SS (Schutzstaffel) recruits ordered to break the necks of puppies they raised: UL or based on fact?

Factual Questions
1

Some years ago, I read an account* which claimed that recruits to the SS were each given a puppy to raise, train, and care for. Obviously, the recruits would become attached to their canine charges and, SS infamy notwithstanding, would often wind up loving their puppy. The claim went on to say that towards the end of their SS training, the recruits were ordered to kill their pup (specifically by breaking its neck with their own hands) and any hesitation was viewed as a sign of weakness and outright refusal, of course, as insubordination and grounds for discharge (and possibly other penalties).

Sure sounds like the stuff or urban legend, doesn’t it? Still, as I far as I can remember at least, it came from a source that seemed credible. Can anyone come up with a definitive answer one way or the other - UL or (based on) fact?

Thanks!

*It may have been in Solomon Perel’s Europa Europa or possibly The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer (both absolutely outstanding books, by the way).

2

According to Snopes, the same legend is told about the US Marines. Snopes page. I would say it’s BS.

3

Thanks, although it’s possible, I suppose, that the Marine urban legend is based on SS fact. Possible.

4

Reminds me of the computer game ‘Portal’. In it the player is given a companion, encouraged to become attached to it, then …

5

Given how much Hitler loved dogs, I highly doubt he would have allowed such a practice.

6

That was a very sad moment.

I have hinted that I’d like a Companion Cube as a gift but so far no one else has thought that was a worthwhile gift.

7

George R R Martin uses a similar construct for those elite eunuch warriors of his.

8

I wouldn’t be suprised to find that this is something that has migrated from fiction to urban legend, I’ve come across it a few times in fantasy settings (including ASOIAF).

It’s not impossible that it has a real life source though, given the number of absolute bastards that history has produced it’d almost be surprising if someone hasn’t done it at least once :(.

9

Yeah, but that assumes he’d be aware of it. Seriously, how would he find out? How would he have become so intimately familiar with the specifics of the SS training program?

In any case, even if Hitler did know about and then prohibit the practice, that simply proves it was being done at some point (i.e. how could he know about something that wasn’t being done?)

10

I’ve also heard this practice attributed to Spartans, FWIW.

11

I doubt that any modern military would really think something like this would be good for the morale of their troops. It doesn’t make sense. Even among the Nazis, the training was supposed to create a bond of brotherhood between the troops, a bond so strong that you’d do anything, no matter how dangerous, to help your comrade. This is what it was about, not turning the soldier into a totally cold-blooded murder machine. The SS didn’t think of themselves as unfeeling, robotic brutes - they were supposed to be valiant defenders of their homeland and their people. They saw their massacring of the enemies, especially Jews, as the removal of a malignant cancer from society. They thought they were the good guys!

12

Obligatory

13

I heard a similar story about a tribe of American Indians, maybe the Fox or Sac. A young man was chosen to raise a puppy. When it was old enough, it was taken away, killed, and cooked. The young man was, I think, expected to eat his share. I have no idea if it’s a true story. I think I read about it in Unmentionable Cuisine by Calvin Schwabe.

14

The myth relies on the surprise being kept secret, over generations. That never happens.

15

Working in Combat Stress Control at Ft Bragg, and having a friend who was a 1SG in a Special Forces group, I, on occasion, got to observe and counsel Soldiers going through Special Forces training. SERE school, selection, and especially Robin Sage are stressful, and the Soldier may need to talk to mental health. Being friends with the 1SG on a social level made it easier for some of the Soldiers to talk to me offline because they knew I could take my “Mental health hat” off and just talk to them as Soldiers.

Anyway, I went out to a training site one day and was told it was the final day of Robin Sage. The Special Forces candidates had only one task left to complete the course. My friend and myself went into a warehouse with a small closed off room to the side. A Soldier walked into the warehouse, escorted by two other Soldiers. He approached the sealed off room, was briefed by a Special Forces Soldier, was handed a .45 Colt automatic, and entered the room.

About a minute later, the Special Forces candidate left the room, threw the gun to the floor of the warehouse and walked out. I asked the 1SG what happened.

He said, “This is the final task of training. If the candidate finishes the assignment, he is in Special Forces, and can forever wear the green beret. Fail to complete the assignment, and he goes back to the operational Army. This Soldier was given the assignment to enter the room and kill the enemy found in there. In this case, that Soldier found his dog, and I guess he lost his nerve, because I never heard a shot fired.”

As the 1SG was speaking to me, the room was being reset, and soon after, another candidate was being escorted in and briefed. He also took the gun and entered the room. A minute later, he also left the room, tossed the gun, kicked it away, and cursed loudly and often.

The 1SG told me, “His mom was in the room. He failed. I didn’t hear a shot.”

Soon after, the room was reset, and a third candidate was being escorted in. This Soldier received the briefing, took the gun, took a deep breath and entered the room. A minute later we heard the pop of a gunshot. Then another, then another. Then we heard a scream and a crash. A minute later, the Soldier left the room threw the gun to the floor and came over to the 1SG and myself.

He said, “What kind of training you running here, Top? I went into the room and found my wife. I fired the gun once, twice, and again before I realized that it was full of blanks, so I had to beat her to death with the chair!”

SSG (P) Schwartz

16

I thought you were going to say he killed one of his friend’s mother and another’s dog…

17

Well, from what I understand most Native Americans saw dogs not as pampered pets but as livestock that were both useful and edible, like cows or sheep.
So whatever truth there is to this Native American version of the story is probably far less about turning someone into a psychopath capable of murdering their best friend, and more like a 4-H project in a farming community where everyone understands exactly what pigs are raised for.

18

Just remember that although the euthanizing process is remarkably painful, 8 out of 10 Aperture Science engineers believe that the Weighted Companion Cube is most likely incapable of feeling much pain.

19

This was a good joke before you filled in too many details and tried to present it as a real story.

20

See, the problem with this method of “training” is that it doesn’t make any sense. I suppose people like to think that the best soldiers are emotionless killers, who obey orders without question, even if ordered to kill their best friend.

Except, in real life, every military organization in the world tries to foster esprit de corps. They want soldiers who are devoted to their buddies. What good is an emotionless killer? An army of sociopaths is just as likely to shoot their officers rather than the so-called enemy. Armies might deliberately try to break the normal outside social bonds the soldiers have, but they do that to cement the soldier’s loyalty to the new group.

You don’t want soldiers willing to kill their buddies. You want soldiers willing to die for their buddies. Send a group of recruits out to massacre enemy civilians and you bond the group together. Send a group of recruits out to massacre their buddies or family or beloved pet, and you tear the group apart. Which army would you rather be in charge of?