decars1-6, Exercise 3: The revival, and the story of refusals

Model answer (check the details):

The revival: in 1945 the damaged Wolfsburg plant came under British military control. A British officer, Major Ivan Hirst, is credited with restarting production, first of vehicles for the occupation forces. The factory was later handed to German management, and Heinrich Nordhoff became head in 1948. The Beetle then became a major export and a mainstay of West German recovery.

The story that other manufacturers turned it down: it says that British and American motor industry figures inspected the works and judged the car not worth taking on.

How to check it:
1. Find the earliest source: a memoir, a company history or a contemporary report, with date and author.
2. Ask who is named, and whether remarks are quoted. Quotations given to named executives often vary between tellings.
3. Look for documents: the British Army's records, the Rootes or Ford archives, and independent historians' accounts.
4. Check whether the source has an interest in the story, such as a company history.

Result: if no primary source is found, write that the story is "often told" and not "documented".