BMW R75 3x2 745 cm³ (78.0 * 78.0), Flat-2, 5.8 : 1, ohv, 2 main bearings, 2 flat-flow carburettors, 19 kW (26 hp) 4000 rpm, 4-speed, R-speed, off-road reduction (except 4. gear), 30% drive sidecar, differential lock, cardan drive, telescopic fork, rear unsprung, drums all round, cable pull/hydraulic, 2.4/1.44/1.73/1 m, tank 24 litres, 450 (270) kg, 95 km/h, 1941-44

In 1933, Germany became a military dwarf as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. The economic crisis after Black Friday did the most damage here after the USA. At the beginning of the 1930s, the standard of living was well below that of an industrialised country, cars, very sporadic motorways and modern industry, but at the same time farmers with horses and wooden carts.

The number of unemployed growed to 6 million. Germany was heavily in debt, especially to the USA. This and reparations seemed impossible to pay off because there were no more gold and foreign currency reserves, 40 percent of those able to work had no jobs. The volume of trade in 1933 was less than half that of 1929, industrial production was comparable to that of 1890.

Hitler was already about to go to war in 1934. However, there was a lack of money, the lubricant of war, especially its preparation. Reichsbank President and later Minister of Economics Schacht devised the Metallurgische Forschungsgesellschaft-Wechsel, a kind of fictitious money. 1 million RM from Krupp and other heavy industry companies were added, The immediate rearmament was thus founded on debt.

The defence companies paid with MEFO bills passed them on to their suppliers. Cover was guaranteed by the state, repayment at some point. The biggest advantage of this pseudo-currency seemed to be that it and its effects were not noticed abroad. Only a fraction of it appeared in the national budget. Of course, the risk was inflation if those involved no longer believe in the solidity.

The procedure has been successful. Not only in the defence industry, but also in general there was an upswing. The order books of heavy industry were filling up. Preparations for war also included a certain self-sufficiency, because Germany could find itself without urgently needed raw materials. IG Farben, for example, produces synthetic fuel.

It is interesting to ask how BMW, and especially its general manager Popp, got along with the Nazis. BMW had an explanation for the war production: they needed the production of aircraft engines to be able to afford the production of cars and motorbikes.

This much is certain, since one could not massively rearm in all areas, it was decided to favour the air force over the navy. The Reich Aviation Ministry was placed under Göring's control as early as 1933. Göring's deputy Erhard Milch was to become Popp's intimate enemy over the years. Too many aircraft to be converted into bombers, reconnaissance aircraft and fighters had BMW engines for the Nazis not to care about their production.

However, they cut off the engine line for fighter planes by only building air-cooled ones from 1936 onwards, which were at most half as powerful. But still, it remained difficult to maintain a reasonably functioning production for cars and motorbikes. It was crazy that engines were still being delivered to Russia until 1936 on the basis of older agreements. Armoured motorbikes with sidecars (picture above) and aircraft engines with journals for machine guns were now being built.

Increasingly, the company had to contend with declining material quality, which reduced the number of units produced. Fear of denunciation increased, secrecy became obligatory. The increased efforts of 'Kraft durch Freude' (cheap holiday trips) also had its origin in the wage cuts imposed on the workers. Presumably, the majority of the population was satisfied with rearmament and the recovery of national pride, but there were also many a breakaway movement during speeches by Hitler.

Popp's daring thoughts on the manufacture of automobiles were mainly passed on to Ernst Udet, one of the first and most important admirers of BMW engines in the First World War. He was now a general airplane master, but could not prevent the complete mismanagement of the German air force either and took his own life in 1941. His boss Milch, on the other hand, became more and more threatening to Popp. And yet the transformation of small cars into stately limousines and the special sporting successes of two- and four-wheelers date from this period.

BMW R17 736 cm³ (83.0 * 68.0), Flat-2, 6.5 : 1, ohv, 2 main bearings, 2 Amal carburetors, 24 kW (33 hp) 4300 rpm, 4-speed, cardan drive, telescopic forks, rear unsprung, drums all round, cable/hydraulic, tank 14 litres, R17 alone: 165 kg, 140 km/h, 2,040 RM, 1937-39

.