German media also reported that Guenther Oettinger, premier of the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, had canceled a meeting with the Briton at this weekend's German Grand Prix at Nurburgring because of his comments about Hitler.

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Raised on a farm near the Black Forest in the spa town of Baden-Baden, about 50km north of Baiersbronn, he said he prefers products in their natural state, thanks to a childhood spent eating gathered food.

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Some German states had issued their own would-be stable currency: Baden's was secured on the revenue of state forests, Hanover's convertible into a given quantity of rye.

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