Two Chinese tourists made Hitler salutes in front of Berlin’s historic Reichstag building and got themselves arrested. The salute related to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis is a symbol of hate speech in Germany.
The two men, ages 36 and 49, were each released on $600 bail and now face criminal proceedings in Berlin, the BBC News reported.
Police said the tourists could face a fine or up to three years in prison for it.
Berlin said the men were seen in front of the building that houses the German parliament making the "Heil Hitler" salute and photographing each other with their mobile phones, Reuters reported.
Hitler ruled Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945, and German criminal code outlawed the salute after World War II.
The salute is also banned in several other European countries, The Washington Post reported. Switzerland's Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a man last week who displayed the salute outside a synagogue in Geneva.
The Reichstag has been an important symbol in Germany. It has housed the assemblies of the German Empire, the inter-war Weimar Republic, and Nazi Germany until it was destroyed by a suspicious fire in 1933, The Telegraph reported.
The rebuilt Reichstag was refurbished after Germany's 1990 reunification and a glass dome was added to symbolize open democracy. The building has housed the lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag, since 1999.
The Post reported the Chinese government has expressed concern in the past for "embarrassing behavior" by Chinese tourists traveling abroad and has encouraged travelers to respect local laws and customs.
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