Pub landlord faces jail over ‘Hitler’ wine

A German landlord faces up to three years in prison after police discovered four bottles of “Führer Wine”, carrying labels depicting the Nazi salute and Adolf Hitler, at his pub in Bavaria.

In Germany and Austria it is illegal to have carry products that carry symbols of the Nazi regime under paragraph 86 of the German constitution, which prohibits the use of symbols associated with unconstitutional organisations.

Police were alerted to the illegal goods by a member of the public, who had spotted them on the pub’s bar, as reported by The Local.

They said there was no indication that the 49-year-old landlord had links to the far right, who claimed that he didn’t realise such memorabilia was illegal adding that he had receive the bottles as a gift and thought they were “funny”.

Anyone found guilty of breaking paragraph 86 could face up to three year’s in jail.

Produced in Italy, the “Hitler” wines form part of an “Historical Series” produced since 1995 by Udine-based company Vini Lunardelli.

According to the firm’s website, the 50-strong collection is designed to “remind us of the lives of celebrated personages of Italian and world political history,” including Che Guevara, Winston Churchill, Karl Marx and Napoleon Bonaparte.

Available to order online, the “cult” collection features “Der Prosecco Vom Führer” at €9.90, a “Grappa Del Duce” at €12 and a “Napoleone I” Pinot Grigio at €8.00.

The range is apparently popular with tourists, but are forbidden in Germany and Austria, with police periodically discovering bottles following numerous crackdowns on the proliferation of Nazi memorabilia.