# SS (Schutzstaffel) recruits ordered to break the necks of puppies they raised: UL or based on fact? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445 "2010-10-26T21:49:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/61 "2010-10-29T05:20:27Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > [Here](http://www.nhd.org/website/27034/eichmann.html). The original quote is sourced as" Drew Pearson, “Eichmann Fiendishly Clever in Mass Murder of Jews,” Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune 17 Jun. 1960: 9 > > So, I am not convinced this an Urban Legend. It _may_ be based on fact. It _may_ possibly be based on fact, but [Drew Pearson](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Pearson_(journalist))wasn’t exactly known for fact-checking; muckraker describes him better: > [@](#): > > Andrew Russell Pearson (December 13, 1897–September 1, 1969), known professionally as Drew Pearson, and born in Evanston, Illinois,[1] was one of the most well-known American journalists of his day. He was best known for his muckraking syndicated newspaper column “Washington Merry-Go-Round,” in which he attacked various public persons with little or no objective proof for his allegations. He also had a program on NBC Radio entitled Drew Pearson Comments. It’s not much of a _may_ possibly have been true to go on as the only cite. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/62 "2010-10-29T05:49:42Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > [Here](http://www.nhd.org/website/27034/eichmann.html). The original quote is sourced as" Drew Pearson, “Eichmann Fiendishly Clever in Mass Murder of Jews,” Chillicothe Constitution-Tribune 17 Jun. 1960: 9 > > So, I am not convinced this an Urban Legend. It _may_ be based on fact. > > The Nazis were uniquely and irrationally evil, so the various rationalizations given in this thread about why they would _not_ do such a thing may not apply. > > Does anyone know how to access the Drew Pearson article cited above? > > (ETA: I recognize this cite limits the practice to those SS personnel working in death camps and not to all SS members. Still, that hardly weakens the point.) Drew Pearson and his acolyte Jack Anderson did some valuable muckraking, but in the process they also spewed a remarkable amount of unsupported, seat of the pants, erroneous bullshit to fill up newspaper column inches. Pearson is not the gold standard for accurate reporting in any way, shape or form. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/63 "2010-10-29T07:52:44Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Right. And then when the time comes to order the SS recruit to perform an atrocity to cement his new identity in the group, you order him to kill a bunch of Jews rather than the valuable guard dog. You don’t need a big test to see if the recruit is willing to kill Jews, the test of whether they’re willing to kill Jews is to order them to kill Jews and see whether they do it. Exactly. As I mentioned above, my grandfather was Untersturmbannführer (equivalent of a major) in the Waffen SS (after having worked at the “Rasse- und Siedlungshauptamt” in Berlin). He never had a puppy and he was never given a puppy. I’m pretty sure he was at least a witness to (and most likely a participant in) a lot of atrocities during his time on the Eastern Front. Judging from his last letters, we are pretty sure he was actually executed for refusing an order to work at a “Vernichtungslager” near the end of 1944. So the easiest way to test if someone was willing to kill Jews was indeed to order them to kill Jews. ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/64 "2010-10-29T11:48:39Z")
Why is this abstract UL/question discussed, and why not rather the very real dog-decapitation experiments commies have done ? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/65 "2010-10-29T12:09:13Z")
> [@Khaki\_Campbell](#): > > Why is this abstract UL/question discussed, and why not rather the very real dog-decapitation experiments commies have done ? Because that would be a different topic? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/66 "2015-02-21T01:56:24Z")
> [@Mycroft\_Holmes](#): > > My late grandfather, was in the Waffen SS. He necver had a puppy, was not given a puppy and did not have to kill any puppies. Kitten-killer, was he? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/67 "2015-02-21T07:21:55Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > – the laws required them to turn their pets in to local authorities to be euthanaized. Nice people, those Germans.) Too right. When my housemates told me I couldn’t keep the dog, I turned it out on the street, like any decent human being. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/68 "2015-02-21T09:13:15Z")
> [@Thomas\_E](#): > > The nazis really liked animals, when Herman Göring became prime minister of prussia in 1933 vivisection was banned. Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, tried to ban hunting. The german animal welfare law of 1933 was very progressive [http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/Germany/Nazianimalrights.htm](http://www.worldfuturefund.org/wffmaster/Reading/Germany/Nazianimalrights.htm) . > > The nazis did a lot of horrible things , it seems silly to try to make them seem even worse by fantasizing about dead puppys, soap and lampshades. Isn’t killing millions of innocent people bad enough. This. Cynically enough, animal welfare was an important part of Nazi ideology and the political agenda they pursued; much of Germany’s still extant animal rights legislation was introduced under their rule, and a number of high-ranking party officials repeatedly made statements to that effect. And the SS considered itself the vanguard of the party; it was a party, not a state, organisation. My maternal grandfather was an SS member, and when I was a child he would often tell me stories from his days during the war. Without much political zeal either pro or anti-Nazi (he didn’t seem to show much regret), he was simply telling stories like so many grandfathers tell their grandchildren about their youth. He never mentioned anything like that, even though he did tell stories about his SS training. Anecdotal evidence, yes, but I think he would have mentioned something like this. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/69 "2015-02-21T13:53:20Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Kitten-killer, was he? How the heck did you unearth this thread, **Bryan Ekers**? [sub]Yeah yeah, “by posting in it!” :p[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/70 "2015-02-21T15:30:24Z")
The bigger question is “why?” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/71 "2015-02-21T17:40:29Z")
I admit I hadn’t known the dog-whacking ritual was ever attributed to Nazis or U.S. Marines. The pop-culture examples I was reminded of were Granny Goodness and a made-for-TV movie called _J.O.E. and the Colonel._ ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/72 "2015-02-21T18:00:31Z")
Ha, silly me reviving a zombie because I thought it was related to a now-current Cafe thread about which I’ll say nothing as it might seem spoilerish. I can’t offhand recall why I noticed this thread at all. Possibly it was revived by a now-deleted spammer. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/73 "2015-02-21T18:02:32Z")
This just sounds too urban-legendish. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/74 "2015-02-21T21:22:40Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > Too right. When my housemates told me I couldn’t keep the dog, I turned it out on the street, like any decent human being. I sure hope this is a joke (if a bad one). ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/75 "2015-02-22T01:40:22Z")
I believe I read about this in Leon Uris’s “Armageddon”. It was historical fiction, so as to whether I believe this sort of thing happened or not, I’ll go as far as to say “I read about this sort of thing happening in a novel. The novel was pretty good.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/76 "2015-02-22T01:48:55Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > I believe I read about this in Leon Uris’s “Armageddon”. It was historical fiction, so as to whether I believe this sort of thing happened or not, I’ll go as far as to say “I read about this sort of thing happening in a novel. The novel was pretty good.” As I recall, Uris mentions this also in passing in _The Haj_ as rituals that young Palestinians (in the years just after 1948 when the mass exiles were in fresh memory) undergo to prove their bravery to eventually battle the Israelis, jumping over campfires and breaking the necks of small animals and such. He does not describe these in a tone suggesting respect. And I realize belatedly that I unknowingly bumped this thread because it was referenced in the Cafe thread. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/77 "2015-02-22T03:03:26Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > And I realize belatedly that I unknowingly bumped this thread because it was referenced in the Cafe thread. Now I’m curious! Which thread? (Can you spoiler it?) Never mind, found it. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/78 "2015-02-22T15:08:50Z")
Funny enough, the USAF does have people kill small animals in training. No really. Or at least they did when I attended back in the 80s. All USAF aircrew go through survival school. [http://www.fairchild.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=3771](http://www.fairchild.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=3771) Part of that process is a week spent out in the wild equipped with a hunk of parachute and the standard contents of a survival kit & vest, minus the firearm & ammo. The usual group is 5-8 crew trainees and one instructor mostly tagging along and doing some teaching. The main intent is to practice what was taught back in civilization in the previous weeks, so this is NOT like a skilled Scout leader leading the kids through the bush. The group fumbles its way along & the instructor is there mostly to prevent dumb mistakes from costing the USAF too much money in injured or killed crewmembers. At the start the group is issued one live full grown fuzzy bunny. The white ones with the adorable pink wiggly noses. And they get to carry it & let it forage for the next few days. About day six it becomes dinner. And a welcome dinner it is, since the last 5 days have been spent foraging in the forest for both food and water while hiking & evading all day trying to reach a pickup point. Most crew are suburbanites with college degrees in clean-hands subjects. So killing the cute fuzzy bunny is a new experience for most of them. As is cleaning & roasting over an open fire using all field-expedient tools. I had the good fortune to attend in the summer when it was warm days and cool nights and berries and such were relatively plentiful. The folks who attended in February had a worse time of it. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/79 "2015-02-22T15:31:52Z")
Royal Marines kill rabbits as part of their survival training: [Commando: On the Front Line: Episode 3 - The Lost Patrol](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enVMc6qqJTo) Fast forward to 15:53, it’s rather instructive (and graphic). ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445/80 "2015-02-22T15:37:23Z")
And don’t miss the proper way to kill a chicken in the field (at 17:00). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ss-schutzstaffel-recruits-ordered-to-break-the-necks-of-puppies-they-raised-ul-or-based-on-fact/558445.md?page=5)