Grand Prix Racing as Propaganda

The 1930’s saw the height of the governmental use of grand prix racing. The 1934 Spanish Grand Prix only happened after a freeze in Franco’s build up to civil war allowed racing teams to enter the country. The Enzo Ferrari run Alfa Romeo team of the 30’s relied heavily on French racing drivers, and when Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935 the French immediately called for an international response. This resulted in the French racing drivers being unable to travel to their racing cars in Italy. In July of 1934 Austrian chancellor Englebert Dolfuss, a supporter of Italian Fascism was assassinated by eight Austrian Nazi’s. At the time Mussolini was so against the Nazi party that he mobilized troops on the Austro-Italian border in defense of Italy. To quell the situation the German government sent the teams of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union to a minor race in Pescara Italy called the Coppa Acerbo, with this action Germany showed Italy and Mussolini that no action would be taken against any grand prix team and the crisis was avoided with Mussolini even giving support to the German annexation of Austria. The highpoint of 1930’s grand prix racing for the Italians came at the 1935 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. In front of more then 300,o00 Germans Tazio Nuvolari won the race from the Silver Arrows despite the 50-100 horsepower disadvantage of his Alfa Romeo. The German people appreciated the stellar drive, but that was lost on the officials of the Nazi party. Korpsfuhrer Adolf Huhnlein, head of German sport, angrily tore up his victory speech as Nuvolari was given the winners laurels. After much searching the Italian flag was found and raised and the Italian anthem, via a record brought by Nuvolari himself was played. The Italians and Germans also got involved in racing in Libya when King Emmanuel III authorized a lottery based on the results of the Tripoli Grand Prix. The effects were tremendous and attracted drivers and teams from around the globe. The 1936 race was won by Achille Varzi, after a late race charge from Hans Stuck in an Auto Union. But Varzi did not know at the time that the race results were arranged by Nazi officials to appease the Italians who wielded much power in the region. Varzi was incensed and things got worse when at the victory dinner Italo Balbo, Italian Governor of Libya raised his glass in the direction of Hans Stuck, whom he declared the real winner. Varzi could take no more and stormed to his room to meet Ilse Pietsch, who had left Varzi’s teammate to be with him. That night Pietsch introduced Varzi to morphine, an addiction that would control his life for years to come. 1939 was to be the last year of grand prix racing before war swept across Europe, again. The last race happened on September 3^rd, 1939 in Belgrade Yugoslavia. The very day that England declared war on Germany, and it was to forever alter the life of one driver directly. Mercedes-Benz driver Manfred Von Brauchitsch saw the coming storm clouds and decided to board a plane out of Belgrade to neutral Switzerland. Upon hearing this Mercedes-Benz sporting director Alfred Neubauer went to the airport and literally dragged the reluctant Von Brauchitsch back to the race track, and his life was to go downhill from there. He was the son and nephew of Nazi Party men, not much use in post-war Germany. He had several failed businesses before asking former teammate Rudolf Caracciola to arrange some business contacts for him in Argentina. This attempt at a new life also failed for Von Brauchitsch, and he returned to Germany a bitter man, just who the Communists were looking for. This led to him being investigated by West Germany for allegations of spying and he was soon arrested. While out on bail he defected to East Germany, leaving his wife behind who would later commit suicide. One can only imagine how things would have been different if Von Brauchitsch was allowed to fly to Switzerland. So how did the Germans come to dominate the latter half of 1930’s grand prix racing?