Wolfsburg was founded on 1 July 1938 as the Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben (), a planned town centred around the village of Fallersleben, built to house workers of the Volkswagen factories erected to assemble the Volkswagen Beetle. During World War II, military cars, aeroplanes, and other military equipment were built there, mainly by forced workers and POWs. In 1942, German authorities established the Arbeitsdorf concentration camp in the city for a few months. A minimum of six individuals died while working at this camp.