Karl Braun (1902–1937), motorcycle racer Helmut Merkel (born 1949), CEO of the department store chain Karstadt Others Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), influential German playwright and poet of the 20th century. As a child, Brecht lived with his grandparents, who resided in Achern Heinrich Hansjakob, author. Several times, Hansjakob was a patient at the Illenau Hospital because of psychological illnesses International relations Since 1987 Achern has partnered with the town of Morez in France. For the past 18 years, Achern has had an exchange program with Morganton, North Carolina. References Much of the content of this article comes from the equivalent German Wikipedia article (retrieved January 25, 2006). The German article cited the following sources: Badisches Städtebuch; Band IV 2. Teilband aus "Deutsches Städtebuch. Handbuch städtischer Geschichte – Im Auftrage der Arbeitsgemeinschaft der historischen Kommissionen und mit Unterstützung des Deutschen Städtetages, des Deutschen Städtebundes und des Deutschen Gemeindetages, hrsg. von Erich Keyser, Stuttgart, 1959 Hans-Martin Pillin, Achern. Eine Stadt und ihre Geschichte, Achern 1997. Towns in Baden-Württemberg Ortenaukreis Baden