German mail company Deutsche Post has inadvertently issued stamps bearing the image of Adolf Hitler's former deputy, Rudolf Hess, the company said on Wednesday. Deutsche Post printed 20 stamps with Hess next to a bouquet of flowers as part of a service which allows clients to order custom-made envelopes, a company spokesman said. “It is very unfortunate. But it happened,” the spokesman said. “I presume it came from the far-right scene. But those 20 envelopes won't shake up German democracy.” The stamps would be offensive to Jewish groups and embarrassing to Germans anxious to live down the country's Nazi past. The company said it would make every effort to avoid a repeat of the incident. The Hess blunder was not the first time customers had tried to order stamps commemorating Nazi leaders, the spokesman said. Earlier this year, the company intercepted a request to have stamps printed featuring Hitler as a small child, he said. The latest delivery stemmed from a private order made in March, a few weeks before Hess's birthday, he added.
