The print ads for broadcaster VRT's travel show featured host Tomas de Soete dressed as a Hitler caricature wearing only a swastika armband and pants while giving a stiff-armed salute with the Nazi flag behind him, the Daily Mail reported

The picture was accompanied by the message: "Discover the real Europe. Not the cliches. Test it yourself: This is the first image you'll get to see when you enter 'German' in Google."

The broadcaster pulled the ads after officials received a torrent of complaints saying the ad was in bad taste.

"It's an outrage that Nazi symbolism can be used to make jokes. They completely missed the point,'" one German viewer told the British newspaper.