Germany angrily warned Turkey on Monday that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had "gone too far" after he accused Chancellor Angela Merkel of using "Nazi measures" in an escalating diplomatic feud.
Turkey and the European Union are locked in an explosive crisis that threatens to jeopardise Ankara's bid to join the bloc, as tensions rise ahead of an April 16 referendum on expanding Erdogan's powers.
The row erupted after authorities in Germany and other EU States refused to allow some Turkish Ministers to campaign for a 'yes' vote on their soil, provoking a volcanic response from the Turkish strongman who said the spirit of Nazi Germany was rampant in Europe.
"When we call them Nazis they (Europe) get uncomfortable. They rally together in solidarity. Especially Merkel," Erdogan said in a televised speech on Monday.
"But you are right now employing Nazi measures," Erdogan said referring to Merkel, pointedly using the informal "you" in Turkish.
"Against whoIJ My Turkish brother citizens in Germany and brother ministers" who planned to hold campaign rallies for a 'yes' vote in next month's referendum, he said.
Germany's Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel branded Erdogan's comments "shocking".
"We are tolerant but we're not stupid," he told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper. "That's why I have let my Turkish counterpart know very clearly that a boundary has been crossed here."
Germany, home to 1.4 million Turkish voters, hosts by far the largest Turkish diaspora community in the world but the partnership between Ankara and Berlin has been ripped to shreds by the current crisis.