In my book Caribbean Rum: A Social and Economic History I explore this issue in 
a different context. White sugar planters doled out huge amounts of rum to 
enslaved workers on their estates, but they were ambivalent about the practice. 
On the one hand planters used rum as a reward for good work and as a work 
incentive. It was also given out during holidays, such as Christmas and cropover. 
However, slave revolts and rebellions were frequent during these holiday 
celebrations. Moreover, the planters wanted a productive workforce and turned 
a blind eye to drinking and drunkenness as long as it did not interfere with 
productive labor (the source of the planters' power). In short, planter discussions 
of drinking by their enslaved workers reveal a strong ambivalence. Rum was a 
tool of domination, but it was also a key instrument in fomenting rebellion. 


------
Frederick H. Smith
Associate Professor
College of William and Mary
Department of Anthropology
Washington Hall
PO Box 8795
Williamsburg, VA   23187

Email: [log in to unmask]
Phone: 757-221-1063

---- Original message ----
>Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2010 08:36:43 -0500
>From: David Fahey <[log in to unmask]>  
>Subject: Nazi alcohol policies in occupied Europe  
>To: [log in to unmask]
>
>I recall at a conference hearing a Polish scholar say that his father,
>a railroad worker during the Nazi occupation, received vodka for good
>work.  Providing alcohol to occupied populations had many
>complications.  Did drunkenness encourage rebellion or acquiescence?
>As in the example cited, could it be used to enforce good behavior?
>Did Nazi policy vary from country to country?
>
>-- 
>David M. Fahey
>Professor Emeritus of History
>Miami University
>Oxford, Ohio 45056
>USA