KRAUSE | 1954-91 | Germany :
The Krause story begins in 1880, when Louis Krause founded his company and set it on a path that would eventually make it one of East Germany’s most distinctive vehicle manufacturers. By around 1940, the firm had settled into a highly specialised role: building motorised invalid carriages, or Versehrtenfahrzeuge, for people with physical disabilities. It was a niche, but in the context of post‑war East Germany it was a vital one. The war had left many thousands of people disabled, and private citizens had almost no access to conventional automobiles. In that environment, Krause’s vehicles were not luxuries; they were lifelines.
Production of invalid carriages began in the late 1940s, though the earliest models remain shadowy because surviving documentation is scarce and production numbers were small. Krause stepped into the public eye more clearly at the Leipzig Autumn Fair in 1954, where it presented several new invalid carriages powered either by MAW auxiliary bicycle engines or a modified 123cc unit from the IFA RT 125/1. One enclosed three‑wheeled prototype caused a stir. Observers wondered whether such a machine might become the GDR’s answer to the Isetta, Goggomobil, or Zündapp Janus — a true people’s microcar. But in East Germany, industrial destiny was not determined by market opportunity. The Economics Ministry decided who built what, and Krause was firmly assigned to its medical‑mobility niche. Its vehicles were to be produced only for those with a documented medical need.
The first true series model arrived in 1955: the Piccolo Trumpf. It used the Simson SR1 moped engine, mounted on the right side under the seat and driving the right rear wheel. The front forks also came from the SR1, while the front wheel housing was borrowed from the IWL Pitty scooter. The chassis was pressed metal, simple and sturdy. In a charmingly practical touch, the Piccolo Trumpf could even be propelled by muscle power alone; by engaging a lever, the rider could move the handlebars up and down to inch the vehicle forward. Around 3,000 examples were built by 1958.
Its successor, the Piccolo Trumpf/5, appeared in 1958 with the more powerful Simson SR2 engine, and production rose to roughly 4,500 units before the model was retired in 1965. The next generation, the Piccolo Trumpf/7, arrived in 1966 with a completely different appearance. Its entire front end was taken from the Simson Schwalbe, giving it a more modern, streamlined look. About 2,500 were produced through 1975.
A major turning point came in 1961 with the introduction of the first two‑seat version, the PiccoloDUO. To create it, Krause widened the front cowling of the IWL Pitty scooter to suit the broader body. The idea of a two‑seat invalid vehicle — the “Duo” — would become the defining identity of Krause’s most famous era. The Duo reached its mature, recognisable form in 1970 and remained in production, virtually unchanged, until 1991.
In the GDR, the Duo was never a consumer product. It could only be obtained with a doctor’s prescription, and for working people with the appropriate medical documentation, the state health insurance system paid for a new vehicle every six years. It was, in effect, a state‑issued mobility aid. At its peak, Krause was producing around a thousand units per year. The Duo offered space for two people and included a weather‑protection roof, making it far more comfortable in poor conditions. It could also be adapted with various accessories to suit individual needs.
The Krause factory itself was partially nationalised in 1972, after which the company — now called Krankenfahrzeugfabrik Krause — produced only non‑motorised wheelchairs. Motorised invalid carriages continued to be built, but production was transferred to the state‑owned VEB Fahrzeugbau und Ausrüstungen Brandis. In 1981, the operation was reorganised again and became Plant 5 of VEB Robur‑Werke Zittau. One fascinating detail survived all these changes: the chassis numbering system. It ran continuously from the earliest Krause vehicles right through nationalisation and beyond. When the 40,000th chassis rolled out in 1982, it genuinely represented the 40,000th invalid carriage in the Krause lineage.
The best‑known model of the late period was the Krause Duo 4/1. It used a 49.6cc single‑cylinder two‑stroke engine producing around 3.6 horsepower, paired with a three‑speed gearbox and an automatic centrifugal clutch derived from the Simson Schwalbe KR51/1S. The engine was air‑cooled and capable of pushing the vehicle to about 60 km/h, fast enough to be legally driven on East German motorways. Braking acted on all three wheels and was controlled by pushing the handlebars forward. A parking brake was included, but one notable omission — especially for a vehicle designed for disabled users — was the lack of a reverse gear. The Duo could be operated entirely by hand: throttle on the right, starting and gear levers on the left, and no need to manually operate a clutch. For those who needed more flexibility, a four‑speed variant, the Duo 4/2, was available. From 1989, an electric starter was added, a welcome improvement for users with limited strength or mobility.
Between 1972 and 1989, roughly 17,900 Duo 4 vehicles were produced. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the operation passed to the Treuhand agency, and another 7,900 units were built through 1991. The Duo was not confined to East Germany; half of Brandis’s production went to Poland, and Albania also received exports.
Production finally ended in March 1991, when the Federal Motor Transport Authority allowed the vehicle’s operating permit to expire. Even so, small‑scale production continued for some years, and the 4/1 and 4/2 models were still being built in limited numbers — at a price of around 5,500 euros — as late as 2002.
