Skipping over a ton of historical minutiae, we now move into the 20th-century, where kombucha storms Western Europe. During WWI, German physician Rudolf Sklenar saw it being used in Russia to treat soldier’s wounds, and he brought it home to use as a cancer treatment. Its popularity wanes during WWII rationing, and then kicks back up again in the mid-century, where it was again enjoyed throughout Europe. It is said that some Italians were stealing holy water to brew their kombucha with so it’d be more potent. I really like this story, but can’t find a definitive source to verify that it actually happened. So they say, though, when the priests figured this out, they understandably became upset and started preaching against kombucha. This purportedly, however, caused the death of kombucha popularity in mid-century Italy.