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WW2 Era German Bottles


Gildwiller1918

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Below are some WW2 Era German Bottles, feel free to add comments, pictures, etc.

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In the 1930's Coca-Cola was struggling to get a foothold in other countries, with one exception. Germany was by far the most successful location in which the Coca-Cola beverage thrived. In 1939, Coke sold almost 4.5 million cases in Nazi Germany. Reportedly, even Hitler enjoyed the beverage from time to time while watching movies in his private theater. However as the war in Europe got going, tighter German restrictions on imports and what the US would export kind of sealed the fate on Coca-Cola for a time. This however led to development of a new drink - Fanta. Coca-cola production resumed in Germany in 1949. 

This bottle has the Coca-Cola style script around the bottle, with schutzmarke (trademark) below it. The glass itself is quite heavy, much more so than today's versions. On the bottom are more markings. First is "Ruhrglas 37" Made by Ruhrglas in 1937, followed by 0.2L for the size. 

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Here is another WW2 German Bottle, this one if for Fanta, a drink I still enjoy to this day. The U.S.’s entrance into World War II meant that American companies had to immediately stop all business activities with the enemy. In addition, the German government was threatening to seize “enemy-owned” businesses.  Coca-Cola HQ in Atlanta also cut off communications with Max Keith (German Coca-Cola Company Subsidiary Owner) in Germany and halted the export of Coca-Cola’s 7X flavoring (the long-mythicized, top secret formula for Coca-Cola syrup).

To keep production going during the war, Keith patched together a recipe within the limitations imposed by wartime rationing. It was basically made from the leftovers of other food industries: fruit shavings, apple fibers and pulp, beet sugar, and whey, the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained during cheese production. To name this concoction, Keith told his team to use their imagination. Joe Knipp, a salesman, pitched “Fanta,” shorthand for the German word for “fantasy.” It stuck. Fanta saved Coca-Cola GmbH. Sales rose gradually during the war, particularly as other choices became harder and harder to find. It wasn’t simply drunk either. Fanta was popular as a sweetener for soups due to severe sugar rationing, since the drink’s renown earned it an exemption from the rationing after 1941 (though Keith had to use beet sugar). It was likely used for a variety of other cooking and baking needs as well.

In April 1955, Coca-Cola reintroduced Fanta with a new recipe, this time as an orange-flavored drink. It debuted in Italy, before making its way to the United States in 1958.

This bottle has the following on this front "Fanta, Schutzmarke, Brauselimonade mit Fruchtgeschmack" On the bottom it reads "MG, 0.25L, 42"

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Here is another WW2 Era German Beverage bottle, this one is called Afri-Cola. Afri Cola was a direct Coca Cola knock-off. The bottle was heavily molded in the fashion of Coke bottles and the two-part name and logo were reminiscent of Coke. They even sold it for consumption in Coke "shaped" glasses. The trademark symbol was a palm tree. The description of the contents, the trade mark protection data, and even the dating code on the bottle was copied almost verbatim from a Coca Cola bottle.

On the bottom edge it reads "Hersteller der Afri-Urprodukte Bluna-Koln 18" in the center it reads "0.25l Ge 2241"

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  • 1 year later...

Whilst on the subject of vintage glass -

a glass lid from a jar, known as a  Weckglas or Weckgläser (pl.) - used to be in the kitchens of all German households, at least till a few years ago. This particular example is not only old, it looks like any other lid, but it has the maker's details and where it came from. The maker is certainly no longer existant, and the place it came from is also no longer existant!
Rillenglas from Penzig / Schlesien. The centre has a logo AG and GH and 54.
Penzig was renamed in 1945 as Piensk, and is now in Poland, 13km north of Görlitz.

Made before 1945!

Landkreis Görlitz (Schlesien) - Wikiwand

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Dekiel RILLENGLAS... w Kuferek w MyViMu.com

and another similar example

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  • 1 year later...

Hello friends !  I`m a new at your forum. My name is Michael. I`m from Russia, Kaliningrad city. Before 1945 - Konigsberg, East Prussia (Ostpreussen).

I collected german militaria and civil itemes.

Here my Fanta bottles and Penzig/ Schlesien glass lid. All was find in my region !

Fanta bottles are 40, 42, 43 and without year.

Some quastions :

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- Have you seen bottles of 44 and 45 year ?  Is it possible? That a bottle without a year is 45 year of produced ?

- I once met a bottle where the year is written like this: "1941" in four digits. Which bottles are rarer - with two digits of the year or with four ?   Why was that ?

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Why is the Penzig/ Schlesien glass lid is interest ?  

Before registering on this forum, I did not pay attention to these lids. After reading the information about it here, I found one for myself.  We have a lot of glass from german cities in our city, which are now the territory of Poland. These are mostly beer bottles. No one appreciates this glass in Kaliningrad.

Why are these lids interesting ? What mean "GH" and "54" on it ?  And please note that on the lid of Moderator Fritz there are three horizontal dots in the center, and I have four. Does that mean anything ?

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Looking forward to the answers !

THANK YOU VERY MUCH !

 

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very nice collection samland, sorry but I know nothing about war time fanta bottles  

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2 hours ago, phantom said:

very nice collection samland, sorry but I know nothing about war time fanta bottles  

Dear Phantom !  Do you know something about  Penzig/ Schlesien glass lid ?

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Hello Samland, nice items you posted, I am not much of an expert on these items. I do know that the Fanta production plant was still bottling up till the end of the war (although reduced capacity due to bombing damage and ingredient shortages), and the factory shut down in late 1945. 

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 I have never found any German bottles in any archaeological deposits on the Menominee Indian Reservation where I worked as an archaeologist. But if you are into bottles one of the better US identification references is the BIA guide now  presented by the Society of Historic Archaeology. It provides pages of information about bottle attributes.  Of course it is about US production, but the attributes are similar.  If a bottle collector this may be of interest to you:

https://sha.org/bottle/

Listings

https://sha.org/bottle/websitemap.htm

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  • 7 months later...

 If the reader like paper,  a nice bottle attribute guide in  color or B&W.  Published 2016, 566 pages. ISBN 1957402148, ISBN-13 9781957402147

SHA Special Publication #12, Baffle Marks and Pontil Scars: A Reader on Historic Bottle Identification, is now available  on Lulu.  Articles included come from trade publications, government reports, and newspaper accounts; topical studies by archaeologists; and some new articles intended to assist in laboratory analysis. 


"VOLUME CONTENTS
Bottle Basics—process of bottle identification
Hand Production Technology—evolution of hand production, highlighting manufacturing techniques that are often key to bottle dating
The Iron Comrade: Machine Age Technology— evolution of machine production from 1880 to 1920, a technological revolution
Finishes and Closures—fundamental to product availability, highlighting process of identification and evolution of finishes and closures
Glass Container Design—the bottle as container
Labels and Marks—two most useful items for identifying and dating bottles
References—bottle glossary and bibliographies "   SHA

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