Germany: Police probes swastika in parliament building

German police on Sunday launched an investigation after a swastika symbol was found in a parliament building in Berlin.

A spokesperson for the Bundestag said that the unconstitutional symbol had been spotted carved onto the door of an elevator, according to German news agency DPA.

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A staffer of Green party lawmaker Dieter Janecek tweeted a picture of the swastika scratched into the door in the Jakob-Kaiser-Haus, an office building for lawmakers next to the Reichstag that houses parliament.

The place where the swastika was found has since been taped over. "The position in the elevator in a Bundestag office building has been temporarily taped over," the Bundestag spokesperson confirmed.

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Possible jail term

Displaying, or being responsible for, Nazi symbols in Germany can be punished by up to three years in jail. 

Swastikas and other banned symbols can, however, be displayed if they are used for "civic education, countering anti-constitutional activities, art and science, research and education, the coverage of historic and current events, or similar purposes," according to the Criminal Code.

That means movies and TV series — such as Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Amazon's The Man in the High Castle — are usually exempt from such jurisdiction.

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DPA contributed to this article.