Document and Entity Information (USD $)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 29, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Oct. 01, 2011	Jul. 02, 2011	Apr. 02, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Feb. 18, 2013 Common Stock [Member]	Feb. 18, 2013 Class B Convertible Common Stock [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding										131,266,088	12,129,227
Document Fiscal Year Focus									2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus									FY
Document Type									10-K
Amendment Flag									false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 29, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Oct. 01, 2011	Jul. 02, 2011	Apr. 02, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012
Entity Registrant Name									VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY INC
Entity Central Index Key									0000103730
Current Fiscal Year End Date									--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer									Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers									No
Entity Current Reporting Status									Yes
Entity Filer Category									Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float			$ 1,234,000,000