Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola circumvented a syrup embargo in Germany that prevented their product from being imported into the country during the Second World War by creating Fanta, the fruit infused soft drink. To adhere to the embargo, the drink’s ingredients had to be sourced in Germany, where the drink also had to be produced. Limited ingredients restricted the recipe to mostly an abundance of fruit leftovers (pomace) and whey.
As the war peaked, communications between U.S. Coca-Cola headquarters and the German-based Fanta plant were cut off, which left the Fanta plant functioning as a totally independent entity. However, after the war came to an end, Coca-Cola made sure to take over the plant and fill their pockets with the war-time profits the Fanta plant made selling their product during the war years.
Before the war, Coca-Cola was well established in Germany, where one of their three international plants was located. Over the years, the company had become culturally aligned with Germany and was even one of three major sponsors during the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, where Hitler used the international platform during the opening ceremonies to promote his belief in Aryan superiority. He proclaimed the games that year were his, and he expected “German glory.”
In preparation for the games, orders were given by the Interior Ministry that Roma (gypsies) and other undesirables be arrested and transported to a nearby concentration camp. Jewish athletes were completed banned from participating in the games and the Third Reich’s newspaper issued information to the public to give heed that blacks and Jews wanting to buy tickets and watch the games were not welcome.
Certainly, some of Coca-Cola’s decisions were shaped by popular ideas not common to that time in history. However, when they made the decision in 2015 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Fanta, they not only recreated the 1940s packaging, they hyped the drink through an advertising campaign that overtly championed the era of the Third Reich. The company’s wish to bring back “the feeling of the Good Old Times” signals there is little to no sense of shame for their past.