BERLIN – Authorities in German city of Berlin detained two Chinese tourists for making the straight-armed Hitler salute for photos in front of the Reichstag parliament building, police said on Sunday.
The pair, 36 and 49-year-old males, were arrested on Saturday after being spotted photographing each other giving the banned salute.
They now face charges for “using symbols of illegal organisations” and were released after paying 500 euros ($589) bail each.
Germany does not take kindly to the Nazi salute. The state has strict laws on hate speech and symbols pertaining to the Nazi era.
The iconic Reichstag, a powerful symbol and building of some historical note in Germany, was engulfed in flames by arsonists, most likely paid by the Nazi party, in 1933.
The blaze was blamed on communists and Hitler and his henchmen used the fire as an excuse to severely crack down on civil liberties within the Nazi state.
Refurbished after Germany’s 1990 reunification by British architect Norman Foster, who added an iconic glass dome to symbolise open democracy, it has since 1999 housed the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag.
