scho-ka-kola

A German brand of bitter-sweet dark chocolate known for its strong caffeine and kola nut mix, thus its name: Schokolade (chocolate), Kaffee (coffee), Kolanuss (kola nut). The chocolate is divided into wedges held in a round metal canister. The red and white container design and recipe has changed very little since the original launch in 1936.

It was introduced at the 1936 Summer Olympic Games in Berlin as a performance-enhancing energy "Sport Chocolate" (Sportschokolade).

During World War II, it was also known as "Aviator Chocolate" (Fliegerschokolade) since it was commonly provided with Luftwaffe pilot and crew rations, and was also issued to flight crews in blue canisters as emergency sea-survival rations (Seenotpackung). It was also issued to German tank crews, U-boat crews, and the German Army.

Today, it is sold in Germany in both its original dark chocolate in a red-and-white container as well as a milk chocolate version in a blue-and-white container.

(Note that the term Fliegerschokolade and its land-based equivalent, Panzerschokolade, were also widely used by German soldiers and airmen as sarcastic euphemisms for Pervitin brand methamphetamine tablets, which were readily available and heavily used in the German armed forces in the early years of the war.)

See also: Wikipedia article