A wax figure of Adolf Hitler, former Nazi dictator, sits on display at Madame Tussauds prior to the exhibition's public opening, in Berlin, July 3, 2008

A waxwork model of Adolf Hitler that was decapitated by a visitor on the day a new branch of Madame Tussauds opened in Berlin will go back on display as soon as it is repaired, the museum said in a statement.

The attacker, identified only as Frank L. of the Kreuzberg district of Berlin, told the daily BZ tabloid that he was outraged the statue was on display so close to the Holocaust memorial on the Unter den Linden boulevard. Friends dared him to decapitate it over a beer at his local pub, the newspaper said.

``Despite this incident, Madame Tussauds will display the figure of Adolf Hitler in the exhibition again,'' the statement said. ``Adolf Hitler represents a decisive chapter of German history that cannot be denied. The Hitler figure was developed with a great deal of research and sensitivity.''

The wax Hitler figure was dejected and defeated in his final days in the bunker. It was placed behind a red cordon, accompanied by a sign asking visitors to refrain from taking photographs or attempting to pose alongside it out of respect for the millions who died in World War II.

Katrin Froemsdorf, a spokeswoman for Madame Tussauds, said in an e-mail that it has not yet been decided whether the Hitler figure should be displayed behind glass when it returns.

In the London Madame Tussauds, a Hitler model was behind glass in the Chamber of Horrors until 2002 when it was put on display in the main exhibition area. Lucy Howell, a spokeswoman, said she knows of no recent attacks on the waxwork, although it was smeared with red paint in the first year it went on show, in 1933, and vandalized once more in 1942.

Leg Injury

Frank L., a 41-year-old unemployed former policeman, is now under investigation for damaging property and injuring a person, a police statement said. A Madame Tussauds employee whom he pushed aside in the attack suffered a ``slight'' leg injury, the statement said.

The attacker was the second in line when Madame Tussauds opened its doors to the public for the first time at 10 a.m. on July 5, he told BZ.

``I whacked the Hitler head on the desk and thought, `God, it's hard.' But at least the nose shattered,'' he said, according to the paper. ``I just wanted to destroy that figure. It disturbs me that Hitler should become a tourist attraction.''

The prospect of a wax Hitler had already upset local sensibilities in Berlin, prompting questions from Mayor Klaus Wowereit. Commentators said the figure was ``tasteless'' and may attract neo-Nazis.

Madame Tussauds countered by saying it would leave a gap in German history if Hitler wasn't included and cited market research showing visitors wanted him there.

The BZ newspaper printed letters from readers applauding the decapitation. ``Hats off,'' wrote Almut Schuetze. ``I can understand his rage. Hitler does not belong there.''

Another wax figure in the display is also the subject of dispute, the Bild-Zeitung newspaper reported on July 5. Helmut Kohl, a former chancellor of Germany, said he never gave his approval for his wax likeness in the museum. ``I am handing this over to my lawyer,'' Kohl told Bild.