Germany Complains to Italy About Hitler Wines

Germany's justice minister, Brigitte Zypries, has protested to her Italian counterpart, Roberto Castelli about the sale of Italian wines labelled with pictures of Hitler, threatening another Italian-German rift.

The bottles, some of which bear the logo "Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer" (one people, one nation, one leader), have been selling fast, mainly to German tourists who spot them in petrol stations in northern Italy.

They are part of a "historical series" of labels, featuring leaders such as Mussolini, Stalin and Che Guevara. A Stalin or Hitler bottle sells for ¿3.3 (£2.60).

"People like these characters. They make good table conversation. So I'm not about to stop selling," said Alessandro Lunardelli, who says the Hitler wine is the most popular, selling 30,000 bottles a year.

"I am sorry if there are some people - German politicians, Jewish groups, or that type of thing - who get upset. But it's just history. I see no reason for such a fuss."

The use of racist or Nazi symbols is banned in Germany. But in Italy Mussolini calendars and tapes of his speeches are sold alongside Pokémon toys.

A German prosecutor has warned that Germany could prosecute Mr Lunardelli if he has sold his wines directly to Germans over the internet.

"I could make a fortune if I responded to all the email orders I get from Germany," he said. "But I know that would be against German law."

The debate adds to the strain imposed on Italo-German relations by the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, comparing a German MEP to a concentration camp guard, and the junior tourism minister calling German tourists "super-nationalistic blonds".

Although Berlin wants a European ban on racist or anti-foreigner imagery and literature, Mr Castelli said that only the Italian judiciary could decide to ban the wine.

"I did not know these bottles were being produced," he said.

"It seems bad taste to me."