The German word Kraut when standing alone in English is used most frequently as a slur against German people. Kraut is also used as an abbreviation for the foodstuff, sauerkraut.
Etymological foundations
In German, the term is rarely used alone. It describes a sort of plant with a mild pejorative connotation, thus usually used to name »unsophisticated« plants in foods, weeds or (archaic) for tobacco. The term is more often used in compound nouns for herbs, and also for cabbage and cabbage products:
Rübenkraut = thick sugar beet syrup
Bohnenkraut = Savory
Unkraut = Weed
Weißkraut = white cabbage (also called Weißkohl)
Blaukraut or Rotkraut = red cabbage (also called Rotkohl)
Sauerkraut = pickled sour white cabbage
Use in slang
In former times, Kraut was used as a colloquial expression for tobacco, especially loose tobacco for pipes( Pfeifenkraut ). Today it is sometimes used for marijuana.Since World War II, Kraut has, in the English language, come to be used as a der
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraut