My Squid, The Wolf of Tibere, is a reference to a seaplane in Porco Rosso, where it is a reference to the weird Italian-Roman Nationalism-Fascism during Mussolini's reign. (Wolf being a symbol of Roma, Tiber being the river)
The Fascists and the Axis left a terrible blot in humanity, but they also left an impressive warrior-military culture. As long as we don't forget the horrors, I think it's okay that we reference them.