Jerusalem (CNSNews.com) - Despite protests from Jewish and other groups, a Belgrade hotel is defending its Adolf Hitler-themed suite, arguing that it is important to keep the memory of the brutal dictator alive to prevent history from repeating itself.

But the Anti-Defamation League calls the hotel's decision to honor the mass murderer "disturbing."

The Mr. President Hotel in Belgrade, Serbia, which opened in November, offers hotel rooms named after past and present world leaders. The suite featuring a portrait of the uniformed, swastika-bearing German dictator has drawn sharp criticism.

In a letter last week, the ADL asked hotel owner Dusan Zabunovic to remove Hitler's portrait and change the room's theme before International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was Sunday.

In its reply, Zabunovic praised ADL National Director Abraham Foxman but asked if the ADL would also demand that Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum remove Hitler's wax figure, or if movies and books about Hitler should be destroyed.

Doing so, Zabunovic argued, would lead to a "clean history" in which Hitler and the "biggest mass murder" of civilians would be forgotten, thereby absolving Hitler of his crime.

Zabunovic, who described himself as a proud Serb, added in the letter that his father had fought against fascism during World War II and that his "multi-ethnic" family had also suffered during the war.

But Foxman said Zabunovic is missing the point.

"Holocaust museums around the world display photographs of Hitler, but together with photographs that show piles of the burned, emaciated bodies of Hitler's victims," Foxman wrote in a return letter dated Monday. "With the photos of Hitler are explanations of his genocidal madness and the ideology of hatred of his Nazi regime. Their purpose is to commemorate and to educate."

"There is simply no basis for the comparison," Foxman added: "Your portrait of Hitler is set in the context of the hospitality of your hotel and totally inappropriate."

Foxman also noted that Madame Toussaud's wax likeness of Hitler is located in the museum's "Chamber of Horrors," not among world leaders. Foxman told Zabunovic that "context" is important.

In an email reply to Cybercast News Service on Tuesday, Zabunovic said he expected a "big" reaction to the Hitler suite.

But he denied that the hotel is promoting any political stand. He said guests may choose which leader-themed room they wish to sleep in -- or not sleep in.