The color-by-numbers book of famous people was only on sale for half a day — but that was enough time for shocked parents in the Netherlands to point out the swastika-clad Adolf Hitler on social media.
Dutch drugstore chain Kruidvat immediately pulled the coloring book of recognizable portraits from its shelves and issued an apology. The stores are offering full refunds for anyone who bought the book, according to the BBC.
“My suspicion is that the man who created the coloring book got a book of famous people out of the closet and selected a pair, which unfortunately included Adolf Hitler,” a spokesperson for the book’s Belgian publisher Trifora told the BBC. “Maybe he did not recognize him.”
The illustrated Hitler in the coloring book is also performing a Nazi salute. The book, Kleuren op Code, was made in India and includes famous people like Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln.
“It is a nasty combination of circumstances. We check the book on translations, but do not check all the coloring pictures,” the publisher’s spokesperson told the BBC.
[BBC]
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