Inszenierter Frohsinn: Wein und „Volksgemeinschaft" im Nationalsozialismus.

The Nazis heavily propagated wine consumption during the mid-1930s. Their aim was to transform it into a Volksgetränk ("people's drink"). The paper argues that the promotion of wine primarily served ideological and political purposes by linking it to the idea of the Volksgemeinschaft (people's community). Nationwide wine festivals were held which celebrated the coming together of peasants and city-dwellers. Volksgemeinschaft was performed through newly invented rituals involving the consumption of wine. The festivals are an example of how the Nazis used alcohol as a means of governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]