CONTROL COMMISSION FOR GERMANY

I know I can rely on you knowledgeable people. I have had an email from a German gent who rescued a VW Beetle from eastern germany. (He doesn't say where). He has restored it and has discovered from the VW Museum that it was used by the CCG in Churchill Bks, Lippstadt up to 1952. He is unsure if the markings are correct and would like some information about the vehicle (assuming his markings are close to correct). I have found some information on the web regarding CCG but not about where they were based etc. Can anyone out there help?



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At first sight the vehicle looks like an accurate representation of a military VW which were widely used throughout the then British Zoner of Occupation, certainly the CCG shield is similar to that used by other CCG sponsored organisations such as the Cuxhaven based German Minesweeping Organisation/Administration.

CCG was the British element of the Military Government responsible for all civilan administrative matters following the German Surrender in May 1945. At its height some 26,000 UK Civil Servants were employed, many with a military background. These steadily declined in numbers as responsibilities were gradually transferred to the embryo German departments at local, regional and nation levels as the new Federal structure of Civilian Government was developed throughout Western Germany.

HQ CCG was in Bad Salzuflen, there were Regional HQs in Dusseldorf, Hannover, Kiel and Hamburg and in the 1940s, small detachments in all the major towns throughout the British Zone

It would be interesting to note when the Beetle was built, certainly it is of the immediate post war design (small split rear windows) some of which were still in use by Station Staff Officers in the mid 60s. If it is one of the very early years it could have been produced when VW Wolfsburg was being run by a Management team of serving REME Oficers.

This Beetle has appeared before on the Forum:-

https://bfg-locations.editboard.com/kit-and-equipment-f169/british-army-vw-beetle-1950s-t637.htm

Paul.

JPW,

Can you put any meat on the bones for the precise CCG locations?

Would the HQ at Bad Salzuflen have been located in the Rathaus, perhaps?

Flash

Entered in error

Claymore wrote:

JPW,

Can you put any meat on the bones for the precise CCG locations?

Would the HQ at Bad Salzuflen have been located in the Rathaus, perhaps?

Flash

Located with HQ BAOR Kurpark Bad Oeyhausen
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119793045/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
Cheers
Steve

JPW wrote:

At first sight the vehicle looks like an accurate representation of a military VW which were widely used throughout the then British Zoner of Occupation, certainly the CCG shield is similar to that used by other CCG sponsored organisations such as the Cuxhaven based German Minesweeping Organisation/Administration.

CCG was the British element of the Military Government responsible for all civilan administrative matters following the German Surrender in May 1945. At its height some 26,000 UK Civil Servants were employed, many with a military background. These steadily declined in numbers as responsibilities were gradually transferred to the embryo German departments at local, regional and nation levels as the new Federal structure of Civilian Government was developed throughout Western Germany.

HQ CCG was in Bad Salzuflen, there were Regional HQs in Dusseldorf, Hannover, Kiel and Hamburg and in the 1940s, small detachments in all the major towns throughout the British Zone

It would be interesting to note when the Beetle was built, certainly it is of the immediate post war design (small split rear windows) some of which were still in use by Station Staff Officers in the mid 60s. If it is one of the very early years it could have been produced when VW Wolfsburg was being run by a Management team of serving REME Oficers.

Source The Beetle by Keith Seume
Maj Ivan Hurst and Capt Bryce both REME were part of the team to get the Wolfsburg factory going again 1n Aug 45 this was helped with a British military order (see below) Maj Hurst reported to Col Charles R Radclyffe CBE DSO head of light mechanical engineering in the Military Government Organisation with a HQ at Minden…hope this helps…best regards Steve (petrol head)

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Thanks for you response, Steve.

Unfortunately, your hyperlink will not open for me. Was JPW incorrect when he stated that that HQ CCG was located at Bad Salzuflen (just SE of Herford), then? Or did it change location during its existence?

Bad O is quite a few klicks north of Bad S.

Flash.

Steve

I have the same problem with the link

I believe the main CCG HQ was in Bad Salzuflen but a number of the senior appointments were double hatted with Senior Army Officers holding Key Post Appointments within the CCG organisation For example CinC BAOR was also The Military Governor British Zone of Occupation in the very early days This would explain the Bad Oeynhausen CCG office but I am still convinced that the main CCG HQ site was Bad Salzuflen and this is corroborated by web input in the form of individual memories.

I have a copy of the 1949 CCG Staff list which is 16 pages long but is unfortunately unsuitable for further reproduction. It does show that in 1949 in addition to the Headquarters I listed in my original contribution that within the Regional Organisation there were in 1949 large CCG offices in other centres as follows
NORD RHEIN WESTFALEN (Regional CCG HQ Dusseldorf)
Subordinate HQ
Aachen, Arnsberg, Detmold, Dusseldorf, Koln and Munster.

NEIDER SACHSEN (Regional CCG HQ Hannover)
Subordinate HQ
Brunswick,Hannover, Luneburg, Oldenburg, Osnabruck and Stade

Clearly there were fewer problems in Schleswig Holstein , everything seems to have been dealt with by the Kiel Offices

Any idea of the building used as the HQ, JPW?. I don't think that there were any Kaserne in Bad S.

My guess is that they would use something like the Rathaus or one of the grander hotel buildings.

These sort of people did not believe in slumming it.

Hi Claymore and JPW
I did not copy what was on the link but remember it was an image of a document dated 1945 clearly stating alongside HQ BAOR who were in the Kurpark Bad Oeyhausenson at that time the HQ must have moved to Bad Salzuflen later on
Best regards
Steve

There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of stuff on the subject on the web. Perhaps somebody who has first-hand knowledge will pipe up in due course.

I think it'll be worth plotting the location(s) on Google Earth as and when we get verification.

I take it that the CCG existed only while we were still in Germany as an "army of occupation".

This article on my website may be relevant to this thread:

http://www.redcap70.net/PatColson_VW.pdf

My wife and I visited the VW factory in 1964 and did a tour and I have some pictures somewhere which I'll try and add later.

Very interesting stuff indeed!

Hi Recap and all VW fans
Hope this works
Regards
Steve[/img]

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Source VW A Brief Iiluustrated History
Regards
Steve

Sorry 1944 to 1945 is missing " border="0" alt=""/>

Hi All
Here is a picture of a Käfer made by the toy company WIKING Germany

I bought this off e-bay last year,I tried to take a photo of my model but can't get the foces right. so I got this off Wikings home page,is shows a beetle from
Aurich Military Government.its a nice little model
This was a Special edition made for a VW Meeting in Hessisch Oldendorf in 2009 just down the road from were i live.

Text in German
Ein olivgrüner VW Käfer "Military Government Aurich


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Steve,

Thanks for digging this info out. Lots have been forgotten of the post war era.. Nice to see this brought to the attention of the forum.

'Fortschritt durch Technik!' Maybe it should say. 'Todays VW thanks to the REME and the British.''

Alan

Found this

http://www.webwanderers.org/2006/03/control_commission_germany_oct.html

Great Pics Srteve-how do you get them uploaded. I've tried without success?

redcap70 wrote:

Great Pics Srteve-how do you get them uploaded. I've tried without success?

Hi Redcap70, followed Ciphers instructions by opening an account http://photobucket.com uploaded images to an album clicked in the image then 'Share' then 'Get link code' then paste the link in 'HTML for websites and blogs' and insert in your topic or reply but only after clicking 'Image' in the box above first...hope this helps regards Steve

When I first arrived in Wolfenbüttel we had some of the first VWs made after the war,driven mosty by civilians they were very popular,and several of our wives did not make BMH Hannover and with the drivers help gave birth in the back of the VW.I bought one second hand(with the split rear window)it had done 171,000KMs,and when I sold it a few years later it had nearly 300,000 on the clock.Never let me down,once it blew a spark plug,and once it lost a rocker cover on a rough road.Simple but good!
-------
Don

PS - the only trouble I get with "modern" cars is when one or the other warning light comes on,and nearly allways for no reason!