French Wine Under Nazi Occupation Part 1
Wine has long been more than just a beverage; it’s a symbol of culture, tradition, and national pride. However, during the dark days of World War II, the French wine industry found itself enmeshed in a complex, often troubling relationship with Nazi Germany. This period, often remembered for the heroism of some wine producers, was also marked by forced collaboration, economic exploitation, and moral compromise.
Nazi Leadership's Appetite for French Wine
While Adolf Hitler himself was not a wine drinker, many of his top officials certainly were. Hermann Göring, head of the Luftwaffe, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi foreign minister, and Joseph Goebbels, propaganda minister, were all known for their fondness for fine French wines. This personal affinity for Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne influenced Nazi policies towards occupied France, turning the country's wine regions into valuable economic targets.
In fact, wine became more than just a luxury product for the Nazi regime—it symbolized their opulence and corruption. According to historian Christophe Lucand, "Luxury French wines sustained Nazi society" and were "prized by German elites". The Germans’ thirst for French wine was not just about taste—it was a strategic tool that reinforced the power and corruption of the Nazi regime. The occupation of France was therefore not just about pillaging the country’s resources; it was also about maintaining the elite status of the Nazi leadership by indulging in the finest French wines, which became prized commodities for the German elite.
Before the war, France produced 79 million hectolitres of wine annually, making it an incredibly important market. The German military understood the value of French wine not just as a commodity, but as a cultural asset. French wines were essential to maintaining the wealth and image of Nazi elites, who regularly partook in fine French Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne. As the Nazi occupation deepened, French wine became intertwined with the military and political strategies of the German occupation, adding another layer of complexity to the relationship between France and Germany during the war.
A Profitable Occupation for Some
While the Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1944 was undoubtedly devastating for France, it paradoxically provided an economic boom for certain segments of the wine industry. The interwar period had seen overproduction and declining sales, but the German demand for wine helped to stabilize many producers. Lucand described the occupation as "a godsend" for the wine industry, noting that German officials oversaw a more organized, systematic acquisition of wines. Many wine producers saw their financial positions strengthened, despite the broader suffering of the French people under occupation.
Instead of looting cellars haphazardly, the Germans introduced the weinführers—regional wine officials who ensured the finest bottles were either purchased or stolen for shipment back to Germany. These weinführers were tasked with securing the best wines for the Reich, but their involvement also meant that certain wine merchants found themselves benefiting from this controlled system. As a result, many producers found themselves engaging with the occupying forces, either out of necessity or financial opportunity.
Not all winemakers were aligned with the occupiers, but those who were saw immediate financial benefit. The weinführers offered an organized means for local wine producers to continue operating while the country was under occupation. It’s important to recognize that for many winemakers, their involvement with the Nazis wasn’t a matter of choice but of economic survival. The demand for French wine was so strong that for many wine producers, not selling to the Germans would have meant economic ruin.
Strategic Control of Wine Regions
The Germans didn’t just occupy France; they strategically took control of the country's most famous wine regions. Following their victory in the Battle of France in 1940, Germany divided the country into an occupied northern zone and a southern free zone. This division was no accident—key wine-producing regions like Bordeaux, Burgundy’s grands crus, and Champagne were strategically placed in the occupied zone.
Dreyfus notes, "If you look at the demarcation line between the occupied zone and the free zone, it's interesting to see that it’s not a straight line cutting France in half. It includes Bordeaux and Cognac." The Germans understood the value of these regions, and their occupation was carefully planned to maintain access to France’s finest wines. This strategy ensured that the most important wine regions fell under direct German control, allowing for an uninterrupted flow of valuable resources back to Germany.
The control over Bordeaux and Burgundy’s most prestigious grands crus meant that the Germans could select only the best wines to be sent back to Germany. The line of demarcation wasn’t drawn at random—it was a calculated decision by the German military to secure the most prized wine regions for their political and economic needs.
The Economics of Occupation
In an ironic twist, France essentially paid for its own exploitation. The French government was required to pay war reparations to Nazi Germany—300 million gold francs per day—which were then used by the weinführers to purchase French wines at premium prices. Lucand grimly observed, "France financed its own enslavement."
While the early days of the occupation involved looting, by 1945, the Germans had established a more structured system of acquiring wine. By the end of the war, tens of millions of hectolitres of wine had been purchased at below-market rates or stolen outright, with the finest bottles reserved for Nazi elites. This economically devastating system ensured that while France was being crushed under the weight of occupation, the Nazi war machine continued to thrive on French luxury goods.
Devastating Impact on Champagne
The Champagne region suffered particularly. As Brigitte Batonnet of the Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne explained, Champagne producers were forced to sell to Germany and Axis countries at prices fixed by the Germans. Shortages and a disastrous 1940 harvest made fulfilling German orders impossible, and Champagne's weinführer, Otto Klaebisch, demanded producers make up the shortfall from their reserves.
The scarcity of Champagne led to a boom in counterfeit products. "Production of American sparkling wine quadrupled during the war," Batonnet noted. "They put Champagne on the labels; that’s still a problem today." This wartime issue continues to affect the industry, with illegally labeled bottles displayed at the Museum of Champagne wine in Epernay. This rise in counterfeit Champagne marked a deep scar on the industry, affecting the global Champagne market long after the war’s end.
Challenging the Heroic Narrative
Two key historical works—Christophe Lucand’s Wine and War (2017) and Antoine Dreyfus’s The Grapes of the Reich (2021)—have challenged the widely accepted narrative of heroic French wine resistance. Dreyfus criticizes the romanticized portrayal of French winemakers in Wine & War by Don and Petie Kladstrup, which focuses heavily on heroic acts of defiance.
As Dreyfus states, "The Kladstrups heard stories that were more-or-less true; more-or-less romanticized." His research, along with Lucand's, reveals a more complex and less flattering truth. In many cases, the wine industry's economy aligned with the demands of the Germans, and resistance to trading with the Nazis was virtually non-existent. As Lucand pointed out, "For a wine professional at the time, to not sell your wine to the Germans would have folded your business."
High-Profile Collaborators
Several prominent figures in the French wine industry have been accused of collaborating with the Nazi regime. Dreyfus names René Lalou of Champagne house Mumm, Charles Melchior de Polignac of Pommery Champagne, and Henri Leroy of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. The latter allegedly proposed using alcohol distilled to more than 24 percent to create fuel for the V2 rockets, a proposal that directly tied the wine industry to the Nazi war machine.
Bibliography:
Dreyfus, Antoine. The Grapes of the Reich: When the French Wine Industry Collaborated with the Nazis. Flammarion, 2021.
Lucand, Christophe. Wine and War: How the Nazis Ripped-off France’s Vineyards. 2017.
Kladstrup, Don, and Petie Kladstrup. Wine & War: The French, The Nazis, and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure. 2001.