News from .... BERLIN

(taken from the Guardian)

The Bild reports that Christmas shoppers across Germany were horrified to find rows of little wooden Santas giving the Nazi salute - a gesture which is against the law to make, even if you are Santa Claus. Although some retailers have wearily maintained that the toy is actually pointing, seemingly directing the attention of his reindeer to a certain navigationally usefull feature if the night sky, shoppers were apparently confused when they saw all the little figures lined up on the shelf as if at a rally, and indulged in "isolated protests".

"We were astonished by the reaction," said a spokesman for Rossmann, a national chain with over 1,200 shops. "But we responded and had the entire inventory removed and destroyed."

The managing director of the company that manifactures the Santa toys said (his words amusingly rendered into English by an inept internet translation engine), "we are surprised that into the sky of Nicolaus showing with 'the Hitler greeting' in connection one brings."

So also we are.