Nazi talking dogs
Encyclopedia
During the 1930s and 1940s, German
animal behaviorists were encouraged to explore whether dogs could be taught to speak or communicate in other ways in order to be useful in the Nazi war effort. This talking dog research was dubbed the Woofan SS by the UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph
. Author and historian Jan Bondeson
wrote about the talking dog research in his 2011 book, Amazing Dogs: A Cabinet of Canine Curiosities.
Describing his book Bondeson said; "In the 1920s, Germany had numerous 'new animal psychologists' who believed dogs were nearly as intelligent as humans, and capable of abstract thinking and communication. When the Nazi party took over, one might have thought they would be building concentration camps to lock these fanatics up, but instead they were actually very interested in their ideas... Hitler was himself interested in the prospect of using educated dogs in the war effort, and he advised representatives of the German army to study their usefulness in the field." Margarethe Schmitt started her Tier-Sprechschule ("Talking Animal School") in Leutenberg
, Thuringia
in 1930 to pursue this research. In 1942, it was attended by five Great Dane
s, one terrier
, and one cat. In or before 1943, Mrs. Schmitt offered to put her dogs into the service of the Wehrmacht
's troop entertainment events (within the "Strength Through Joy"/"KdF" program), and on Hitler's order received a positive reply from the Reich Chancellery
; however, it is not known whether these plans were realized before the end of the war.
An article from The Times
carried in The Australian
says that Bondeson's book "claims the Nazis believed dogs were almost as intelligent as humans and only physical limitations prevented them from interacting as equals. Experiments were carried out to find evidence of telepathy between dog and man."
that when asked "who Adolf Hitler was" supposedly could respond: "Mein Führer
".
Dogs that behaved well and studied successfully were honored; for example, "Kurwenal", a Dachshund
, was visited by a "troop of 28 uniformed youths from the Nazi animal protection organisation on his birthday." Kurwenal's speech was based on barking, but apparently his trainers understood him quite well. The dog reportedly said he was going to vote for Paul von Hindenburg
.
"Don", a German pointer, is said to have been able to imitate a human voice, and supposedly could say "Hungry! Give me cakes" in German
.
effect. "I'm sure that the Nazi generation of animal psychologists genuinely thought they'd tapped into a hidden innate intelligence within many animals," he told the BBC. "It's very easy but entirely wrong to mock their findings, as the film footage appears extremely compelling. Dogs in particular have an innate need to please their pack leader, and will go to almost any lengths to achieve this."
He also complained that much of the press coverage of his book has exaggerated or misconstrued his own findings. He wrote that the Nazis were interested in finding new ways to use dogs in the war effort, "but that's a million miles away from the press claims – which get taller by the day – that the Nazis had a legion of talking, machine-gun-toting hounds, on the point of being unleashed on the allies."
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
animal behaviorists were encouraged to explore whether dogs could be taught to speak or communicate in other ways in order to be useful in the Nazi war effort. This talking dog research was dubbed the Woofan SS by the UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
. Author and historian Jan Bondeson
Jan Bondeson
Jan Bondeson is a Swedish-born rheumatologist, scientist and author, working as a senior lecturer and consultant rheumatologist at the Cardiff University School of Medicine. Outside of his career in medicine, he has written several nonfiction books on a variety of topics, such as medical anomalies...
wrote about the talking dog research in his 2011 book, Amazing Dogs: A Cabinet of Canine Curiosities.
Describing his book Bondeson said; "In the 1920s, Germany had numerous 'new animal psychologists' who believed dogs were nearly as intelligent as humans, and capable of abstract thinking and communication. When the Nazi party took over, one might have thought they would be building concentration camps to lock these fanatics up, but instead they were actually very interested in their ideas... Hitler was himself interested in the prospect of using educated dogs in the war effort, and he advised representatives of the German army to study their usefulness in the field." Margarethe Schmitt started her Tier-Sprechschule ("Talking Animal School") in Leutenberg
Leutenberg
Leutenberg is a town in the district of Saalfeld-Rudolstadt, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Thuringian Forest, 18 km southeast of Saalfeld.-References:...
, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
in 1930 to pursue this research. In 1942, it was attended by five Great Dane
Great Dane
The Great Dane , also known as German Mastiff or Danish Hound , is a breed of domestic dog known for its giant size...
s, one terrier
Terrier
A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, very active and fearless dogs. Terrier breeds vary greatly in size from just a couple of pounds to over 70 pounds and are usually categorized by size or function...
, and one cat. In or before 1943, Mrs. Schmitt offered to put her dogs into the service of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
's troop entertainment events (within the "Strength Through Joy"/"KdF" program), and on Hitler's order received a positive reply from the Reich Chancellery
Reich Chancellery
The Reich Chancellery was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany in the period of the German Reich from 1871 to 1945...
; however, it is not known whether these plans were realized before the end of the war.
An article from The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
carried in The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
says that Bondeson's book "claims the Nazis believed dogs were almost as intelligent as humans and only physical limitations prevented them from interacting as equals. Experiments were carried out to find evidence of telepathy between dog and man."
Notable Nazi dogs
"Students" for the dog school, which was run by Margarethe Schmitt, were collected from all over Germany, but only trained dogs were chosen. One of the most successful students is said to have been a mixed-breed dogMixed-breed dog
A mixed-breed dog, also known as a mutt or mongrel, is a dog whose ancestry is generally unknown and that has characteristics of two or more types of breeds. A mixed-breed may be a cross-breed dog, a random-bred dog, or a descendant of feral or pariah dog populations...
that when asked "who Adolf Hitler was" supposedly could respond: "Mein Führer
Führer
Führer , alternatively spelled Fuehrer in both English and German when the umlaut is not available, is a German title meaning leader or guide now most associated with Adolf Hitler, who modelled it on Benito Mussolini's title il Duce, as well as with Georg von Schönerer, whose followers also...
".
Dogs that behaved well and studied successfully were honored; for example, "Kurwenal", a Dachshund
Dachshund
The dachshund is a short-legged, long-bodied dog breed belonging to the hound family. The standard size dachshund was bred to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature dachshund was developed to hunt smaller prey such as rabbits...
, was visited by a "troop of 28 uniformed youths from the Nazi animal protection organisation on his birthday." Kurwenal's speech was based on barking, but apparently his trainers understood him quite well. The dog reportedly said he was going to vote for Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
.
"Don", a German pointer, is said to have been able to imitate a human voice, and supposedly could say "Hungry! Give me cakes" in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
Results
Bondeson told the Daily Telegraph that despite prolonged efforts to teach dogs to talk, "there is no evidence it ever actually came to fruition and that the SS were walking around with talking dogs". In an interview with the BBC, he said that most of the successes, like the dog that could type, were probably a result of the Clever HansClever Hans
Clever Hans was an Orlov Trotter horse that was claimed to have been able to perform arithmetic and other intellectual tasks....
effect. "I'm sure that the Nazi generation of animal psychologists genuinely thought they'd tapped into a hidden innate intelligence within many animals," he told the BBC. "It's very easy but entirely wrong to mock their findings, as the film footage appears extremely compelling. Dogs in particular have an innate need to please their pack leader, and will go to almost any lengths to achieve this."
He also complained that much of the press coverage of his book has exaggerated or misconstrued his own findings. He wrote that the Nazis were interested in finding new ways to use dogs in the war effort, "but that's a million miles away from the press claims – which get taller by the day – that the Nazis had a legion of talking, machine-gun-toting hounds, on the point of being unleashed on the allies."
See also
- Talking animal#Dogs (reports about "talking" dogs in other countries)
- Dog communication#Human speech