A welcome campaign for World Cup fans designed by the German police has embarrassed the local Ministry of Interior after complaints were received that a cartoon character on the tournament’s Web site looks like Adolf Hitler.
The character, which is seen smiling and holding a globe on its finger, wears a military-style cap, British newspaper The Sun reported on Thursday. A splodge on the character's face, meant to be a nose, looks like a Hitler moustache.
The German police said the character, which was designed by a well-known German caricaturist, does not resemble Hitler. “It is arguable whether people would think it was Hitler – unless the resemblance was pointed out,” a police spokesman said.
A senior German official told Ynet that there was never an intension to depict Hitler.
"It is not clear how people can relate the smiling character to Hitler. The friendly logo is an ambassador of the German police and we are impatiently waiting for the football tournament, hoping it will pass peacefully,” they said.
RSS
