page_title: Scho-Ka-Kola
section_title: World War II Wehrmacht-issue rations
hierarchical_section_title: Scho-Ka-Kola / History / World War II Wehrmacht-issue rations
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Dose Schokakola
context_page_description: Scho-Ka-Kola is a German brand of bitter-sweet dark chocolate consumed for its strong caffeine and kola nut mix. The chocolates have a caffeine content of about 0.2 percent, which is derived from the cocoa content of 58 percent and the addition of 2.6 percent roast coffee and 1.6 percent kola nut. The chocolate is divided into wedges held in a round metal canister. The red-and-white container design and recipe have changed very little since the original launch in 1936.
context_section_description: In World War II, Scho-Ka-Kola was colloquially known as the "Aviator Chocolate" (German Fliegerschokolade), as it was commonly provided with Luftwaffe pilot and crew rations, to induce or extend wakefulness and alertness, especially on night-bombing missions, and was also issued to flight-crews in blue canisters as emergency sea-survival rations (German Seenotpackung).
  Scho-Ka-Kola was also issued during World War II to German tank crews, as well as German U-boat crews and the German Army. During the occupation period it was also distributed to the German population by the Allies. German Wehrmacht-issue World War II Scho-Ka-Kola tin containers are highly sought after by collectors.
  Scho-Ka-Kola is mentioned three times in Johann Voss's World War II autobiography, Black Edelweiss. "Johann Voss", real name unknown, joins the Waffen-SS in 1943 at only 17. He ends up in Northern Finland as an SS mountain ranger, and participates in heavy fighting against the Russians. When things go particularly bad, round tin boxes of Scho-Ka-Kola are issued to the troops. He also claims that during the Battle of the Bulge (particularly, the town of Reipertsweiler, in which Voss participated in a German victory), Scho-Ka-Kola was given to captured American troops as an act of respect for their bravery. Voss details Scho-Ka-Kola in the footnotes, calling the chocolate "pure luxury" and explains that each round tin contains two discs of dark chocolate, laced with caffeine from coffee beans.
caption: Original retail canister in 1941, scho-ka-kola printed in lowercase Fraktur calligraphy.
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