Jackie was a black-and-white spotted

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the gray wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was selectively bred from a population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene by hunter-gatherers. ...

, a Dalmatian mix,Kirsten Grieshaber
'Heil Rover!' Hitler-imitating dog enraged Nazis
Associated Press, January 7, 2011, Accessed January 12, 2011. that became known for the political incident it caused between its owner, Tor Borg, his company, and

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. Borg was a Finnish businessman from

Tampere Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...

who became head of what is now Tamro Group, which had been co-founded by his father.Nazi Germany pursued 'Hitler salute' Finnish dog
BBC.co.uk, January 7, 2011, Accessed January 12, 2011.History
Tamro Group, Accessed January 12, 2011. At some point in time, Jackie was trained to raise a single paw whenever the name "

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

" was mentioned, appearing to emulate the

Nazi salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute, or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. The salute is performed by extending the right arm from the shoulder into the air with a straightened han ...

. In 1941, shortly before the invasion of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

provoked the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

, an anonymous source notified Nazi authorities of Borg and Jackie. The report of Jackie's actions set into motion a series of documents and diplomatic cables between the German Foreign Office, Economy Ministry, Nazi Party Chancellery and German diplomats in Finland. In an exchange dated January 29, 1941, 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". Upon hearing of the situation, Borg became worried, as his company relied on German suppliers; his wife, Josefine, was a known anti-Nazi German.Michael Slackman
The Curious Incident of the Dog in Finland Who Was Trained to Give a Nazi Salute
''The New York Times'', January 11, 2011, Accessed January 12, 2011. Borg was summoned to the German Embassy in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

where he admitted that on a few occasions his wife called the dog “Hitler” and that on a few occasions it did respond with a raised paw. However, he claimed the incident in question had occurred earlier, telling Nazi officials: "The rumor might emanate from an episode in the summer of 1933 which happened within my family only and which had no ulterior political background whatsoever." He denied that his family or Jackie had done anything "that could be seen as an insult against the German Reich". Embassy officials were skeptical of the explanation, noting in communications with

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

that "Borg, even though he claims otherwise, is not telling the truth." The Foreign Office spent three months investigating ways of bringing Borg to trial for insulting Hitler, but no witnesses would come forward. Finally, in March 1941, the Chancellory decided that "considering that the circumstances could not be solved completely, it is not necessary to press charges." Meanwhile, the Third Reich attempted to economically sabotage Borg's company, including trying to get

IG Farben I. G. Farbenindustrie AG, commonly known as IG Farben, was a German Chemical industry, chemical and Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It was formed on December 2, 1925 from a merger of six chemical co ...

to stop supplying it. It is unclear if

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

had ever been aware or had any say in the incident. The incident was unknown for many years until being uncovered by historian and author Klaus Hillenbrand, who discovered the story while researching Nazi era activities in the German federal archive.Klaus Hillenbrand
Ein Hund namens Hitler
TAZ.de, January 8, 2011, Accessed January 31, 2011. Johannes Tuchel, head of the

Memorial to the German Resistance The German Resistance Memorial Center () is a memorial and museum in Berlin, capital of Germany. History It was opened in 1980 in part of the Bendlerblock, a complex of offices in Stauffenbergstrasse (formerly Bendlerstrasse), south of the Groß ...

, noted that "This case shows that National Socialism was striving to dominate all spheres of public life and all areas that it could influence. And that went as far as to this rather bizarre case of this dog." Jackie died of natural causes. Borg died in 1959 at age 60; Josefine died in 1971. The company, which had been recently renamed Tampereen Rohdoskauppa Oy and later renamed Tamro Group, expanded during the war years into a national wholesale business and supplied pharmaceuticals throughout Finland's wars of the period. Tamro would go on to become a leading wholesale pharmaceutical company in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

References

{{reflist Individual dogs 20th-century animal births 1941 in Germany 1941 in Finland Finland–Germany relations

See also

References