A hat company has broken a German taboo by advertising its products using an image of Adolf Hitler.

The campaign for the Hut Weber company places the iconic hair and moustache of the Nazi leader next to a bowler-hatted sketch of Charlie Chaplin, star of The Great Dictator, with the caption in English: "It's the hat."

Created by the Serviceplan agency, the advertisement is groundbreaking because the taboo of using Hitler in any other context but a historical one would have been unthinkable until now.

The advertisement has generated controversy although many young people writing in internet forums have expressed their approval.