Among the dizzying panoply of beverages available in the modern bar, you’d be hard pressed to find a single drink arguably more widespread or inoffensive than wine.
That said, there are still some situations in which age-old wine can be considered a cause for concern.
Videos by VICE
Case in point: Führer Wine. Yeah—as in Hitler.
A 49-year-old Bavarian pub owner is now facing up to three years in jail thanks to four bottles of Hitler-themed wine, which he allegedly placed on the bar for all to see.
According to Augsburger-Allgemeine, the wine bottles in question had pictures of Hitler on their labels—and one also included the nazi salute, Sieg Heil. A member of the public told the police about the presence of the bottles; the police raided the place and found them.
According to The Local, the pub owner, who is said to have no links to far-right politics in Germany, had been gifted the bottles. He claimed he just put them out on the bar because he found them to be “funny.”
What’s probably not striking him as funny is his arrest. German law contains a provision prohibiting the use of symbols associated with unconstitutional organisations such as the Nazi party. This law—known as Strafgesetzbuch 86a—criminalises the display of swastikas and other symbols associated with Nazism, as well as the use of terms like “Heil Hitler.”
On the other hand, Italy happens to have no laws halting the sale of Hitler-branded wine and beer, and it’s been alleged that several brands are manufactured throughout Italy.
This isn’t the first time a beverage has been used in a hateful way in Germany. Back in March, we reported that a Bavarian brewery was forced to pull a line of beers it had produced because the labels were filled with Nazi symbolism. The beer branding also contained anti-immigrant sentiments, so it offended Muslims, Jews, and pretty much anyone else who doesn’t have blonde hair and blue eyes.
