The owner of a Nazi-themed cafe in Indonesia has defended his decision to cover the walls with a flag bearing the swastika and a giant picture of Adolf Hitler, saying it has been good for business.

Staff at Soldatenkaffee (Soldier Cafe)  located in the West Java provincial capital of Bandung, one of Indonesia’s tourist destination cities, has been open since April 2011.

But a recent article in a local English-language newspaper provoked a backlash from both foreigners and Indonesians on social networking sites.

Authorities in Indonesia plan to ask the restaurant owner to explain his reasons for choosing a Nazi-theme for the cafe.

Ayi Vivananda, deputy mayor of Bandung, said a letter was sent on Thursday summoning cafe owner, Henry Mulyana, to a meeting to ask whether his objective was to incite racial hatred.

“Those symbols are internationally recognised to represent violence and racism,” Mr Vivananda said.

But Mulyana has insisted he did not want to breed hatred. Instead, he said he wanted to decorate his restaurant with Nazi symbols to attract customers, both local and foreigners.

He also denied being pro-Nazi or supporting Hitler.

“I’m just a businessman, not a politician,” Mulyana said.

“I have a right to design my restaurant with anything that attracts people to come. I’m sure that I’m not violating any laws.”

He said the recent controversy has forced him to temporarily close his restaurant but declined to say whether he would consider changing the Nazi theme if authorities requested him to do so.

“Let’s wait and see,” he said. “I don’t want the workers here to lose their jobs.”

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