Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche car company. He is best known for creating the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner-Porsche), the Volkswagen Beetle, the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, several other important developments and Porsche automobiles. An important contributor to the German war effort during World War II, Porsche was involved in the production of advanced tanks such as the VK 4501 (P), Tiger I, Tiger II, Elefant, and Panzer VIII Maus, as well as other weapon systems, including the V-1 flying bomb. Porsche was a member of the
3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf The 3rd SS Panzer Division "Totenkopf" () was one of 38 divisions of the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. Its name, "Totenkopf", means "death's head" in German, and it is thus sometimes referred to as the Death's Head Division. Prior to achieving division status, the formation was known as "Kampfgruppe" (battlegroup) "Eicke". Most of the division's initial personnel belonged to the "SS-Totenkopfverbände" (concentration camp guards), and others were members of German militias that had committed war crimes in Poland. The SS Division "Totenkopf" was formed in October 1939. The "Totenkopf" Division had