Dog was a target of nasty Nazis

Details have emerged on how Adolf Hitler was so enraged by a dog that had been trained to imitate him, that he started a campaign against both it and its owner – and we all know serious Adolf was about his campaigns.

Documents about the odd episode in the Fuhrer’s reign of power came to light after a researcher unearthed them from the archives of the National Foreign Office in Germany.

The dog, named Jackie, was owned by Finnish businessman Tor Borg, whose wife Josefine was a German national well known for her dislike of the Nazi party. She nicknamed the pooch ‘Hitler’ for the way it would raise its paw in a manner similar to a Nazi salute.

In January 1941, Willy Erkelenz, the German Vice Consul in Helsinki, wrote:

“A witness, who does not want to be named, said he saw and heard how Borg’s dog reacted to the command ‘Hitler’ by raising its paw.”

Borg was whisked off to the German embassy to account for his dog’s actions. In a breath-taking display of chivalry, he denied that he ever called the dog Hitler and instead blamed his wife.

He attempted to downplay the matter by telling investigators that the incident had only occurred a couple of times, but his story was met with incredulity. The Finnish Foreign Office, the Ministry of Economy and Hitler’s own Chancellery became embroiled in the matter. Plans were afoot to bring down Borg’s pharmaceutical business, and the Germans even considered bombing his factory.

The authorities in Finland also attempted to bring Borg to trial, but witnesses to the alleged lampooning of the Fuhrer were all unwilling to stand before a judge.

We at Dream Dogs are uncertain of whether the dog could also give a chorus of ‘Hitler has only got one ball’ on cue.

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