White slaveholding Americans were neither the first nor the last to exploit dogs for the purposes of persecution. One of the most notorious examples in history of canine weaponry was the Nazi regime and its widespread adoration and use of German Shepherds.

It is impossible to pinpoint the exact moment at which these dogs became so emblematic of the regime. Even before his ascent to power, Adolf Hitler himself developed a fondness for the breed, beginning with a dog he owned whilst living in poverty who ran away from her boarding location to track down her master.

The dictator’s preference for German Shepherds continued throughout his life; his famous pet dog Blondi was frequently photographed with Hitler and even slept on his bed in the Berlin bunker where both of them died in 1945.

Of course, whatever Hitler did was emulated widely throughout the Third Reich, and thus German Shepherds became hugely popular pets among the German populace. The German attachment to the breed was not only borne of Hitler-worship, but also toed the line, conveyed through propaganda, that German Shepherds embodied the very core of Nazi ideology.

This particular breed had its kinship to wolves cited frequently as a badge of honour, and the visible wolf-like characteristics in individual specimens hearkened to the era of Teutonic greatness celebrated in the Third Reich in everything from Wagner’s operas to architecture.

German Shepherds were so popular during the Third Reich that an “animal language school” was founded with the goal of teaching these dogs, perceived to be particularly intelligent and loyal, to “speak” and to make communicative gestures.

The idea was that the German Shepherds could serve as guards during the “Final Solution” and communicate effectively with Nazis at the camps. The experimental programme failed, but it was supported by Hitler himself and reflected common mystical views on German Shepherds of the time.

As is common in racially stratified or colonial societies, the Nazis prioritized their anthropomorphized German Shepherds over their Jewish victims. Indeed, when Jews were rounded up in cities and crowded into ghettos with minimal personal possessions, the German citizenry was far more concerned about the welfare of the dogs left behind when Jews were made homeless than........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)