---
title: "Volkswagen CEO Sorry for Invoking Nazi Slogan During Company Meeting"
description: "Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess is publicly apologizing after using a phrase eerily similar to infamous Nazi slogan \"Arbeit Macht Frei\" (\"Work Sets You Free\") during a presentation to company managers."
date: "2019-03-14"
modified: "2019-03-14"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/26956/volkswagen-ceo-sorry-for-invoking-nazi-slogan-during-company-meeting"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Volkswagen News"
tags:
  - "Volkswagen"
---

# Volkswagen CEO Sorry for Invoking Nazi Slogan During Company Meeting

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2019/03/GettyImages-1135310670.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess is publicly apologizing after using a phrase eerily similar to infamous Nazi slogan "Arbeit Macht Frei" ("Work Sets You Free") multiple times during a presentation to company managers at an internal meeting on Tuesday, the [*New York Times* reports.](<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/world/europe/volkswagen-ceo-nazi-slogan.html>)

In speaking to hundreds of [Volkswagen Group](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/26872/volkswagen-is-100-percent-investigating-a-new-pickup-for-the-us>) managers following the automaker's yearly earnings news conference, Diess repeatedly said "Ebit macht frei" as he discussed company finances. "Ebit" is an acronym that stands for "earnings before interest and taxes," so Diess was apparently trying to make a clumsy point about the importance of profits.

Unfortunately, the words he chose are a direct callback to "Arbeit Macht Frei," the totalitarian slogan used by the Nazi regime and emblazoned over the gates of several concentration camps during World War II. It's a well-known fact that Volkswagen traces its origins to the Third Reich; it enjoyed the strong support of Adolf Hitler, who received the first convertible VW Beetle (then known as the KdF-Wagen) as a 50th birthday present from Ferdinand Porsche in 1939. The company also used Jewish (and non-Jewish) slave labor to build transport vehicles for the German army during the war.

![message-editor%2F1552597945637-gettyimages-50538022.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1552597945637-gettyimages-50538022.jpg>)
*Ferdinand Porsche (left, in dark suit) presents the first convertible Beetle, then known as the KdF-Wagen, to Adolf Hitler for his 50th birthday in Berlin on April 20, 1939., *Getty Images**

In general, Germany is culturally attuned to its role in ensuring its own history doesn't repeat itself, and you can see why VW is especially sensitive about any perceivable connection to the Nazis or the Holocaust. German outlet [*Der Spiegel* reports](<https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/vw-volkswagen-chef-herbert-diess-entschuldigt-sich-fuer-aussage-ebit-macht-frei-a-1257673.html>) that a number of managers in attendance were "horrified" by the way Diess used the phrase over and over. Diess claims the historical echo was completely unintentional.

"I did not in any way intend for this comment to be set in a false context. I did not think of such a possibility at the time I said it," Diess wrote on his LinkedIn page. "It was a very unfortunate choice of words. If I unintentionally hurt feelings with it, I am extremely sorry."

[Volkswagen Group](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/26934/volkswagen-will-slash-7000-automatable-jobs-and-hire-software-engineers-instead>) posted a profit of over $13 billion dollars in 2018 despite heavy investments in electric vehicle technology and continued fines related to the Dieselgate emissions scandal, so this verbal faux pas isn't likely to endanger Diess' job in any way.

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
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