The Fascinating History of the Porsche 356 Miersch
The story of Hans Miersch and his Porsche 356 is one worth retelling.
Living Rebel
Hans Miersch was a bit of a rebel, setting up a women's shoemaking workshop in Nossen, Germany - at the time a communist part of the country - a mere eight years following the conclusion of World War II. The area had been shelled out from repeated bombings, and Miersch had lost part of his leg in the war. Regardless, none of this would stop him from realizing his dreams, which soon included the Porsche 356.
Photos: Porsche
Huge Barrier
In the early 1950s, Miersch discovered the new 356 in a West German car magazine. As he recalled decades later, "From the moment I saw the first models, I knew: this is my dream." However, it seemed like an unrealistic dream, given tensions between the east and the west. The German Democratic Republic imposed strict restrictions on trade with the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany. Even an entrepreneur like Miersch was not allowed to import a luxury car from there.
Photos: Porsche
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Alternative Solution
Thus, for some time, Miersche drove a self-built vehicle with a Hanomag body and the chassis of a former Jeep-style Kübelwagen. Back in the day, the rear-wheel-drive, open-top four-seater had been designed by Ferdinand Porsche as the Type 82. "The car ran wonderfully," Miersch said. Equipped with a trailer - also self-built - he traveled the sister countries of Hungary and Poland, delivering his ladies' shoes.
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Making It Work
Soon, however, Miersch learned that twin brothers Falk and Knut Reimann, 21-year-old students at the Technical University of Dresden, had designed a coupe that looked strikingly similar to the Porsche 356. The trio teamed up with coachbuilder Arno Lindner of Mohorn near Dresden to make this vehicle a reality, built on a Kübelwagen chassis with wood and sheet metal procured from Czechoslovakia.
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Breaking the Law
Finding the parts needed to build this car wasn't an easy task, needless to say. A brake system for the Porsche 356 A was procured from the West Berlin dealer Eduard Winter through the personal mediation of Ferry Porsche. Miersch smuggled the precious goods from West to East "in a very large briefcase," sweating bullets all the way. Smuggling, after all, was punishable by long prison sentences in the GDR.
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Lost to History
By November of 1954, however, the car was finished. Lindner produced roughly a dozen other coupes based on the same prototype in the mid-1950s, though the exact number is not known for certain. Ferry Porsche himself helped the trio out by sending them parts, though eventually, most of these cars were lost to history. That is, until 2011 when Austrian collector Alexander Diego Fritz rediscovered one Miersch 356 and saved it.
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Compelling History
Today, it's one of just two Miersch Porsches known to still exist, and the only one that's restored - the other still remains in original condition. Miersch passed on the original prototype to Würzburg Porsche enthusiast Michael Dünninger in 1994, and he's been reminding people of this compelling piece of history ever since.
Photos: Porsche
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