Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure
by Donald Kladstrup, Petie Kladstrup
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Book Summary Information
Author: Donald Kladstrup, Petie KladstrupEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2002-04-30
ISBN: 0767904486
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Broadway
Book Reviews of Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure
Book Review: A Fascinating book about France's most thought after treasure during WW2
Summary: 4 Stars
In Wine and War, Don and Petie Kladstrup focus on the French wine industry's response to German occupation. The authors believe that wine defines France. They use an example of a speech given by the president of the French Winegrowers Association, which said, "[wine] contributed to the French race by giving them wit, gaiety and good taste, qualities which set it profoundly apart from people who drink a lot of beer" (10). The thesis of the book is about how people in the wine industry survived during German occupation (11). It is also about the importance of French wine as a commodity.
The wine industry did not recover after WWI. There were bitter harvests because several of the vineyards were used as battlefields. There were craters left in the ground from explosives, which altered the nutrients in the soil (18). The demand also decreased because of the Great Depression, which caused some wine growers to go bankrupt from low sales and labor shortages. In Burgundy, production fell by 40% and nearly half of the vineyards went uncultivated (19). The wine industry only started to improve slightly when World War II began because of the increase in demand of French wine from the French military (31). However, the wine industry began to suffer from another labor shortage because a good portion of the labor was called up to fight in the war (33).
When the Germans defeated the French, the Nazis had interest in French wine because of the revenue it could generate. Wine was used as a symbol of power and prestige (45). During German occupation, the Nazis set several different rules on the wine industry. For example, the wine owners could only operate if they sold their wine exclusively to the Germans (63). Sales to French civilians were prohibited in most places. France also saw the Aryanization of the wine industry. The Germans primary interest in French wine was for international trade and giving it to German soldiers (81).
While the Germans were extracting the wealth of French wine, wine owners showed forms of resistance. One form of resistance was to send inferior quality of wine to the Germans since the French oversaw their production (94). Another form of resistance was a more risky one, which was emptying wine bottles before the trains were loaded. This would eventually lead to the Nazis using more guards by their train, thus making resistance more difficult (94).
After France was liberated by the allies, the wine owners who collaborated were put on trial. The primary motive for wine owners to collaborate was to remain in business to have a source of income to survive through the tough times of occupation (206). Another collaborator was Louis Eschenauer who believed he served as a buffer zone between the French wine industry and the Nazis in order to prevent the Nazis from getting full control over the industry (216). Collaborators such as Eschenauer received a sentence of life in prison while others received the death penalty for treason (220).
Although this book is very well written, the authors could have added more to the book. The authors heavily rely on others research for information on politics during German occupation rather than using primary sources. The authors also should have elaborated more on some of their interesting concepts brought up in the book. For example, they mentioned how Germany had interest in French wine for international trade purposes as a way to fund their war, however, they fail to mention the nations that Germany sold the wine to as well as what the Germans spent the profit from selling French wine on.
Wine and War is a very interesting book, which provides a better understanding to how France's top industry responded to German occupation. The authors effectively argue the few choices the wine owners had for remaining in business as well as the heroic courage by some to resist the Nazis. They also provide a vivid picture of the struggles that the wine industry went through during occupation. Although the book has its flaws, it is still worth reading because it provides another unique perspective to the occupied France genre.
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