New York, NY, October 1, 2007…The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) applauded Italian officials for the seizure of wine bottles in northern Italy whose labels depict Adolf Hitler and other Nazis.  ADL has raised this issue with Italian authorities on several occasions, urging them to investigate and take action as necessary.

"Using Nazi images on wine labels is a gross marketing ploy and the labels should not be in production, let alone on store shelves," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "We welcome the decisive action taken by Italian officials."

Labels from the "Der Fuehrer" line of wine bottles show Hitler raising the Nazi salute and his generals, including Hermann Goering, economic minister of the Third Reich, Heinrich Himmler, head of the Gestapo, and Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy.

In making the seizure, Cuno Tarfusser, District Attorney of the city of Bolzano, said the wine labels constitute a glorification of the perpetrators of crimes against humanity.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.