
In 2012, author Jonathan Mantle, rehashed the story as part of his sensationalist "Car Wars: Fifty Years of Backstabbing, Infighting, And Industrial Espionage in the Global Market". Once again, Mantle's claims were exaggerated and bereft of any facts.
And so the myth was set on its way, exaggerated with each retelling until we have now reached the point where idiot journalists like Rupert Hawksley in The Telegraph (UK) can state, "More high-ranking Nazi officers were killed in Tatra manufactured cars than in active combat." Idiots.
Of course, if someone can actually produce a contemporary order or a primary source that proves the claim, we'd all love to see it.
Moronic Dross - https://tatrat600.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-moronic-dross-that-passes-as.html
The Stupid Hagerty Tatra Rollover stunt - https://tatrat600.blogspot.com/2021/07/the-hagertys-tatra-roll-over-stunt.html
Tatra Myths - https://tatrat600.blogspot.com/2021/07/tatra-myths-debunked.html
Tatra and the Self Licking Icecream - https://tatrat600.blogspot.com/2023/02/tatras-self-licking-icecream-cone.html
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