WORLD WAR II

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As World War II engulfed Europe, BMW began to manufacture war supplies for the German war machine. BMW’s switch to producing war materials was quite common during that time. Most manufacturing plants in Germany had come directly under the control of the government after the invasion of Poland by the Nazis. During this period, BMW dedicated all of its time and resources to producing aircraft and motorcycles for the German military.

WWII brought out a darker side in all parties involved. BMW was no exception. The war efforts required massive amounts of material to be manufactured and shipped to the front lines. To keep up with the ever constant production demands of the military, BMW began to hire foreign workers in 1940. Most of the men in Germany had been drafted into the army leaving open factory positions that were quickly filled by the foreign workers. These workers alone, however, weren’t enough to keep up with the production schedule. In 1942, BMW began to use POWs from hard fought battles across Eastern Europe as well as forced laborers from Western Europe. These men labored alongside prisoners from various Nazi concentration camps. The factory conditions could only be described as horrid. Efficiency was all that mattered, and everything else was considered secondary. That included humane working conditions.

Once the Nazi regime was defeated, the Allied forces dismantled all of BMW's plants due to their role in producing war materials. Nearly ruined and almost out of options, BMW began to manufacture pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils to keep themselves afloat. Worse yet, the Munich plant was stripped down of all of its heavy machinery and shipped overseas as part of Germany’s post-war reparations. The Second World War had nearly put BMW out of business permanently. With no plants and no influence over any of its operations in Germany until 1949, BMW would have to do everything they could to stay in business.