Germany's Nazi government was so angry about a dog trained to imitate Hitler that it started a campaign against its Finnish owner.
Newly released documents reveal that officials in Berlin ordered its diplomats in Nazi-friendly Finland to gather evidence against the dog.
And they even came up with plans to destroy the pharmaceutical wholesale company of the dog's owner.
The dog, Jackie, was owned by Tor Borg whose wife had dubbed the dog Hitler because of the strange way it raised its paw high in the air.
In one exchange, German Vice Consul Willy Erkelenz in Helsinki wrote that "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".
Mr Borg was called into the German embassy for questioning, where he admitted that his wife Josephine - a known anti-Nazi German - had called the dog Hitler, but denied being involved in anything "that could be seen as an insult against the German Reich".
The embassy, however, thought otherwise, telling officials in Berlin: "Borg, even though he claims otherwise, is not telling the truth."
The Foreign Office spent three months investigating ways of bringing Mr Borg to trial for insulting Hitler, but no witnesses would come forward, the newspaper reports.
But in March 1941, the Chancellory decided that "considering that the circumstances could not be solved completely, it is not necessary to press charges".
Klaus Hillenbrand, an expert who has written several books on the Nazis, described the episode as "completely bizarre".
Source: orange news
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