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The most important Austrian red wine variety Zweigelt should be given a new name. This was demanded by the Viennese artists' collective "Institut ohne direkte Eigenschaften" (IODE) at a press conference on their action "Abgezweigelt". In this way, artists and winegrowers want to draw attention to the National Socialist sentiments of Friedrich Zweigelt, who gave the variety its name.

Zweigelt is a new variety bred from the St. Laurent and Blaufränkisch (Lemberger) grape varieties, which Friedrich Zweigelt created in 1922 in Klosterneuburg (Lower Austria). He named his variety "Rotburger" as a combination of the wine colour and the place of origin. It was not until 1975 that it was given the name "Zweigelt" in Austria. The domestic wine industry is more silent about the National Socialist past than any other branch of the economy, the IODE artists criticise.

Friedrich Zweigelt was an "ardent Nazi". As early as April 1933, he was a member of the NSDAP, which was still banned at the time. According to the research of historian and author Robert Streibel, Zweigelt, who came from Styria, is said to have commented on the Anschluss to Nazi Germany as follows: "The bad dream was shooed away by the booming footsteps of German soldiers. The ground for Jewish speculative spirit has been removed for all time."

Zweigelt had profited from the Nazi seizure of power: From 1938 until the liberation of Austria, he worked as director of the Höhere Bundeslehranstalt für Wein- und Obstbau Klosterneuburg. After the end of the war, Zweigelt had been sentenced to prison for incitement of the people, but he had been released after only six months. He died in 1964. Since 2002, the Dr. Fritz Zweigelt Prize has been awarded annually in Austria with a portrait medal.

Willy Klinger, head of Österreich Wein Marketing (ÖWM), informed in writing that a reappraisal of the "Zweigelt case" was "in the interest of the entire Austrian wine industry". According to Klinger, a book on the history of Austrian wine financed by ÖWM will be published next year, in which "the investigations on Zweigelt will be given a special place". The ÖWM does not want to "sweep the subject under the carpet at all". However, according to Klinger, a decision on the renaming should only be made after "the research results are available and after a factual and honest discussion phase".

(uka)

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