As we saw in previous articles, the Nazi regime was one of the worst stages that humanity has lived through its schematic ability to kill ; nevertheless, contributions and technological and medical advances were also achieved that although they produce chills, we would have to recognize.
In this line of action, we bring you a history of Nazi Germany that has to do with creativity human and, fortunately, without involving deaths.Are you interested in knowing what it is?
History of a disagreement
Coca-Cola, since 1930, had numerous factories scattered throughout the German territory (43, to be exact).In fact, this well-known American soft drinks brand has been associated with the Nazis , as well as other types of brands, such as clothing Hugo Boss , known as the SS tailor, or the pioneer in computer science, IBM , or Porsche.
On the other hand, Max Keith, the director of the German subsidiary Coca-Cola GmbH , had followed an ingenious advertising strategy in which the popular drink was presented as a net We remind you that by the time of the prewar period, in Germany there was an increasing tendency to consume own products instead of imported ones, as a way to boost nationalism.
Thus, as the historian points out and journalist Jesus Hernandez in his book Amazing stories of the Second World War , he managed to sell an annual amount close to 5,000,000 bottles of Coca-Cola.
As a curious fact, when German soldiers were arrested and sent to labor camps in the United States, at the end of the war, they were surprised that they also sold Coca-Cola there, because They swore it was German!
It is even said that Hermann Goering, commander of the Nazi Air Force and Hitler's right hand, tried to nationalize the company to appropriate the formula, something that never could do.
When the United States entered the contest, in 1941, the parent company in Atlanta shortened relations with the German subsidiary, and supplies were denied making the manufacture of the dark drink impossible in Germany.
But Max Keith decided to create something new, that would allow the continuous flow of money and that the business would not collapse, being able to afford facilities and personnel.
A star is born
They started testing to create a new soda, the idea was that sales were similar to those of Coca-Cola.
Naturally, they made several attempts until finally They obtained a fruit-flavored drink, but created with surplus products: cow's milk whey, caffeine, beet sugar, leftover apple juice to make cider and any other fruit they could get.This formula was significantly improved a year.next, flavoring lemon.
They got homework then d and find him a name, and for that purpose they created a contest among the company's employees. Joe Knipp won it, a salesman who thought a lot about the director's instructions: “Let your imagination and your imagination fly ".
Thus, he proposed Fanta , a word derived from Fantasie (fantasy in German), which captivated everyone.The name was officially accepted.
They created a bottle with an exclusive design, the brand was registered and they waited for sales.But fearful that the product was not well received by potential customers, they decided to include the phrase “It is a product of Coca-Cola GmbH ”, even if it was a lie, to guarantee loyalty.
Since the new soda came out it was an absolute success, and in 1943 3,000,000 bottles were sold, two less than Coca-Cola.Queue in the previous years.But, according to Jesus Hernandez, maybe they falsified the figures a bit, since in general they bought Fanta to sweeten other drinks and inf Usions, since sugar rationing was quite high due to the war.
And so Fanta was born, under the Nazi regime.
Controversial history
Much there has been talk of the possible collaboration of Coca-Cola with the Nazis , although, as we have seen, at least the Fanta's creation was due to the fact that this company cut relations with the German subsidiary.
However, several sources indicate that on the one hand, Germany entrusted Max Keith with the direction of the different branches in the occupied countries , but on the other, he was never a supporter of Hitler.He even refused to remove one of the members who was Jewish from the board (of course, that was before the war).
This uncertainty remained until the end of the conflict, and in the United States they did not know if Keith collaborated with the Nazis or only towards their work.What was known is that I help bombed populations carrying drinking water in the delivery trucks.Historian Hernandez is that the director never put Fanta at the service of Nazism, and in fact, he never joined the Nazi party.
Either way, the allies destroyed all the Coca-Cola factories in Germany.
After the war ended, the parent company decided to investigate To director Keith in case he had actually collaborated with the Nazi regime, but they came to the conclusion that no, and then began, in the midst of disaster and destruction, to make Coca-Cola and Fanta, using now top quality ingredients.
And so you can see that the drink born in the Nazi period was lucky, Coca-Cola bought it in 1960 and started the mass export.It was also like going from being a local drink to a world famous one.
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