Today we visited the VW factory. The factory here in Dresden only makes the high end Phaeton. This car costs 64-104 Euros. The name of the factory is the transparent factory and it certainly is. The whole factory is made of glass and all the work performed on the cars is visible to anyone in the factory. It's a quiet and perfectly clean and very modern factory. We were not allowed to take any pictures, but I did get a book that has pictures. It was definitely not what you would expect from a car company. This factory only makes pre-purchased cars. They produce 22 cars per week and 6,200 per year. Each car requires 40 hours or 5 days to complete. This car was not popular in the U.S. therefore, it’s not sold in our country. The primary seller is to German customers then East Asian customers. 80% of their customers pick up the cars from the factory because you can see your car on the assembly line and then each customer is finally presented their car in a unique way. This makes me want to buy a car. When it is final pick up time, the car is hidden and the customer is in a room alone. Music is playing and then gets more dramatic as the car is slowly unveiled. C’mon now… who wouldn’t want to have their brand new luxury car presented to them this way. Maybe I will win the lotto and get to have this kind of VIP service.
Then we went to meet with a Jewish Man who told us about the new synagogue that was built in Dresden. The original was destroyed before WWII anit-semtic Nazis and now has been rebuilt with the help of many people including Christians. We saw a group of Jewish military also arrive for a tour and informational lecture. Our lecturer said, “seeing this group of young German military is the strongest evidence that life in Germany has changed.” Before WWII, this would not have happened… life for the Jewish people has come a long way.
Then we had a guided tour. Dresden is a beautiful city. I suggest looking it up to see the sky line and a brief history of the state of Saxony. The city is very old world and breathtaking. The cobblestone streets, historic buildings and bridges over the river make me want to stay and drink hot chocolate at every café while visiting each building and absorbing the history. Dresden was definitely impacted by WWII. By 1944 the British had control over the sky, and there was no need to bomb this city. Yet, it was significantly impacted by the war. Many people ask why? Since this city is rich in historic buildings and has a long history of culture, many people and the leadership thought the city was safe. However, many historians argue that the British decided to destroy the city because of the devastating Blitz on London. According to these historians it was an act of revenge. On Feb 13-14 1945 the British used intense air raids on the city. 25,000 people were killed and 75,000 apartments were destroyed. The historic city center was flattened. After WWII Dresden because part of East Germany and was controlled by the GDR. The GDR only allowed some historic buildings to be rebuilt. Churches were not high on the priority list because they were seen as anti-fascist. However, after unification there was a significant desire to rebuild the city and now most everything historic has been rebuilt and restored. --- The other pictures are not loading today. Sorry! :(
Then we went to meet with a Jewish Man who told us about the new synagogue that was built in Dresden. The original was destroyed before WWII anit-semtic Nazis and now has been rebuilt with the help of many people including Christians. We saw a group of Jewish military also arrive for a tour and informational lecture. Our lecturer said, “seeing this group of young German military is the strongest evidence that life in Germany has changed.” Before WWII, this would not have happened… life for the Jewish people has come a long way.
Then we had a guided tour. Dresden is a beautiful city. I suggest looking it up to see the sky line and a brief history of the state of Saxony. The city is very old world and breathtaking. The cobblestone streets, historic buildings and bridges over the river make me want to stay and drink hot chocolate at every café while visiting each building and absorbing the history. Dresden was definitely impacted by WWII. By 1944 the British had control over the sky, and there was no need to bomb this city. Yet, it was significantly impacted by the war. Many people ask why? Since this city is rich in historic buildings and has a long history of culture, many people and the leadership thought the city was safe. However, many historians argue that the British decided to destroy the city because of the devastating Blitz on London. According to these historians it was an act of revenge. On Feb 13-14 1945 the British used intense air raids on the city. 25,000 people were killed and 75,000 apartments were destroyed. The historic city center was flattened. After WWII Dresden because part of East Germany and was controlled by the GDR. The GDR only allowed some historic buildings to be rebuilt. Churches were not high on the priority list because they were seen as anti-fascist. However, after unification there was a significant desire to rebuild the city and now most everything historic has been rebuilt and restored. --- The other pictures are not loading today. Sorry! :(
Thank you for emailing me and letting me know about your blog (great idea, Paul). It looks as thought you are having quite an experience! Looking forward to hearing all about it.
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