Hitler's wine up for auction
February 15, 2007
Sophie Montagne

A rare bottle of Hitler's personal wine is up for auction in the UK this weekend.

The 1943 'Fuhrerwein', a gift to Nazi generals to celebrate the Fuhrer's 54th birthday, will be auctioned in Plymouth this weekend.

The bottle of Schwarzer Tafelwein was found in a garage in France and sold to an anonymous buyer in Devon, who is now hoping unopened bottle will fetch up to £500.

The wine's front and back labels are in good condition and feature a photograph of Hitler in suit and tie, and the Nazi emblem.

Paul Keen, auctioneer at the Plymouth Auction Rooms in Devon, said of the German red, 'Not only is it unusual, it is also extremely rare to find. It is the sort of thing that should appeal to collectors of Nazi wartime memorabilia.'

'These bottles were given out to Hitler's top-ranking officers on his birthday on 20 April, and this one was handed out in 1943.'

Mr Keen added 'I have no moral issue in selling it on – it is merely an interesting piece from a period of history.'

There is an enduring interest in wine-related fascist memorabilia. Italian producer Alessandro Lunardelli recently caused controversy by selling wines themed with Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini labels to German tourists in Italy.

Have your say... To post your comment on this story, email us at news@decanter.com, making sure the relevant headline is in the subject field I would be quite suspicious about the character of anyone who want to add this to their “cellar”. I would much prefer to see the wine, and all it represents, destroyed. Larry Moraes, The Henry Wine Group, California, USA Take pleasure from tasting the Führerwine ? Do we know exactly the wine it's the matter of at least ? Where does it come from ? Who did product it ? Which is the vintage ? Given that Hitler liked wine and that his troops regularly supplied him in appropriating for themself all the cellars of France (his personnal cellar, inventoried at the end of WW2, seemed to be impressive) I supposed his officers didn't venture to offer him a cheap wine - Hitler is not really the kind of person to which you make a gag without thinking a lot of times before… So if it's a Cheval Blanc 1921 of which they would have substituted the label by a Hitler's photograph, so, why not : I understand that a republican wine lover can be interrested by this wine (but I think, in that case, he will unstick the photogaph before serving it to his guests ! What a sinister table decoration it would be !...) But I don't understand the interest for a wine lover to buy a common wine at 500 dollars, only because it's a wine labelled "Hitler"! And if it's a matter of collecting… I'm appalled. Of course, it's a singular exemplary that could seduce a neo-nazi collector, but how the Hitler's mug sticked on a bottle of glass can have a value for a republican person ? This man didn't have human worth ! And if the Hitler's "humanization" made by some of filmmakers has sometimes a psychologic ou histoiric interest, he remained a swine who doesn't deserve any consideration ! And especially not a financial interest ! I'm going to stick my face on a common bottle and try to sell it at 500 dollars… ! If the people laughs, I will understand that my face - more pretty without pretention !- worths less than this scurvy person's one. Anne Claire Mellier While trying to be as open as possible to this “interesting piece from a period of history”, I can not help but thinking of the fact that Hitler and wine are contradictory – Wine represents to me (and probably to many others) everything good in life, while Hitler… well… As a wine collector, I could not imagine having a wine with Hitler's big picture on it, lying beside other treasures in the cellar. Something is wrong with this picture, literally! Gaby Why not, if he doesn't someone else will!!!! Christpher R Johnstone Sure, you can't keep this bottle from being purchased by Holocaust Denialist. If it is really Schwarzer tafelwein, then it is surely toast. What is inside is besides the point. Much effort has been spent to expunge reminders of the Nazi realm, 'We must destroy this !'. Do you think that citizens of the world in 500 years (who by the way, have evolved to sweat sunscreen) would appreciate this purging of artifacts? If Attila the Hun's bow was found in Italy should it be discarded ? Was it ok that the Pope had Greek temples razed ? If I was given a choice in the matter, a musuem should buy it. I would however like to recommend that 'complainalists' strive for the big-picture. Chick Wells, Atlanta, GA, USA I totally agree with Chick Wells. Why not sell the bottle to the highest bidder? Must we let others poison with politics even our passion for wine and wine culture? No one has a problem with a rare bottle of LaFitte or Mouton being auctioned, do they? Anon

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