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The history of the Volkswagen Beetle

How the British army helped rebuild the German car industry after WW2, plus the fight to ban leaded petrol, how psychiatry was used as punishment in the USSR and 'Womenomics'

How the British army helped rebuild the German car industry after WW2, plus the fight to ban leaded petrol, psychiatry as punishment in the USSR, striking South Asian women in 1970s Britain and 'Womenomics' in Japan.

Picture: Major Ivan Hirst (right) driving the 1000th Beetle off the production line at Wolfsburg in March 1946 (Credit: Volkswagen AG)

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53 minutes

Last on

Tue 10 Mar 202000:06GMT
BBC World Service

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