1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You missed in History Class, A production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,200 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. 4 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:16,120 Speaker 2: Wilson. 5 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:20,439 Speaker 1: So recently we did our episode on drug use during 6 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: World War Two, which talked a lot about Nazis and 7 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 1: their drug use, and I thought, hey, you know, just 8 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 1: in the interest of being kind to Germany, a place 9 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,040 Speaker 1: we are traveling later this year for the show, Oh yeah, 10 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: wouldn't it be great to do a nice episode on 11 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:36,600 Speaker 1: German history? 12 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:37,559 Speaker 2: Ha ha. 13 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 3: I tried so hard, but. 14 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 1: It didn't work out one hundred percent that way. And 15 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 1: I apologize. If you are a coffee hound like I am. 16 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 1: We're going to talk about that a lot on Friday. 17 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:53,560 Speaker 1: You probably have benefited from the ideas of the woman 18 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 1: that we're going to talk about today and her early 19 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: twentieth century invention. Malita Benz's store is usually framed in 20 00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: this sort of quaint way about a housewife who ended 21 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: up a captain of industry because she loved coffee so much. Listen, 22 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 1: that's not entirely wrong, but the company that she founded 23 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: also has a very dark spot in its history when 24 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:18,919 Speaker 1: it comes to Nazi Germany. I promise you I didn't 25 00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: know this until I was so far in it that 26 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:22,880 Speaker 1: I couldn't really backpedal out of it and start a 27 00:01:22,880 --> 00:01:26,680 Speaker 1: new episode. So today we are going to talk about 28 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: this very formative moment in coffee culture history. We are 29 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: going to talk about some ugly wartime collaboration, and you 30 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: know kind of where that company is today, Germany. 31 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 3: I like you heaps. 32 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,759 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, but we're going to start as usual at 33 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: the beginning. Amili Augusta Melita Liebscher was born on January 34 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: thirty first, eighteen seventy three, in Dresden, Germany. Her father, 35 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: Carl Liebscher, had a bookstore, and her mother, Brigitte Reinhardt, 36 00:01:57,640 --> 00:01:59,800 Speaker 1: also helped out at that bookstore when she was not 37 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 1: keeping house. Melita's grandparents also had a business of their own. 38 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: They ran a brewery, and so she had this multi 39 00:02:08,160 --> 00:02:12,360 Speaker 1: generational set of examples of family members owning their own businesses. 40 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: We really don't know anything else, though, about Melita's childhood 41 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: besides those very basics. We do know that when she 42 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,960 Speaker 1: was in her twenties, Melita met a man named Johannes 43 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: Emil Hugo Bentz who went by Hugo, he worked in retail, 44 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: and they got married. They went on to have three children, 45 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: two sons named Villi and Horst, and a daughter named Herta, 46 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,320 Speaker 1: and the story goes that Melita, like many people, liked 47 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: to start her day with a cup of coffee, but 48 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,679 Speaker 1: according to an interview that her son Horse gave in 49 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 1: the late nineteen forties, Melita got frustrated with the coffee 50 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: grounds that made it into the cup and interrupted the 51 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: otherwise pleasurable beverage. The flavor was also inconsistent from cup 52 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 1: to cup because of that, and it could also leave 53 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,600 Speaker 1: a bitter app after taste because as the grounds got 54 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: into it and sat in it, they continued to steep 55 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: and they eventually turned bitter. And she also was not 56 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: the biggest fan of cleaning the coffee pot and kind 57 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: of having to chase after all of those grounds the 58 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: one that she used. The coffee pot that she used 59 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:20,399 Speaker 1: has been described as a copper pot in some accounts 60 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: and as a porcelain percolator in others, but it could 61 00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,959 Speaker 1: have been any number of designs that were in use 62 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,360 Speaker 1: at the time. So one style that was popular in 63 00:03:30,440 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: Germany at the time in the early nineteen hundreds is 64 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: sometimes called a flip burner. It had a vessel for 65 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: water at the base and that was placed directly on 66 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: the stove, and then on top of that was usually 67 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 1: a mirror vessel, and that had a section in between 68 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 1: the two parts that held the coffee grounds. When the 69 00:03:48,680 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: water started to boil, you flipped the whole thing over 70 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: so that the boiling water passed over the coffee grounds 71 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:58,120 Speaker 1: in that central compartment and it passed into the mirror vessel. 72 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,800 Speaker 1: That part all so had a poor spout, so when 73 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 1: your coffee had all passed through the grounds, you could 74 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:07,920 Speaker 1: pour it out from that bottom section. Now bottom, since 75 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: you had flipped it over. The central holding section for 76 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: the grounds had a slim gap around this connecting point 77 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:18,039 Speaker 1: between the two parts, so that the coffee could slowly 78 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:21,880 Speaker 1: flow into the side that you poured from, and that 79 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: kept most of the grounds from jumping into the coffee, 80 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: but not all of them. Some were still sure to 81 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: get through. Another common style of coffee maker that was 82 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: used in the eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds involved 83 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:39,040 Speaker 1: a pot that had a long straw like usually metal 84 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: tube that ran from the center of a small basin 85 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 1: at the top of the pot down into the water 86 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 1: reservoir below, and these could be metal or porcelain, and 87 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: they were placed directly on the stove, and when the 88 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 1: pot was heated, that heated water would move up the 89 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: tube and spill into that small basin, which is where 90 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,039 Speaker 1: the grounds were placed. And like the flip burner, this 91 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:02,760 Speaker 1: basin also usually had a narrow gap around it that 92 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: allowed the coffee to then drip back into the main pot, 93 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,599 Speaker 1: but it had the exact same problem of grounds always 94 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 1: going with it, at least some of them. Other methods 95 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:15,479 Speaker 1: that were in use at the time included the basic 96 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 1: of just boiling water with loose grounds in it and 97 00:05:18,480 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 1: then letting those grounds settle to the bottom of the 98 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:24,960 Speaker 1: pot before pouring, or using a cloth bag kind of 99 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:26,920 Speaker 1: like a tea bag to hold the grounds in the 100 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: boiling water, but that meant that the weave of that 101 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,039 Speaker 1: fabric had to be loose enough to let water flow easily. 102 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: The kind of paper that we used today for tea 103 00:05:35,800 --> 00:05:39,360 Speaker 1: bags didn't exist yet or wasn't common. That also meant 104 00:05:39,360 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: that grounds could slip through. It is unclear if Melita 105 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 1: was using one of the pots we have described here 106 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:49,719 Speaker 1: or something else, but whatever she was using was definitely 107 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: letting grounds get into her cup of coffee. I gotta 108 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:56,400 Speaker 1: say that is unpleasant when you have a nice cup 109 00:05:56,440 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 1: of coffee and then you take that last mouthful and 110 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: get a mouthful of ground. Uh. 111 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 2: I don't like that. 112 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 3: It's not my favorite. 113 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 1: No. 114 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:06,560 Speaker 2: So she said to have. 115 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:09,840 Speaker 1: Tried a few different solutions to this problem, and none 116 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 1: of her early attempts fully work. Her coffee would still 117 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,960 Speaker 1: have some grounds in it. Some of her solutions involved 118 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:20,440 Speaker 1: punching holes into the basin where the grounds went, but 119 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: the holes, if they were big enough for the coffee 120 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 1: to get through, they were also big enough for some 121 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: of the grounds to slip through. Then one morning, she's 122 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: described as having just a bolt of inspiration. According to 123 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 1: pretty much all of the accounts of this, she tore 124 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: a page of blotting paper out of her son's notebook 125 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: and cut that in a circle, and then placed that 126 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: over the holes in the basin where the grounds went. 127 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: Blotting paper is not as common today as it was 128 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 1: in nineteen oh six, so in case you don't know, 129 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:55,919 Speaker 1: it's this thin, porous paper that people would put in 130 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,039 Speaker 1: between the pages of a notebook when writing with something 131 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,640 Speaker 1: like a fountain peg. The blotting paper would absorb the 132 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:05,920 Speaker 1: extra ink and just keep it from smearing. So when 133 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: Melida poured hot water over the coffee grounds with blotting 134 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: paper covering the holes in her pot, the coffee filtered 135 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: through the paper into the cup, and then none of 136 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: the ground's went along with it. Then she found she 137 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:21,560 Speaker 1: could just pull out that blotting paper and toss it 138 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: and the grounds into the trash altogether, and that made 139 00:07:24,760 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: a significant reduction in clean up time. Once Melita had 140 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 1: tested this method herself a few times, she expanded her 141 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: test to include her friends. She started hosting small afternoon 142 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: gatherings with her friends where she would have them over 143 00:07:39,760 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: and serve them coffee that she had brewed using her 144 00:07:42,320 --> 00:07:45,160 Speaker 1: new method. She wanted to see if they agreed that 145 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: her preparation resulted in a smoother blend and an overall 146 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:52,880 Speaker 1: better drinking experience, and they apparently did agree, because Melita 147 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:56,240 Speaker 1: decided to patent her invention, which she submitted under the 148 00:07:56,240 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: title coffee filter with a domed underside, recessed by and 149 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: inclined flow holes. I will say that is a translation 150 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: from the original German, So whether or not it feels 151 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: as you know, sort of lacking in poetry in the 152 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:14,520 Speaker 1: German I don't know. But her patent was granted by 153 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 1: the Imperial Patent Office on June twentieth, nineteen oh eight, 154 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: and it was included in the patent bulletin the patent 155 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 1: Bloat that the IPO published the following month. This was 156 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 1: a pretty significant moment because Melita Bentz became one of 157 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: the first women in Germany to hold a patent. The 158 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 1: Melita pour over apparatus that was patented was really similar 159 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:37,680 Speaker 1: to ones you can still get today. It was metal 160 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: and shaped a lot like a mug, but also designed 161 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:43,839 Speaker 1: to sit on top of the coffee cup or mug 162 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: that you would drink out of. It stood about nine 163 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:49,440 Speaker 1: centimeters or three and a half inches tall, and it 164 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:52,200 Speaker 1: had a rounded base that fit inside of the rim 165 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: of a standard cup. The models she worked on after 166 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 1: that first one had a saucer like base of about 167 00:08:59,280 --> 00:09:02,000 Speaker 1: eleven point biter five centimeters or four and a half 168 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,440 Speaker 1: inches wide. They had a lip on the underside that 169 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: kept it centered in a drinking cup. There were actually 170 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:12,280 Speaker 1: two components that had holes punched in them. The base 171 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 1: of this cup like reservoir had a lot of small holes, 172 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:19,280 Speaker 1: and then there was another metal topper which had several 173 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:22,960 Speaker 1: dozen holes that sat snugly into the top and had 174 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: a small tab style handle for easy removal. A photo 175 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:31,199 Speaker 1: of this original version is on the German Patent and 176 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:36,440 Speaker 1: Trademark Office website. The filter papers that she packaged to 177 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:39,959 Speaker 1: use with her metal apparatus were just discs of round 178 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,880 Speaker 1: blotting paper. These were just the exact diameter and in 179 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:47,840 Speaker 1: circumference of the interior of the main reservoir. So the 180 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:51,080 Speaker 1: paper was placed inside the reservoir over the holes, and 181 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: then the ground coffee and the hot water were added. 182 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:57,360 Speaker 1: The top, which had holes to allow steam to escape, 183 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:01,160 Speaker 1: was placed overall of that. The coffee dripped through the 184 00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:04,760 Speaker 1: apparatus in the cup and then voila pour over coffee. 185 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: So for clarity, the nomenclature for all of this as 186 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:10,960 Speaker 1: it's discussed historically is a little different from the way 187 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:15,000 Speaker 1: that people talk about coffee supplies today. While you or 188 00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:17,360 Speaker 1: I might mention, you know, going to the store to 189 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: pick up a pack of coffee filters, and we would 190 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:24,880 Speaker 1: mean the papers. Melita's metal invention was called the filter 191 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,200 Speaker 1: in a lot of documentation, and the disposable part was 192 00:10:28,240 --> 00:10:32,840 Speaker 1: called filter paper. This gets even more complicated because this 193 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:39,000 Speaker 1: nomenclature changed over time, not always necessarily purposefully, it seems, 194 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:43,280 Speaker 1: with discussion and even advertising of the Melita products, and 195 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:46,960 Speaker 1: sometimes both parts of the equation, both the metal thing 196 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,400 Speaker 1: and the disposable paper parts were called the filter even 197 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:54,079 Speaker 1: when referring to those two things separately. We're going to 198 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: always try to be really specific about which is which 199 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:58,199 Speaker 1: as we go to avoid confusion. 200 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 3: But just know there is amba like word usage that 201 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 3: goes on historically here. Before we go. 202 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,080 Speaker 1: Any further, we will take a quick sponsor break. 203 00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 3: Patent in hand. 204 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:23,319 Speaker 1: Melita and her husband started their new business right out 205 00:11:23,360 --> 00:11:25,959 Speaker 1: of their home. It started out with the name of 206 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: the business being m Bentz, but the products were made 207 00:11:29,600 --> 00:11:33,439 Speaker 1: under the label of simply Melita. When the company began, 208 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:37,400 Speaker 1: the capital in its ledger was a mere seventy two fennings, 209 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:40,160 Speaker 1: and a fenning was one one hundredth of a mark, 210 00:11:40,240 --> 00:11:42,400 Speaker 1: similar to how a penny is one one hundredth of 211 00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:45,560 Speaker 1: a dollar, so they had very little cash involved in 212 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:48,840 Speaker 1: this startup. They had fifty of the metal filters made 213 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 1: and one hundred cartons of the filter paper, and they 214 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 1: started to sell these to their neighbors. Their sons Villian Horst, 215 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:58,680 Speaker 1: delivered orders around the neighborhood with a little hand cart. 216 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:02,680 Speaker 1: Hugo Boh, who recall worked in retail, made use of 217 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:05,000 Speaker 1: his experience in that field and he went around to 218 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,840 Speaker 1: local shops and he got them to not only carry 219 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:10,640 Speaker 1: the filters, but to also let him set up displays 220 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:14,120 Speaker 1: in the windows that would show potential customers how the 221 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:16,720 Speaker 1: filter and the filter paper worked to make what the 222 00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: benches called perfect coffee enjoyment. 223 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:21,480 Speaker 3: They really needed these. 224 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: Displays because otherwise people had no idea how this new 225 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 1: product was supposed to work. In nineteen oh nine, Melita 226 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 1: and Hugo took their coffee filtering system to the Leipzig 227 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:35,199 Speaker 1: Trade Fair. This is a huge moment for their new business. 228 00:12:35,559 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 1: The Leipzig Trade Fair was and still is a big deal, 229 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:43,200 Speaker 1: and it's historically significant in regard to European commerce. So 230 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:47,559 Speaker 1: here's a brief story. This trade fair traces its roots 231 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 1: all the way back to eleven sixty five, when Leipzig 232 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: was granted the rights to operate as a town and 233 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 1: have a market. That was granted by the Margrave of 234 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:00,520 Speaker 1: Meissen at the time, Auto the scond so known as 235 00:13:00,559 --> 00:13:04,440 Speaker 1: Otto the Rich. But Leipzig really got a boost during 236 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: the reign of King Maximilian the First and the beginning 237 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 1: of the sixteenth century. The trade fair became a more 238 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: official event rather than just the town's market. It turned 239 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: into a place for both consumers and businesses to find 240 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 1: things for personal use and for resale. In the nineteenth century, 241 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 1: this started to look more like a trade fair the 242 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:29,280 Speaker 1: way you might think of one in modern terms, with 243 00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:33,760 Speaker 1: a lot of hopeful wholesalers bringing presentations and samples to 244 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:37,320 Speaker 1: show prospective retailers so that they can place orders for 245 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:40,960 Speaker 1: full runs of the product. This continued to grow in 246 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,439 Speaker 1: this way until nineteen forty two, when it stopped completely 247 00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:47,720 Speaker 1: until the end of World War Two. Then after the war, 248 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:51,319 Speaker 1: the trade fair got started again and it continued to grow, 249 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:56,520 Speaker 1: including through major events like the reunification of Germany. Yeah, 250 00:13:56,559 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 1: this is still a big event. I think they do 251 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 1: two shows a year now showing the metal filter and 252 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:05,000 Speaker 1: papers that Melita had invented. At the fair enabled this 253 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:08,520 Speaker 1: small cottage company to get the attention of retailers that 254 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:12,960 Speaker 1: ran housewares shops and general stores all around Germany. No 255 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,559 Speaker 1: longer were they selling only to their neighbors directly or 256 00:14:16,559 --> 00:14:20,160 Speaker 1: in local shops. Retailers from all over the country wanted 257 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:23,280 Speaker 1: to carry these metal filters, which were priced at one 258 00:14:23,280 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 1: point twenty five marks, so it was not clear to 259 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 1: me in the research if that is the wholesale price 260 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: or not. Several different sources about Melita Bentz's life mentioned 261 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,880 Speaker 1: that specific number of one point twenty five marks, so 262 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: presumably that is what she was bringing in from each sale, 263 00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:43,600 Speaker 1: but I can't say that confidently. In the year that 264 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:47,920 Speaker 1: followed that first trade show, Melita sold one two hundred 265 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,600 Speaker 1: and fifty of her metal filters, and things just kept 266 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:54,560 Speaker 1: climbing from there. They not only gained popularity, they also 267 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 1: gained accolades. In nineteen eleven, Melita took the filters to 268 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:03,920 Speaker 1: the International Hygiene Exposition. This was a medicine and public 269 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: health expo that Dresden hosted, and the Benzes took a 270 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:11,560 Speaker 1: range of inventions with them, not just the coffee filter system. 271 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 1: In addition to the standard filter, there was a miniature 272 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,240 Speaker 1: version for small cups, a version for tea, and a 273 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 1: device called an uber cook for hooter. Holly and I 274 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:26,000 Speaker 1: each went on little adventures figuring out exactly what this 275 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 1: product did and what it was for, because that term 276 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:32,160 Speaker 1: is used today for things that are boilover preventers. But 277 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:35,320 Speaker 1: Holly also found a translation that described it as preventing 278 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:38,920 Speaker 1: over cooking. It looked kind of like a big old 279 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,880 Speaker 1: chimney that would go on top of the pot. Their 280 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:47,720 Speaker 1: range of products won them a gold and a silver metal. Yeah, 281 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: it reminded me a little bit of like a Moroccan tagene, 282 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,680 Speaker 1: but also could stop water from boiling over. 283 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 3: We don't know. 284 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,840 Speaker 1: There's the only picture that we found of it just 285 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 1: shows it. Does it show it in relation to like 286 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:02,880 Speaker 1: a pot or anything. 287 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:04,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, So we don't know. 288 00:16:04,760 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 3: We don't really know how that whole thing functioned. 289 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:10,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, I found an ad for a different, similar looking 290 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: product that described it as as preventing your milk and 291 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 1: your chocolate from boiling over. So I can imagine it 292 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 1: working a lot of ways. Mysteries mysteries. Melita and Hugo 293 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 1: continually sought new ways to promote their business, including hiring 294 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 1: young women to do demos in stores and store windows 295 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 1: to show people how this filter system worked and that 296 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:39,160 Speaker 1: worked like a charm. By nineteen fourteen, the dedicated room 297 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,040 Speaker 1: in their apartment was simply not working anymore. It was 298 00:16:42,240 --> 00:16:45,320 Speaker 1: just too small to handle what they needed, so Melita 299 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 1: and Hugo opened a factory in Dresden that was in 300 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 1: a former locksmith shop. They also hired their first non 301 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:56,440 Speaker 1: relative full time employees, although Villi and Horst continued to 302 00:16:56,480 --> 00:17:00,440 Speaker 1: work for their parents. As the company grew, seemed like 303 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:05,280 Speaker 1: Melita Coffee was on an endless growth trajectory until World 304 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:08,760 Speaker 1: War One started in nineteen fourteen, because at that point 305 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:12,200 Speaker 1: both Hugo and Villi were conscripted into the German Army 306 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:16,040 Speaker 1: and had to leave Dresden to go fight. Up to 307 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:19,080 Speaker 1: that point, Hugo had been helping with the business, but 308 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:23,040 Speaker 1: he still had his regular job. Everything the family made 309 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:26,800 Speaker 1: with the coffee filters was extra income, but with her 310 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:30,800 Speaker 1: husband at war, Melita became the sole breadwinner. She had 311 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:35,160 Speaker 1: help from her from her brother Paul Leiebscher, and Melita 312 00:17:35,240 --> 00:17:38,320 Speaker 1: was the driving force of the company. She made the 313 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:41,920 Speaker 1: decision to expand the line, which sounds like a growth move, 314 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,240 Speaker 1: but this was more about survival because coffee had really 315 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:49,399 Speaker 1: been impacted by the war. In the decade or so 316 00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:52,600 Speaker 1: leading up to World War One, coffee had gone from 317 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:56,320 Speaker 1: being more of a luxury item to being more commonly 318 00:17:56,320 --> 00:17:59,359 Speaker 1: consumed throughout Germany and the rest of Europe, kind of 319 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:02,639 Speaker 1: spreading out the socioeconomic hierarchy. 320 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,360 Speaker 3: Kind of everybody started drinking coffee, and. 321 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:08,600 Speaker 1: This was a time when Brazil was exporting an estimated 322 00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:11,600 Speaker 1: seventy five percent of all of the coffee that was 323 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:14,800 Speaker 1: drunk throughout the world. They were exporting the beans, obviously, 324 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:18,879 Speaker 1: not the coffee itself, but trade across the Atlantic was 325 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:23,400 Speaker 1: disrupted when World War One began. The coffee that remained 326 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 1: in Germany was all purchased by the German government. Britain 327 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:31,920 Speaker 1: put laws into place that forbid any trade with central powers, 328 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:36,200 Speaker 1: so that included the German Empire, Austria, Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, 329 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:40,000 Speaker 1: and Bulgaria, and the British also had a naval blockade 330 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:43,159 Speaker 1: in place that prevented direct shipping to those countries from 331 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:47,600 Speaker 1: anyone else. So this meant that any coffee commerce into 332 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:51,680 Speaker 1: Germany had to pass through neutral countries like Sweden, which 333 00:18:51,720 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 1: they took advantage of and they mean deals with those countries. 334 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:58,680 Speaker 1: But once Britain realized that Germany was buying coffee through 335 00:18:58,680 --> 00:19:02,280 Speaker 1: those neutral countries, it actually started to pressure those governments 336 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: to end those business relationships, and it worked so eventually 337 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 1: Germany established what was called the War Committee for Coffee, 338 00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:14,479 Speaker 1: Tea and Substitutes to manage the limited supply they were 339 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:18,200 Speaker 1: able to get their hands on, and that organization routed 340 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,720 Speaker 1: most of the coffee to the military, which meant that 341 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:26,000 Speaker 1: most civilian citizens had no access to coffee. So even 342 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,880 Speaker 1: if the Melita Company had continued to make their metal filters, 343 00:19:30,119 --> 00:19:34,159 Speaker 1: people couldn't drink coffee, so there was no demand for them. Also, 344 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,200 Speaker 1: no demand for the paper filters to use with them. 345 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:41,719 Speaker 1: Paper was also in short supply, so making the filters 346 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:45,879 Speaker 1: would have seemed both pointless and wasteful. Instead, the Melita 347 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:49,360 Speaker 1: Company started to manufacture paper cartons to create a new 348 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:53,800 Speaker 1: revenue stream. People still needed boxes, and this did manage 349 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:56,200 Speaker 1: to sustain the family until the end of the war 350 00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 1: when Hugo and Villi returned home. Once they did, really 351 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:04,280 Speaker 1: became co owner of the business and the name switched 352 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:09,359 Speaker 1: from m Bentz to Bence and sun ohg as coffee 353 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:11,919 Speaker 1: became part of daily life in Germany again. 354 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:13,119 Speaker 3: After the war ended. 355 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: The Benzes based a new hurdle, and that was imitators, 356 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 1: because people really liked this method of making coffee, and 357 00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:23,879 Speaker 1: as the market started to see more and more companies 358 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 1: pop up selling both metal filters and filter papers. The 359 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:32,920 Speaker 1: Melina Company protected its identity on shelves by designing packaging 360 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,439 Speaker 1: that would be easy for consumers to recognize as theirs 361 00:20:36,520 --> 00:20:39,040 Speaker 1: and they could tout it as the original and this 362 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,920 Speaker 1: was the beginning of the company signature red and green packaging. 363 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:43,960 Speaker 3: Which is still in use today. 364 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: As the US was experiencing the economic crash of nineteen 365 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:52,080 Speaker 1: twenty nine, which impacted the whole globe over the next 366 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:56,720 Speaker 1: several decades, the Melita Company was expanding again. Demand had 367 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:59,920 Speaker 1: grown consistently since they opened their Dresden factory and it 368 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:03,280 Speaker 1: was time to move to a new facility. They moved 369 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:07,120 Speaker 1: a substantial distance to the smaller town of Menden, which 370 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:10,200 Speaker 1: is more than four hundred kilometers or about two hundred 371 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 1: and fifty miles northeast of Dresden. This was a massive undertaking, 372 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:19,480 Speaker 1: but the Benches had found a former chocolate factory that 373 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:23,600 Speaker 1: was really a perfect fit for what they needed. Additionally, 374 00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:26,280 Speaker 1: the city of Menden was eager to bring in new 375 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:30,360 Speaker 1: industry and offered tax incentives to businesses that moved there, 376 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:34,400 Speaker 1: all of the factory machinery had to be taken apart 377 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:37,879 Speaker 1: and loaded onto train cars along with all the existing inventory, 378 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 1: and then everything had to be moved and reassembled once 379 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:45,119 Speaker 1: it got to its destination. But the Benches couldn't afford 380 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:48,399 Speaker 1: to shut down their entire operation for very long, so 381 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:53,000 Speaker 1: this entire thing was done in four days. At the 382 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: end of that time they were up and running in 383 00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 1: the new factory space. Fifty five of their employees moved 384 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:03,360 Speaker 1: to Menden to stay there with the company. Melita headquarters 385 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:07,480 Speaker 1: is still in Mindon today, and as their business grew, 386 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:11,040 Speaker 1: the Benzes made decisions about the workforce and their factory 387 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:14,280 Speaker 1: that were in some ways progressive, at least as we 388 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:17,000 Speaker 1: perceived them, but they were also part of a nationwide 389 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:20,280 Speaker 1: trend in the post World War One by Marb Republic. 390 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:24,520 Speaker 1: The standard of living for workers improved in general in 391 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:28,600 Speaker 1: the country during this time, although unemployment rates rose significantly, 392 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:33,000 Speaker 1: and during this time benefits were introduced like unemployment insurance, 393 00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: pension plans, and sick leave. At the Melida factory, workers 394 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:39,560 Speaker 1: got a five day work week as well as thirty 395 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,640 Speaker 1: days of leave a year, and the benches also gave 396 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:47,040 Speaker 1: out Christmas bonuses to employees each year. Over time, there 397 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:51,800 Speaker 1: were additional benefits added to the employee benefits package. They 398 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 1: started receiving anniversary bonuses and their own health insurance, and 399 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:59,240 Speaker 1: the company retained a doctor and a dentist that employees 400 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:02,560 Speaker 1: could see for free. In nineteen thirty eight, the Melita 401 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:06,160 Speaker 1: Aid Fund was created as a mutual aid initiative for employees. 402 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:09,360 Speaker 1: This all sounds great, but there is some spin doctoring 403 00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:12,159 Speaker 1: going on when this is discussed, because that fund and 404 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:15,160 Speaker 1: some of those other benefits were implemented at a time 405 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,440 Speaker 1: when some deeply problematic things were happening at the factory. 406 00:23:18,520 --> 00:23:20,159 Speaker 1: We're going to talk a little bit more about that 407 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:24,480 Speaker 1: in a few moments. Melita Benz herself is often described 408 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: as being invested in the welfare of her employees and 409 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,679 Speaker 1: wanting to promote the idea of quality of life throughout 410 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 1: the company. This is often attributed to her own background 411 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,119 Speaker 1: of having been a mother and a housewife who then 412 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:41,360 Speaker 1: became a businesswoman, meaning she recognized the need for balance 413 00:23:41,400 --> 00:23:43,800 Speaker 1: in her own life and tried to foster the same 414 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:47,199 Speaker 1: in a workforce with a growing number of women. It 415 00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:49,720 Speaker 1: remains a little unclear to me how much of this 416 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:55,399 Speaker 1: is an idealized characterization. Twenty four years after Melita Bentz 417 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:58,720 Speaker 1: patented her invention, at the age of fifty nine, she 418 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:01,440 Speaker 1: retired from the day to day running of the company 419 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:05,879 Speaker 1: she had founded. Her husband, Hugo retired as well. The 420 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:10,200 Speaker 1: company's ownership was transferred entirely to their sons in nineteen 421 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 1: thirty two. That was the same year that their younger son, 422 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:18,080 Speaker 1: Horsebnz became co owner and the company's name was once 423 00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:22,359 Speaker 1: again changed to Melita Work. The Benz sons ran the 424 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 1: business from that point forward, although Melita was still involved 425 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:29,440 Speaker 1: in the culture of the company. In nineteen thirty five, 426 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:34,359 Speaker 1: the company redesigned their filtering system. Instead of metal filters, 427 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:38,119 Speaker 1: they created porcelain ones that were all one piece, instead 428 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:40,520 Speaker 1: of having a drip reservoir with a filter cup on 429 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:44,399 Speaker 1: top of it. The design of the porcelain filter was 430 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:47,520 Speaker 1: still such that it sits on top of a coffee cup, 431 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:50,359 Speaker 1: though it functioned in exactly the same way, and it 432 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,359 Speaker 1: actually looks almost just like a coffee cup, except that 433 00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:57,480 Speaker 1: the reservoir inside is an inverted conical shape, and to 434 00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,720 Speaker 1: fit that shape, the company produced and patent a new 435 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:04,360 Speaker 1: paper filter. You probably know what these look like These 436 00:25:04,359 --> 00:25:07,840 Speaker 1: are the exact style of paper conical filter that many 437 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,000 Speaker 1: drip coffee makers use today, and a lot of companies 438 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:15,359 Speaker 1: produce porcelain and ceramic and even plastic filters in the 439 00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:19,080 Speaker 1: exact same style as this Malina redesigned from the nineteen thirties, 440 00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:24,280 Speaker 1: including the Melita Company. This type of single serving ceramic 441 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:27,240 Speaker 1: filter has historically been more common in Europe than in 442 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:30,639 Speaker 1: the US, but you can absolutely find them in the US. 443 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:35,479 Speaker 1: As pour over coffee has grown in popularity, many coffee 444 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:38,600 Speaker 1: connoisseurs agree with Melita Bentz that this is the superior 445 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 1: way to make coffee. The patent for that new filter 446 00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:45,840 Speaker 1: form was granted in December nineteen thirty seven, and the 447 00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:49,480 Speaker 1: ad campaign that went with it touted Melita Filters every 448 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:54,560 Speaker 1: type of coffee. Filtered coffee tastes better. Under the leadership 449 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:58,760 Speaker 1: of Villianhorst, the company also expanded out of beverages and 450 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:01,040 Speaker 1: started to make sandwich paper as well. 451 00:26:01,880 --> 00:26:02,680 Speaker 3: Coming up, we. 452 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:06,480 Speaker 1: Will get into the Melita Company's collaboration with the Third Reich, 453 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:09,360 Speaker 1: but before we do, we will pause to hear from 454 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:11,960 Speaker 1: the sponsors that keep stuffy missed in history class. 455 00:26:12,040 --> 00:26:23,160 Speaker 2: Going The Second World. 456 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:27,480 Speaker 1: War also impacted the trajectory of the Melita factory as Melita, 457 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:30,719 Speaker 1: without its namesake and her husband at the Helm, became 458 00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:35,200 Speaker 1: what was known as a national socialist model company, meaning 459 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:38,840 Speaker 1: it stopped production of its filters and other products to 460 00:26:38,920 --> 00:26:43,160 Speaker 1: make supplies for the Wehrmacht, the Third Reichs military. As 461 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:46,359 Speaker 1: early as nineteen thirty six, the company had started publishing 462 00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:50,600 Speaker 1: a newsletter for employees which contained a lot of Nazi propaganda. 463 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 1: Its earliest issue touted that the new publication would be 464 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,720 Speaker 1: a quote faithful companion on our march into the future, 465 00:26:58,119 --> 00:27:00,880 Speaker 1: on our path to the new great and Beautiful Germany 466 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:05,720 Speaker 1: of Adolf Hitler. Nazi Germany had requested that all companies 467 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:09,960 Speaker 1: with more than five hundred employees produce internal newspapers like this. 468 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,280 Speaker 1: Beginning in nineteen forty, Milita produced cookwaar like pots and 469 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:17,000 Speaker 1: pans for the military, and then in nineteen forty one 470 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:22,000 Speaker 1: manufacture shifted to things like ammunition belts. That same year, 471 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:25,000 Speaker 1: the company was awarded what was called the Golden Flag 472 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:28,040 Speaker 1: of the German Labor Front. This was an award that 473 00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:31,560 Speaker 1: companies had to elect to be considered for, so the 474 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:35,240 Speaker 1: Malina Company opted in. This meant that for the year 475 00:27:35,359 --> 00:27:39,240 Speaker 1: following that award, the company's employees might enjoy some special 476 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:42,680 Speaker 1: perks and benefits, but it would also be even more 477 00:27:42,720 --> 00:27:46,240 Speaker 1: closely overseen by the Nazi regime, and the company's production 478 00:27:46,320 --> 00:27:47,480 Speaker 1: goals were set higher. 479 00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:49,879 Speaker 3: According to a paper. 480 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:53,560 Speaker 1: That analyzed the available company newsletters from this time, the company, 481 00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:55,960 Speaker 1: at the direction of the Third Reich, through the model 482 00:27:55,960 --> 00:28:00,879 Speaker 1: company system, offered team building activities and incentives to work hard, 483 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:05,280 Speaker 1: like potential vacation trips, and they also set up a workshow. 484 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:08,919 Speaker 1: This literally translates to factory share or work share, but 485 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:13,600 Speaker 1: it has also been translated in a truer definition as 486 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:16,159 Speaker 1: a work troop. It was like a little battalion that 487 00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 1: was pushing Nazi ideology within the company. The employees that 488 00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:23,600 Speaker 1: were chosen to be in this group were responsible for 489 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:27,000 Speaker 1: keeping everyone in line, and employees that were not in 490 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:29,720 Speaker 1: the group were instructed to obey them. 491 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:31,720 Speaker 3: I will do a. 492 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:34,960 Speaker 1: Brief caveat here. On this paper that I'm referencing is 493 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:38,320 Speaker 1: written in German. I translated it through a couple of 494 00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 1: different translators and had a friend that speaks German look 495 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:43,240 Speaker 1: at the pieces that I was interested in. So just 496 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:46,800 Speaker 1: FYI know that just in the interest of transparency. I 497 00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:49,520 Speaker 1: did not read this in English, but an issue of 498 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,880 Speaker 1: the company paper from nineteen thirty eight also mentioned a 499 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,080 Speaker 1: work women's group that was organized under the guiding principle 500 00:28:56,120 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 1: that quote, we work women want to fight and be 501 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,720 Speaker 1: brave because we have only one will to serve our fewer. 502 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,440 Speaker 1: So these are the same years that the company started 503 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,520 Speaker 1: the mutual aid fund. At the same time, there were 504 00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 1: other initiatives to assist the workers who needed help, like 505 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:16,640 Speaker 1: the employees helped set up a company vegetable farm so 506 00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:20,360 Speaker 1: food could go to the workers who needed it. It's 507 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:24,280 Speaker 1: not really clear how they assessed the idea of need 508 00:29:24,600 --> 00:29:27,360 Speaker 1: like who needed this enough to get it? But it 509 00:29:27,400 --> 00:29:30,160 Speaker 1: does seem as though all of it was really about 510 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:33,880 Speaker 1: promoting the idea that all workers had to be loyal 511 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:36,960 Speaker 1: to the company and its alignment with the German government. 512 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,160 Speaker 1: During the same time these programs were being touted, the 513 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 1: editorials and the company paper warned employees not to shop 514 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:48,960 Speaker 1: at Jewish owned businesses, listing all of the ones that 515 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:53,080 Speaker 1: were blacklisted. It also included a lot of really horrifying 516 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 1: antisemitic commentary, including about children, and all of this was 517 00:29:58,080 --> 00:30:02,120 Speaker 1: done in accordance with guideline from the Nazi government, and 518 00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:06,120 Speaker 1: the result was that Melita continued to grow economically in 519 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:10,120 Speaker 1: Nazi Germany. This doesn't seem to be a case where 520 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:13,560 Speaker 1: company leadership was trying to save a flailing company by 521 00:30:13,600 --> 00:30:17,719 Speaker 1: cooperating with the Nazi government. According to that paper that 522 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:21,200 Speaker 1: we're talking about here, written by German historian Kristen Cossack 523 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:24,600 Speaker 1: in two thousand and five, Horst Bence had joined the 524 00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:27,720 Speaker 1: SS in nineteen thirty three, and he was largely in 525 00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:31,400 Speaker 1: charge of this newsletter, and many of the benefits that 526 00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:34,600 Speaker 1: the company was instituting in the late nineteen thirties seemed 527 00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:36,200 Speaker 1: to have been a way to make up for some 528 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:39,000 Speaker 1: very low pay That was also part of the way 529 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:43,920 Speaker 1: that Nazi Germany was running factories. Simultaneously, there were threats 530 00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:49,440 Speaker 1: of punishment, including taking away benefits if workers underperformed Kassack 531 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:53,080 Speaker 1: notes quote the examined newspapers showed that most of Malita's 532 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:57,040 Speaker 1: social benefits were initiated by the new Nazi social policy 533 00:30:57,440 --> 00:31:01,480 Speaker 1: or the model company competition. To be clear, the Melida 534 00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:05,240 Speaker 1: Company is not at all the only company that still 535 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:08,280 Speaker 1: exists today and cooperated with the Nazi government. 536 00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:11,040 Speaker 2: The list is so long and it. 537 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:18,920 Speaker 1: Includes companies like Audi, Siemens, BMW, Bayer, Coca Cola, Kodak, IBM, really. 538 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:19,440 Speaker 2: On and on and on. 539 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:23,520 Speaker 1: Those are just examples. If you are thinking why didn't 540 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:27,280 Speaker 1: they mention whatever, it's because there are many, many more. 541 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 1: We would be here for an hour if we started. Yeah, 542 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,440 Speaker 1: that would be the whole podcast. Like those other companies. 543 00:31:34,520 --> 00:31:37,760 Speaker 1: After World War Two, the Melida Company faced the Reckoning 544 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:41,880 Speaker 1: with its collaboration of the with the Nazi government. Over 545 00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:44,840 Speaker 1: the years, the company has acknowledged its part and at 546 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:48,240 Speaker 1: one point also prepared a report on it stating, quote, 547 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:51,280 Speaker 1: the role of the company during the Nazi era, as 548 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:54,040 Speaker 1: well as the proximity of the company management to the 549 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:57,840 Speaker 1: regime of the time, was presented in a scientific critical 550 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:01,200 Speaker 1: manner and published in the content text of an extensive 551 00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:05,120 Speaker 1: company chronicle. So that is not a document that is 552 00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,080 Speaker 1: readily available on their website at this point. You have 553 00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:10,360 Speaker 1: to email the company to get a copy of it. 554 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:13,160 Speaker 1: And it's something that Holly found out about too late 555 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:15,120 Speaker 1: to make a request for it to be part of 556 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:19,600 Speaker 1: this episode today. Yeah, it's in like a weird place 557 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:22,560 Speaker 1: that I think is kind of a not actively maintained 558 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:26,720 Speaker 1: part of their company site. Oh yeah, Like I think 559 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:29,600 Speaker 1: I got to it through one of those backdoor things 560 00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:31,720 Speaker 1: where you do a search for a very specific term 561 00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:34,040 Speaker 1: and it turns up a link and you're like, where 562 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:37,120 Speaker 1: is this in this Yeah, and that's where I found it. 563 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:39,680 Speaker 1: So I don't even know if that request would work anymore. 564 00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:44,600 Speaker 1: But per the company's website quote, in two thousand, the 565 00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:48,120 Speaker 1: Malita Group joined the Foundation Initiative of the German Economy 566 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:52,520 Speaker 1: for the Compensation of Forced Laborers. So in case you 567 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:55,400 Speaker 1: did not know, a lot of companies used forced labor 568 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:57,880 Speaker 1: in the later years of the war, people that were 569 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:01,800 Speaker 1: prisoners of war. Some were very, very horrible, and it 570 00:33:01,840 --> 00:33:05,840 Speaker 1: was literally enslaved labor. I mean, it's all horrible. It 571 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:09,960 Speaker 1: is unclear based on what information is readily available, if 572 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:13,760 Speaker 1: that was the case at Malita. It seems likely given 573 00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:18,240 Speaker 1: their participation in that reparations foundation, but we don't have details. 574 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:22,040 Speaker 1: That same page on the Malita site that mentions their 575 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:25,880 Speaker 1: participation in this foundation states clearly their stance today, which 576 00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:29,600 Speaker 1: is quote, the Malita Group is actively committed to democratic 577 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:33,600 Speaker 1: values and principles such as equal opportunities and freedom of expression. 578 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:37,280 Speaker 1: Respect for human rights is a matter of course The 579 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:40,560 Speaker 1: company rejects racism in any form and is clearly in 580 00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:44,680 Speaker 1: favor of equal rights for all people. Hugo Benz died 581 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:48,480 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty six. Melita Benz died four years later 582 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:51,200 Speaker 1: on June twenty ninth, nineteen fifty, at the age of 583 00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:56,000 Speaker 1: seventy seven. Their descendants have continued to be active in 584 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:58,520 Speaker 1: the running of the company, and the company has grown 585 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:03,160 Speaker 1: a lot. Today Melita has offices and production facilities around 586 00:34:03,200 --> 00:34:07,800 Speaker 1: the world, and today what used to be called the filter, 587 00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:12,400 Speaker 1: meaning the permanent device, they call a pourover. That's in 588 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:17,000 Speaker 1: line with what people call that nowadays, the paper single 589 00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:20,759 Speaker 1: use item is now called the filter. They also sell 590 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,120 Speaker 1: both of these things as well as coffee. It's estimated 591 00:34:24,160 --> 00:34:28,439 Speaker 1: that they manufacture more than fifty million coffee filters every day, 592 00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:32,359 Speaker 1: and a portrait of Melita Bentz, who started it all 593 00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:34,840 Speaker 1: in request for the perfect cup of coffee without a 594 00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:37,920 Speaker 1: big mouthful of grounds in it, still hangs in the 595 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:41,880 Speaker 1: company headquarters. I have a listener mail and it is 596 00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:46,040 Speaker 1: nice and easy breezy because it's about cross stitch. I 597 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,239 Speaker 1: love all the embroidery emails we've gotten. They make me 598 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:51,839 Speaker 1: so happy in my dark little heart. People love embroidery. 599 00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:54,640 Speaker 1: I also fished a bunch of them out of spam 600 00:34:54,680 --> 00:34:55,200 Speaker 1: this morning. 601 00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:55,960 Speaker 2: For some reason. 602 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:58,759 Speaker 1: I don't know why embroidery in particular went to the 603 00:34:58,840 --> 00:35:04,160 Speaker 1: junk folder, but it was all embroidery email. There's some 604 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:07,520 Speaker 1: algorithms somewhere that's like, nobody emails as much about embroidery. 605 00:35:07,560 --> 00:35:08,640 Speaker 3: This has to be garbage. 606 00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:12,279 Speaker 1: No listen, bring it on, keep them coming. This from 607 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:15,040 Speaker 1: our listener, Heather, who writes Hello, I just finished your 608 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:18,080 Speaker 1: recent episode about the history of embroidery and found it 609 00:35:18,160 --> 00:35:20,760 Speaker 1: so interesting. As I have been an avid cross stitcher 610 00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:23,400 Speaker 1: for the last few years, I have found such a 611 00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:27,040 Speaker 1: supportive community of fellow stitchers online and it's really improved 612 00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:30,000 Speaker 1: my mental health. I think you're correct in that the 613 00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:33,400 Speaker 1: surge in popularity of granny hobbies has everything to do 614 00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:36,560 Speaker 1: with political unrest. It really has helped me cope with 615 00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:37,359 Speaker 1: the state of the world. 616 00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:37,760 Speaker 2: Lately. 617 00:35:38,239 --> 00:35:42,120 Speaker 1: Attached or some photos of my recently finished to enjoy. 618 00:35:42,360 --> 00:35:48,200 Speaker 1: Heather makes beautiful, beautiful cross stitch gorgeous pieces. Some of 619 00:35:48,239 --> 00:35:51,160 Speaker 1: these are just the loveliest. One looks almost like a 620 00:35:51,239 --> 00:35:56,080 Speaker 1: haunted house, a little very beautiful Victorian house. That is 621 00:35:56,160 --> 00:36:00,920 Speaker 1: surrounded by autumnal colored flowers. It has dark birds on it. 622 00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:03,600 Speaker 1: I don't think they're ravens are crows because they have 623 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:05,360 Speaker 1: a little red on their back, but I could be wrong. 624 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:09,600 Speaker 1: There are some spiders. My favorite. It's just absolutely beautiful. 625 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:16,040 Speaker 1: There is another that is book themed and is also 626 00:36:16,160 --> 00:36:18,840 Speaker 1: as cute as they come. It says book sweet Books, 627 00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:21,160 Speaker 1: and it has kiddies on it. It has what looks 628 00:36:21,160 --> 00:36:24,239 Speaker 1: like a cup of coffee or tea. So Jermaine to 629 00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:27,600 Speaker 1: today's episode, as well as a couple others that she 630 00:36:27,680 --> 00:36:33,200 Speaker 1: has sent, one that reads coffee because murder is wrong. Okay, listen, 631 00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:38,680 Speaker 1: that's correct. I love it, Heather, Thank you so much 632 00:36:38,680 --> 00:36:41,920 Speaker 1: for sharing these with me. They make me so happy 633 00:36:42,040 --> 00:36:46,320 Speaker 1: in my heart. And I love knowing that everybody agrees 634 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:48,760 Speaker 1: that having I think you don't have to embroider. 635 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:49,160 Speaker 2: Listen. 636 00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:51,799 Speaker 1: The thing that she hit on that I think is 637 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:54,680 Speaker 1: very important is that I feel like having any kind 638 00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:59,080 Speaker 1: of little creative hobby, whether you're super into it and 639 00:36:59,120 --> 00:37:02,719 Speaker 1: you do really, you know, big projects with a lot 640 00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:05,160 Speaker 1: of intensive work, or if it's just a little thing 641 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:09,719 Speaker 1: where you buy like basic little kits of some kind, 642 00:37:09,760 --> 00:37:12,399 Speaker 1: whether that's embroidery or something else, just to give your 643 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:16,239 Speaker 1: brain a little creative outlet when you are, you know, 644 00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:18,439 Speaker 1: in your wind down at night or as a break 645 00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:20,640 Speaker 1: during the day. I think it's so good for everybody's 646 00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:23,520 Speaker 1: mental health to engage in some kind of little creative 647 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,080 Speaker 1: If you don't want to buy stuff, write yourself a 648 00:37:26,120 --> 00:37:29,200 Speaker 1: little poem, play with haikus, whatever it takes to keep 649 00:37:29,200 --> 00:37:35,120 Speaker 1: your mind soothed, happy, also energized. I find very energizing 650 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:38,200 Speaker 1: to do creative things. I hope you're all doing it, 651 00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:40,480 Speaker 1: because we all need to take care of ourselves. There 652 00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:44,600 Speaker 1: are also so many affordable kits nowadays that have just 653 00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:45,760 Speaker 1: enough to do one. 654 00:37:45,640 --> 00:37:46,400 Speaker 3: Of a project. 655 00:37:48,680 --> 00:37:52,160 Speaker 1: A friend of mine got an assortment of them, you know, 656 00:37:52,239 --> 00:37:55,520 Speaker 1: kind of going through the clearance rack before having a 657 00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:57,879 Speaker 1: little party with everybody coming over, and we all sat 658 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:00,520 Speaker 1: around and watched TV and did little crafts. 659 00:38:00,560 --> 00:38:01,160 Speaker 3: Super good. 660 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:05,720 Speaker 1: The best I love a craft party like a crafting bee, 661 00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:09,040 Speaker 1: is it will fix some stuff in you. I say, 662 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:13,200 Speaker 1: there is nothing better than sitting down with friends and 663 00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:16,120 Speaker 1: just making stuff and laughing. And you know, whether you're 664 00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:19,040 Speaker 1: eating something delicious or having cocktails or coffee or whatever 665 00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:21,880 Speaker 1: you'd like, it's just good for the soul. So I 666 00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:26,640 Speaker 1: hope everybody is finding stuff like that for themselves during 667 00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:28,920 Speaker 1: this time. It's also a good thing. If you're a doer, 668 00:38:29,239 --> 00:38:32,440 Speaker 1: you're a if you're a natural social leader, you know, 669 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:35,279 Speaker 1: don't be shy about starting initiatives like that at home. 670 00:38:35,320 --> 00:38:38,600 Speaker 1: They're very good for you among your friend group. Invite 671 00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:40,319 Speaker 1: a few people over. You never know what it could 672 00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:43,360 Speaker 1: lead to you. If you would like to write to 673 00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:46,680 Speaker 1: us and show us your embroidery, please do that. Pet 674 00:38:46,680 --> 00:38:49,440 Speaker 1: pictures also still always welcome. Anything else really that you 675 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:51,359 Speaker 1: want to share with us. You can do that at 676 00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:55,480 Speaker 1: History podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. If you have not 677 00:38:55,560 --> 00:38:57,480 Speaker 1: subscribed to the show and you would like to that 678 00:38:57,560 --> 00:38:59,239 Speaker 1: as easy as pie to do, you can do that 679 00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:02,000 Speaker 1: on the iheartrate you app or anywhere you listen to 680 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:09,920 Speaker 1: your favorite shows. Stuff you Missed in History Class is 681 00:39:09,960 --> 00:39:14,319 Speaker 1: a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit 682 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:17,799 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 683 00:39:17,840 --> 00:39:18,680 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.