Dutch retail chain Kruidvat has pulled colouring books featuring Adolf Hilter from its bookshops blaming a “nasty combination of circumstances” for allowing the books to be sold.

Apologising for the mistake via a statement on its website, the chain confirmed the books were immediately pulled from sale after the discovery of an “inappropriate image”.

The colour-by-numbers book, which was produced in India, featured images of Nelson Mandela, Albert Einstein and Abraham Lincoln alongside the picture of Hitler giving a Nazi salute and wearing a red arm band complete with swastika.

Without directly referencing the Hitler image, Kruidvat said it was investigating how it got into the books “despite various checks of the content”.

“My suspicion is that the man who created the colouring book got a book of famous people out of the closet and selected a pair, which unfortunately included Adolf Hitler,” said a spokesperson for Belgian publisher Trifora.

“It is a nasty combination of circumstances. We check the book on translations, but do not check all the colouring pictures.”

Customers who purchased the book can get a full refund. It is not clear how many were sold.