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News.comSeptember 5, 2003

‘Hitler’ wine rails German minister

From correspondents in Berlin

GERMANY has protested to Italy over a winery that labels its bottles with portraits of Adolf Hitler, the Justice Ministry said Friday.

Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries recently wrote to her Italian counterpart to say the labels are “contemptible and tasteless” and asked him to see what could be done against them, spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said.

The wine is available legally in Italy, where it can also be purchased on the Internet, Ms Wirtz said. Its sale is illegal in Germany, where products bearing images or slogans from the Nazi era are outlawed.

Still, Bavaria state said it was opening an investigation to see if any of the bottles had crossed the border.

Ms Zypries, in her letter to Italian Justice Minister Roberto Castelli, expressed hope that Italy would act as part of common European efforts to fight racism and xenophobia.

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