SWASTIKAS fluttered over Berlin yesterday, German soldiers raised stiff arms in the Hitler salute and hundreds of bedraggled spectators shouted approval as the Nazi leader delivered a faltering speech.

“My God,” said Benny Zimmerman, from St Louis, as he left Berlin Cathedral. “They’re back!”

Dani Levi, the Israeli director, has turned the German capital upside down in an attempt to recapture the atmosphere of Nazi Germany for a new comedy about Adolf Hitler.

Nazi symbols and Hitler salutes are banned in Germany, yet the Finance Ministry — once Hermann Goering’s Luftwaffe headquarters — was draped in huge red and black swastikas yesterday.

Near by, close to Berlin Cathedral, Mr Levi had set up Nazi eagles and Third Reich soldiers were strolling around smoking between film takes. “The film is to be called Mein Führer,” a spokeswoman for Mr Levi said.

“It will be in the tradition of Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator and Ernst Lubitsch’s To Be or Not To Be.”

The point of the film appears to be to cut Hitler down to size after a series of productions, including Downfall by Bernd Eichinger, which have glamorised or at least humanised the Nazi leader. In the Levi film, Hitler — played by Helge Schneider, a comedian — is a weak and numbskulled character, whose career has been shaped by his Jewish friend, Gruenbaum. The premise is that Hitler survived the war and wants to set the record straight.

About 700 extras turned up early yesterday morning. One was Volker Behrens, who had driven 500 miles to be there. He had brought his own coal scuttle helmet and wartime overcoat. “It was worth it,” he said, “I just love the uniforms.”

The making of the film has given many the chance to perform illegal acts. “Where else in Germany can you shout ‘Heil Hitler’ at the top of your voice?” said one extra.

The film-makers had to gain the permission of Berlin City Council to display the swastikas. But the council failed to warn tourists and locals, who stared as the Nazis marched around. “I think it’s really tasteless, especially as it’s happening next to the cathedral,” said Gabi Metzler, from Bavaria, standing on the church steps to get a better view.

“It’s our first visit to Berlin,” said her friend, Gertrude. “Things seem to have changed much less than we had expected.”

The film, due for release in the autumn, has stirred debate about making a Hitler comedy. The Chaplin film was made in 1940, the Lubitsch film in 1942 — both directors later said that they would not have made the films if they had known about the full scope of the Holocaust.

Mr Levi, however, is willing to risk it. He has successfully made films about Jewish themes and the latest, Alles auf Zucker (Everything With Sugar), mocked orthodox Jews visiting relatives in Germany.