The Grapes of Wrath: How French Winemakers Defeated the Nazis

the night was cool for summertime but claude terrell the owner of the world famous restaurant la tour de geant had more pressing matters he and the rest of the restaurant staff as well as their families had just completed their grueling and back-breaking task and not a moment too soon a few weeks later this lavish restaurant would be void of the usual patrons the fine tuxedos and beautiful evening gowns of french high society would give way into an ocean of icy grey uniforms and shiny leatherwoods the occupation had begun so when a few german cargo trucks pulled up outside the restaurant claude was not surprised in fact all was going to plan as a man swaggered up to him claude could tell that he was in charge of this troop one could always detect the sneering aristocratic air of a general's aid waving around a fistful of papers as was stereotypical of the occupiers the man did not hesitate to drop the chilling name of his master herrmann garing gehring had sent this weasel on the express mission to seize their stock of 1867 bordeaux some of the most prized vintages in the world but claude simply shook his head with sadness claiming that those bottles had already been drunk the sniv ome of the most prized vintages in the world but claude simply shook his head with sadness claiming that those bottles had already been drunk the sniveling little man of course did not believe him but searching the vast wine cellar made it clear all of the rare vintages were long gone not to be outdone and returned empty-handed gehring's aide successfully cleaned out most of the wine from the cellar stealing over 80 000 bottles over the next few weeks and months but that unassuming building on the banks of the river san the restaurant that had served kings and queens for centuries was very good at keeping secrets [Music] as the nazi war machine rolled through paris the spoils of war were a vital part of the wartime economy for the german high command the invasion of france served many strategic and political purposes but also cultural and social purposes as well paris the heart and soul of european culture world renowned for its art and culture was a grand prize for the nazi occupiers as a result paris became a great place for rest and recreation for the occupiers in fact every german soldier was promised a liberty pass to visit paris at least once and immediately after the occupat d recreation for the occupiers in fact every german soldier was promised a liberty pass to visit paris at least once and immediately after the occupation the streets of paris were filled with the clacking sounds of thousands of jack boots on the cobblestone streets france and especially paris was of course a great military target for germany but a huge motive for the nazification of france was psychological in nature after the occupation all of the clocks in france were set to german time all the road signs were changed to the german language and all traces of france's government were covered with bright red swastikas this psychological warfare was important to the german military for one it increased some morale since most germans had thought that france's punishments and isolationism towards germany after world war 1 was unjust and therefore german soldiers pillaging and plundering paris for spoils of war was not viewed as theft but taking back what was rightfully theirs so there was an element of dehumanization to the occupation as was common throughout germany in the lead-up to the holocaust for the french a traditionally very romantic and passionate culture the black eye of ha was common throughout germany in the lead-up to the holocaust for the french a traditionally very romantic and passionate culture the black eye of having their nation plundered was a huge hit to their morale of the greatest of these economic and psychological beatings was that of the plundering of french wine france has been the epicenter and world leader in wine production for centuries producing hundreds of millions of bottles even during the war the export of fine french wines was such an important part of german wartime economy that adolf hitler himself commissioned the institution of vine fears or officials that would oversee the export of wine from nazi-controlled french territories this was not only because french wine was so valuable on the export market and therefore could sustain germany's wartime economy a little bit but also because it was a steady supply of alcohol for the german army in addition to being a dagger in the side of france's ego so a triple win for germany over the centuries france's place at the top of the charts for wine production and quality have become heavily ingrained in french culture as it is today but during the war wine became an allegory the n charts for wine production and quality have become heavily ingrained in french culture as it is today but during the war wine became an allegory the nazis taking france's treasured wines was akin to trampling on a nation's soul a patriotic symbol of that nation so it made sense for the nazis to rob france of her precious wines it wasn't only great for german morale but also a slap in the face to the spirit of the french people the french resistance movement during world war ii has become legendary a romanticized tale of the underdog defeating the most technologically advanced army in the world but stepping away from the traditional stories of resistance one little known and often forgotten story lies in the dark corners of a wine cellar wanting to protect some of their nation's most vital resources in industry french vintners quietly created some of the most elaborate resistance networks the world has ever seen all with the goal of ensuring that not a drop of france's finest ever made it into a nazi's glass among the most famous of examples is the story we mentioned in the beginning that of the smuggling operations conducted in secret at the paris restaurant latur darjant recognizi amples is the story we mentioned in the beginning that of the smuggling operations conducted in secret at the paris restaurant latur darjant recognizing the risk to their vast wine collection when the nazis invaded claude terrell and countless others worked around the clock to construct a false wall in the wine cellar below the restaurant this hidden part of the cellar concealed the most valuable and rare bottles while the rest of the cellar was filled with bottles that were filled with the cheap stuff but they didn't stop there winemakers throughout france created intricate schemes to prevent the theft of their precious wines a favorite tactic was to swap the labels on wine bottles turning a bottom shelf rotgut wine into a rare vintage they would collect dust and cobwebs to cover the new and cheap wine bottles with making them seem old and vintage while concealing the truly rare and valuable wines in secret rooms and complexes the wine making industry was also heavily involved in what we think of as the traditional french resistance with winemakers smuggling people in wine barrels or blowing up trains laden with wine that was to be exported to germany the vast network of wineries with winemakers smuggling people in wine barrels or blowing up trains laden with wine that was to be exported to germany the vast network of wineries in the resistance also meant that intelligence could pass quite literally through the grapevine intelligence operatives quickly learned that most major german offensives were preceded by orders for vast quantities of alcohol in the time-honored tradition of getting troops ready for battle this proved quite useful and intelligence gathered from orders of wine and champagne were passed on to british intelligence in one case french wineries were requested to specifically cork and package the wine to withstand extreme heat which not only confirmed rommel's imminent offensive into north africa but also gave a relatively precise timetable for when the campaign would begin some of the more clever and humorous resistance methods were for winemakers to directly target the gastrointestinal fortitude of the germans by stocking up on au de satine which translates to purgative water or laxatives and over at the bollinger headquarters the staff figured out that their local vine viewer was actually a portly fellow being quite overweight so when he c over at the bollinger headquarters the staff figured out that their local vine viewer was actually a portly fellow being quite overweight so when he came to visit they offered him a small very thin chair in which to sit that could obviously not take his weight therefore he was forced to stand for his entire visit and rumor has it that he never personally visited the vollinger facilities ever again so even with the most technologically advanced military and with total control over an occupied nation pride and embarrassment were still valuable weapons all of these great stories of resistance and national unity are great and all but we would be quite negligent if we did not point out the dirty laundry of french resistance at the time this will be greatly important in just a moment despite these interesting and motivating stories that tend to over romanticize the situation the french resistance as a whole was actually not that efficient of an organization in fact there wasn't really one single organization at all as one might think a lot of people think that the french resistance was a hierarchical and unified organization with a highly networked infrastructure in the command system th of people think that the french resistance was a hierarchical and unified organization with a highly networked infrastructure in the command system this is simply not true the reality of the time was that throughout the war there wasn't really one main coordinated resistance effort but rather pockets of resistance throughout the nation and many of these pockets of resistance hated each other french culture has historically been very interesting not unlike the current issues in the us actually and during the war you have lots of different resistance groups that are composed of people that are just ever so slightly ideologically different from one another so what you get is hundreds of resistance groups that all have their own motivations and most of which don't end up working well with one another let us also not forget that the vast majority of french fighting aged males were not a huge factor for the resistance being interred in german labor camps as soon as germany invaded or otherwise forced to work in some capacity to supply the german war machine in other words there weren't a whole lot of strong young men that had a lot of free time to conduct clandestine operations in nazi o erman war machine in other words there weren't a whole lot of strong young men that had a lot of free time to conduct clandestine operations in nazi occupied france and this was also very much well known by the allied high command upon the creation of the special operations executive or soe when they began supplying and coordinating resistance efforts they found that they did not have as many potential operatives as they first thought and what few resistance groups could form they were highly factionalized also despite what the history channel tells you most historians generally agree that around 2 percent of france's population at the time was actively involved in the resistance that's a pretty small number considering the great national pride that france currently puts on their resistance but once you get down into the weeds of the history and atmospherics of the time this low number of resistance fighters actually kind of makes sense a big factor was that resistance activity was very dangerous and often did not achieve their desired result plus families were often in a state of conflict as when a family member engaged in any actions against the germans that put the entire family d result plus families were often in a state of conflict as when a family member engaged in any actions against the germans that put the entire family and sometimes the whole town at risk this is a problem inherent to guerrilla movements fighting an occupying force the occupier not targeting the gorillas but the civilian population creating resentment between guerrilla fighters and the civilian population a population that they need the support of to have any chance at success so what all of this adds up to is a lot of uncoordinated groups many of which hate each other more than they hate the germans but all being supplied with small arms and explosives air-dropped by the allies conducting insanely risky operations most of the time for very little gain in the end and alienating a good portion of the population who want to avoid reprisals by the germans sounds very different from the romanticized history that we have been led to believe so what can we learn from these stories of resistance during wartime and apply them to our current situation one of the most important takeaways is the concept of the effectiveness of economic warfare napoleon was most certainly correct an army march ituation one of the most important takeaways is the concept of the effectiveness of economic warfare napoleon was most certainly correct an army marches on its stomach adapted for today's world this idea becomes a tyrant operates with your money whether it's a few meme bros on reddit costing the untouchables of the world billions of dollars or if it's unsatisfied disney customers creating their own show to prevent cancel culture economic warfare is one of the most valuable tools we have in today's world yes it is true that currency has very little worth because it isn't a finite source and as such powerful people quite literally can print out more money but the metric that currency cannot accurately measure nowadays is value value itself is a currency and it is a hard to quantify one at that that's why wine had a great value during the war economically investing in a currency at the time was not really ideal as by the time france was fully occupied following the german southern expansion into vichy france the concept of money wasn't really a stable market but physical things had value such as wine so by softly sabotaging the wine industry the french people were able to quite signif eally a stable market but physical things had value such as wine so by softly sabotaging the wine industry the french people were able to quite significantly affect nazi operations but we must remember that statistic only two percent of french people at the time participated in resistance efforts so we must remember that the french wine industry did not take a scorched earth policy but rather chose to slowly bleed the german empire from within if the french had destroyed all of their wineries that would have caused a severe blow to the french economy which remember the french people were thinking about things after the war even before the occupation that's why most wineries decided to band together during the height of the occupation with the goal of conducting more of a soft passive resistance rather than a guns ablazing rebellion blowing up their own refineries and burning their vineyards was not exactly ideal but hiding their good wine and slowing down production would ensure that they had resources equipment and value after the war which by this point was turning in the allies favor with the landings in italy plus they knew that the germans were not playing around and would not r which by this point was turning in the allies favor with the landings in italy plus they knew that the germans were not playing around and would not hesitate to kill them all if they found out that the wine makers were intentionally sabotaging their products but in a sentiment that is echoed throughout time it is rarely a crime to be bad at your job which is an idea that french winemakers took to heart in modern times it appears that this idea is being carried forward during the coveted crisis last year during the height of this supposed crisis the federal government went into wartime mode forcing companies to produce things like masks sanitation products and ventilators well we also know now that there is a good amount of evidence that the federal government also outright stole medical supplies from private or state-run medical facilities so as to increase their own stockpile realizing that the federal government is probably the least efficient entity on the planet most hospitals entered into a free-for-all mode trying to get as many resources for themselves as they could this was done knowing that the federal government was incapable of adequately meeting needs in a timely mann ny resources for themselves as they could this was done knowing that the federal government was incapable of adequately meeting needs in a timely manner some states turned to treachery because of this politicians in new york city actively lied about the true number of coveted cases so as to hoard resources and more importantly federal grant money to themselves resources that never got used other places took a more sneaky route providing the federal government with broken ventilators presumably keeping the working ventilators for themselves we know that this occurred because when california tried to cry wolf that their coveted cases were increasing the federal government swooped in and gave them ventilators that they presumably stole from somewhere else ventilators that were allegedly broken so if this is true which we haven't really been able to verify but assuming that it is true that would mean that some hospital or probably lots of hospitals knowingly and willingly gave the federal government defective devices keeping the functional ones for themselves they knew that if the federal government had the ventilators it would be very unlikely that they would actually be able to put t l ones for themselves they knew that if the federal government had the ventilators it would be very unlikely that they would actually be able to put them where they were needed in time when it comes to allocating resources in an emergency the government is always a day late and a dollar short or more accurately five days late in a pallet of water short but if hospitals kept the ventilators for themselves they would be able to use them in seconds rather than the days it would take the federal government to send them days that patients don't have some people did this for the money like in new york but in many unnamed hospitals across the country we cannot help but wonder how many hospital administrators intentionally did this so that they would not have the feeling of watching a patient die because they loaded a ventilator onto a truck only for it to sit in a warehouse somewhere we will likely never know how many silent heroes made this tough decision just like during the war in our modern times we also have to worry about factional disputes as we all know by now every day that goes by the powerful people that more or less run the world have spent a lot of time effort and money to ke putes as we all know by now every day that goes by the powerful people that more or less run the world have spent a lot of time effort and money to keep these factions going against each other they don't really care who's on top as long as everyone is fighting each other instead of them so when it comes to economic sabotage in the modern era we cannot discount this factionalization for many groups in the united states if their adversarial group were to not exist their primary adversary would be the federal government so by having a group that is adversarial this enables the federal regime to not bear the full brunt of a united populace against them which is why governmental agencies are doing everything short of openly encouraging conflict between social groups much like many french resistance groups in 1940 the factionalization in america has reached an almost comical level i mean just look at the republican party there are people in the republican party that are just ever so slightly different from each other in fact these differences are so slight that if you were on the outside looking in you wouldn't think that there are any differences at all but these microscopic differences es are so slight that if you were on the outside looking in you wouldn't think that there are any differences at all but these microscopic differences are such a big deal nowadays with every group that people are willing to kill each other over a difference that is so minute that one would be hard pressed to actually find that difference at all just as with resistance movements in france groups that are fighting each other aren't fighting the occupying force so encouraging at least non-aggression pacts between factions was just as important in 1940 as it is today overall mission success and effectiveness is also a huge factor to consider as just like during the war we in modern times have to be concerned with the effectiveness for much the same reasons this is where the concept of combined operations comes into play during the war french resistance fighters were all about that action at first willingly taking out bridges killing sentries stealing equipment and all the stuff that we see in movies but very soon this became a pipe dream see the germans soon instituted a policy that for every german killed by the resistance they would execute 100 captured french resistance fighters and see the germans soon instituted a policy that for every german killed by the resistance they would execute 100 captured french resistance fighters and for every german wounded they would execute 50. of course by the end of the war these executions turned into mass killings of civilians in many cases these extremely high stakes made it very unlikely that even hardened resistance members would do something like blow up a bridge which usually had a century or two at it it simply wasn't worth it for them this was especially unlikely considering that if the resistance were to take out a bridge a single bridge in the middle of nowhere it wouldn't really do much the bridge would be repaired and 100 citizens dead the next morning however if resistance groups could be coordinated to all take out a bridge or railway crossing all at once and immediately before something like the normandy invasion well this would make these efforts worth it so what does that mean for the modern times well this idea certainly takes a less aggressive stance since the us is not being invaded by an outside force but we can adapt to this idea for our modern nation people have noticed that protests don't really work he us is not being invaded by an outside force but we can adapt to this idea for our modern nation people have noticed that protests don't really work and they usually don't on their own politicians simply don't care what you think it doesn't matter how loud you scream your opinion in the street nobody cares but if you were to combine a protest with a walkout and with a boycott and with a sit-in all on a very important and busy day that could actually make quite a difference in fact a group called the albert einstein institution has developed a master list of 198 non-violent resistance actions that can successfully be used against a tyrannical or dictatorial system their founder dr gene sharp was before his death in 2018 largely considered the father of modern non-violent resistance tactics and as such his organization remains dedicated to this idea but even if we have a list of 198 different tactics and techniques in order for them to be effective they cannot be used in a solitary manner but rather combined together an attitude of non-compliance combined with a boycott combined with the establishment of independent currencies and economies these would not only be vastly effective n-compliance combined with a boycott combined with the establishment of independent currencies and economies these would not only be vastly effective at giving back people their freedom but also take power away from dictatorial systems and since power is a zero-sum game any power that you create for yourself is taking power away from the untouchables of the world why do you think that the entire concept of self-defense is such a target for these people so going down this list of 198 non-violent actions you will notice that many of these tactics are quite familiar in fact the political left in the united states has been using these tactics against the political right for a long time now even if they themselves don't know it entities like blm and antifa have used many of these tactics like sit-ins and protests in conjunction with more violent means such as harassment property destruction and rioting in order to get their message across but these efforts have been quite ineffective in many areas due to their polarizing alienating and inflammatory rhetoric which is something that we should learn from and that forming a group such as blm or antifa pretty much guarantees that a group wil lammatory rhetoric which is something that we should learn from and that forming a group such as blm or antifa pretty much guarantees that a group will not be around for very long blm is like a firecracker it burns bright for a short time and may break some stuff but after a while it dies out because it ends up alienating everyone who might have been an ally same thing with the bugaloo movement but that movement suffered from other downfalls as well so seeing as our own invasion if you want to call it that isn't a bunch of panzers rolling across the countryside but rather a lot of suits and ties signing a lot of documents we have to realize that resistance to our current tyranny can draw similarities to the resistance movements over time but at the end of the day this fight is our own think about it if the french people who were fighting an outside invading force that was already known for its gruesome brutality and for its mass killing of civilians basically the worst of the worst if the french people were never really able to unite one voice against them until the allied armies had already landed in france just how easy do you think it would be to get people to unite together in one voice against them until the allied armies had already landed in france just how easy do you think it would be to get people to unite together in the united states right now getting people to form together and not fight each other is 99 of the battle tactical gear and small unit tactics are honestly a small almost afterthought when it comes to the priorities of a strategic campaign yes we absolutely can learn from the french resistance but the lessons we should learn are not necessarily how to live in the woods and blow up trains but rather how to get groups to work together against an oppressive force how to hide and conceal value so as to have an advantageous position when other people expect you to be at a disadvantage how to conduct various trade craft such as building secret facilities from which you can plan operations or hide friends and family in relative safety more than time pencils we need actual pencils more than limpet minds we need hearts and minds this is why we should learn from those french wine makers in 1940 for them outright resistance meant death and the same fate awaits american citizens today if they were to speak out or take action against powerful peopl them outright resistance meant death and the same fate awaits american citizens today if they were to speak out or take action against powerful people though right now we are unlikely to be stood up against a wall for exercising our first amendment a single tweet can not only result in you losing your job but can also result in law enforcement targeting you the mob targeting your home your bank accounts getting shut off and your entire life being sent into a downward spiral and all because of a single tweet for the winemakers getting caught conducting even low-level acts of sabotage meant certain death for american citizens a much more lenient but still horrific fate awaits anyone who gets caught but passive resistance and covert low-level actions were how they fought their war and these sentiments will definitely help us now so even though it might not be as romantic or daring as hiding a bottle of 1867 bordeaux right under herman gehring's nose refusing to support an occupation of our own by not allowing troops to be quartered might just be a step in the right direction to encourage the right kind of behavior and patriotism though it may not be as exhilarating as the maquis hidi t just be a step in the right direction to encourage the right kind of behavior and patriotism though it may not be as exhilarating as the maquis hiding out in the french foothills deciding to not pay for propaganda and cancelling your entertainment subscriptions would certainly strike a serious economic blow to tyrannical companies and though it may not be as exciting as smuggling people out of an occupied zone in wine barrels creating your own economic ventures and engaging in a little economic warfare of your own might just make a difference and help us live up to the reputation that the rest of the world has come to know us for we've got a lot of people counting on us to get this right so let's not let them down so that's all we've got for now make sure to stay tuned for our next episode and please make sure to like this video and subscribe to our channel so that you never miss another episode and if you'd like to be more engaged with the s2 underground project please check out our other platforms and if you would like to support us monetarily please consider supporting us on patreon or by checking out our merch store and with that we will see you next time and just like those us monetarily please consider supporting us on patreon or by checking out our merch store and with that we will see you next time and just like those french men and women in a wine cellar in 1940 fight in the shade [Music] you