The new Berlin branch of the Madame Tussauds wax museum franchise was only open a few moments when police say the 41-year-old raced to the Hitler figure, overpowered a guard and tore off its head, CNN reported. A police spokesman said the man objected to the Hitler figure being included in the museum.

Police told CNN the man is being investigated for causing damages and bodily harm but that he would probably be released later in the day.

The decision to include Hitler in the Madame Tussauds museum had caused controversy in Berlin, where some argued the dictator shouldn't be acknowledged or that his misdeeds were being trivialized. But most Berliners didn't object, a museum spokeswoman said.

"We did surveys while we were planning the exhibition on the street with Berliners and with tourists, and the result was quite clear that Hitler is one of the figures that they want to see," Madame Tussauds' Natalie Ruoss told the BBC.