Huge Nazi flags hung over the Lustgarten lawn in the heart of Berlin yesterday as a Jewish director filmed what was billed as Germany's first comedy about Hitler, Agence France-Presse reported.

Described as a parody of the hit German drama "Der Untergang" ("Downfall"), about Hitler's last days, the film by the Swiss director Dani Levy, 48, "My Führer: The Really True Truth About Adolf Hitler," features a sniveling Hitler wallowing in his defeats. Mr. Levy achieved success in 2004 in Germany and abroad with "Alles auf Zucker!" ("Go for Zucker!"), regarded as the first comedy about German Jews made in Germany since World War II. Nazi symbols are officially banned in Germany but may be used in specific educational and artistic contexts. Paul Spiegel, leader of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, told the newspaper Bild that he believed the director was "certainly capable of bringing the necessary sensitivity to this project."