German Store Embarrassed By Hitler Portrait Cups

Two mugs with a print of a faded stamp with a portrait of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler are pictured in Herford, Germany, 10 April 2014. A German furniture chain is recalling a coffee mug which it had on sale after disc... Two mugs with a print of a faded stamp with a portrait of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler are pictured in Herford, Germany, 10 April 2014. A German furniture chain is recalling a coffee mug which it had on sale after discovering it carried a portrait of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, the chief executive said. Zurbrueggen, which sold the bargain item for 1.99 euros (2.8 dollars), is offering shoppers a voucher for 20 euros if they return the mug, which has a pattern of roses, old handwriting and a Nazi-era postage stamp with Hitler's image on it. Both the purchasing agents in China and staff at his shop had not noticed Hitler when the item was added to stock. Photo by: Oliver Krato/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images MORE LESS
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BERLIN (AP) — A small German furniture store chain says it inadvertently ordered 5,000 coffee cups bearing afaint portrait of Adolf Hitler from China.

Christian Zurbrueggen, co-owner of the Zurbrueggen chain, told German news agency dpa on Thursday that 175 of the offending cups were sold before customers reported the problem.

Zurbrueggen said he wants to take the cups “out of circulation.”

The 4,825 unsold cups have been destroyed and Zurbrueggen says he’s offering a 20-euro ($28) voucher for the return of the others, which were sold for 1.99 euros each.

The cups have a faint feature of a Nazi-era stamp bearing Hitler’s portrait and a postmark with a swastika in the background overlaid with another layer of decoration. They were ordered from a trade fair in China and delivered last month.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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