Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure Free Audiobook Download by Petie Kladstrup,Don Kladstrup

On June 7, 1944, the French government ordered the sale of all its wines to finance the war. The order was a disaster.

In his book "Wine and War: The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure," author Petie Kladstrup uses detailed information from declassified Nazi documents to tell a story of spies, sabotage, and collaborations that spanned the globe. He reveals how France's wine industry was one of its major assets during World War II. Belgium took advantage of this fact by kidnapping French wine producers and selling their products to Germany through a series of back-channel deals.

The French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France's Greatest Treasure is a non-fiction book written by Petie Kladstrup. It tries to tell the story of the tumultuous relationship between France and Germany during World War II using as its basis three stories: The French collaboration with the Nazis, The German invasion of France, and The Nazi plunder of France's great wine vineyards.

In mid-1940, France was at the brink of economic and military ruin. The country was isolated from the rest of Europe by the Nazis, who had occupied its northern border since June 1940. The leadership of the Vichy government led by Marshal Philippe Pétain, who had been installed in power in 1941, turned to what they believed were France's greatest treasures--wine and French art--to help fund their war effort.

The French had a vital industry that was easy to destroy, but difficult to protect-wine. This made the wine industry an attractive target for foreign enemies. The Nazis invaded France and took the country by storm. The Nazis destroyed France's wine industry and began exporting it for profit. They also forced the French to surrender when they threatened the destruction of Parisian wine merchants who refused their demands.

France loved the wine of Bordeaux. All the great wines of France were found in this region, including those from some of the top producers. It was a famous treasure for all of France and it was bordered by Germany on one side, a country that had not only conquered France in World War I but also made it clear that they would steal all the wine if they could. The French government set up a committee to protect their wineries but it was no match for German ingenuity. They managed to destroy fortifications around the wineries and steal 10 million bottles before they had to stop because they ran out of time. In response, it became a national goal to protect their wineries rather than just protecting individual ones.