Berlin - A statue of Adolf Hitler was back on display at a Berlin waxworks on Saturday, two months after its head was wrenched off by an irate visitor.

The effigy of the Nazi dictator was seated behind a desk at Madame Tussaud's, a popular tourist attraction on Berlin's well-known Unter den Linden boulevard.

The controversial display was protected by a glass wall and security staff, unlike the original one which was completely open to visitors.

Madame Tussaud's, a British company, defended its decision to persist with the display against widespread criticism from Germans, saying, "Hitler represents a decisive part of Berlin's history which we can't just pretend did not happen."

A 41-year-old rest-home orderly wrenched the head off the figure on July 5, a few minutes after the waxworks opened for business in Germany.

The desk behind which Hitler sat was left unoccupied after the beheading while repairs to the figure were carried out.

Many Germans were upset that Hitler was included in a commercial amusement close to the Holocaust Memorial and other memory sites. The real Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his bunker close by in 1945. (dpa)