A Swiss supermarket chain has apologized after it was reported that customers discovered packets of cream that had the faces of former German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and former Italian Prime Minister v on top of the casings.
Reports say the creamer pots weren’t sold at the Migros grocery stores but were sent to customers who ordered coffee creamer at more than 100 cafes and restaurants.
Ostensibly, foil covers of small plastic cream pots served with coffee have become quite the fad across Switzerland, which has prompted manufacturers to conjure up different types of designs for collectors, though much of the previous designs have been related to beautiful sceneries of Switzerland rather than brutal dictators.
Images of the two men responsible for millions of deaths were just part of a series of 30 different creamer lids highlighting designs by cigar band. Some of the previous lids have consisted of former United States President John Tyler, flowers and animals.
Migros said in a statement that it was due to a variety of errors that led to the dictators appearing on the cream lids. The company called the mistake “unforgivable” and “inexcusable.” In the meantime, Migros has promised to remove all of the creamer pots that have been issued to cafes and restaurants as well as ending its relationship with Karo-Versand.
Deutsche-Welle notes that Karo-Versand managing director Peter Wälchli was unapologetic and defended his company by arguing images of Hitler and other World War II-era leaders are depicted in the media all the time.
Wälchli is somewhat correct. There have been some products that either portrayed Hitler or at least resembled him. For instance, last year, JC Penney sold out $40 tea kettles that resembled Hitler. Also, Israeli tourists found Nazi wine bottles with photos of Hitler and Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffe Heinrich Himmler – there were also wine bottles of violent Cuban guerilla leader Che Guevara.
