Former heavyweight boxing champion Max Schmeling, seen by many US citizens as a "good German," went on to represent Coca-Cola in Germany after his career in the ring. Decades later, East German boxing champion Henry Maske ran McDonald's franchises in the German cities of Cologne and Leverkusen. The image of the US in Germany has taken a major beating, raising questions about how US companies can maintain their reputation. For decades, US brands enjoyed an unassailable image in Germany Image: picture alliance / dpaThe McDonald's experienceThe phrase "Made in Germany" was originally introduced by Britain's parliament in 1887 to warn consumers about supposedly inferior German goods. Fast-food company McDonald's hopes to evade consumer wrath by emphasizing its German sourcing Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B.