Pink Hitler posters provoke fury



Although they were allied with Hitler in WWII, Italians have fewer hangups about it all because Italian Fascism was not antisemitic. When the Germans came looking for Jews people all over Italy hid them -- church institutions particularly. At one stage Castel Gandolfo -- the summer retreat of the Pope -- was full of Jews being kept out of sight of the Germans

"Giant posters of Hitler dressed in bright pink, with a love heart in place of a swastika, have provoked a furious debate in Italy. The 18ft high posters of the Nazi leader advertise a line of clothing for young people and adorn street corners and bus stops in Palermo, Sicily's biggest city.

The ads show the Fuhrer in a lurid pink uniform, with his swastika armband replaced with one bearing a bright red heart, above the slogan "Change Style – Don't Follow Your Leader".

Many local people say the advertising campaign is offensive and have called for the posters to be taken down.

But the advertising agency which came up with the idea said critics of the campaign were over-reacting. The Hitler poster was a tongue-in-cheek way of encouraging young people not to follow the crowd in their fashion choices.

"We have ridiculed Hitler in a way that invites young people to create their own style and not to be influenced by their peers," said the agency's Daniele Manno.

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