German man jailed for teaching his dog to perform Nazi salute

Ha'aretz ^ | Last update - 17:46 23/12/2007 | Ha'aretz staff

[Cinnamon Girl]

A German man with a Hitler obsession has been jailed for five months for teaching his pet dog to perform a Nazi salute, according to the British tabloid The Sun.

The paper reports that the dog, named Adolf, had been taught by owner "Roland T" to lift his paw sharply into the air when he heard the words "Heil Hitler." The former car salesman was reportedly caught after he boasted of the trick to police.

Performing a Nazi salute is outlawed in Germany, as is Nazi insignia and Holocaust denial.

According to The Sun, "Roland T" planned to have Adolf put to sleep to mark the anniversary of Hitler's suicide in 1945.

[Gandalf_The_Gray]

And I thought the Germans had a sense of humor

I've heard that the shortest book in the world is "The Collected Works of German Humorists". Just kidding! Germans do in fact have a sense of humor, it's just very different then most others I've encountered.

Regards,
GtG

[RightWhale]

Actually they don’t.

[AndyJackson]

you come off like a total nutcase...Naming a dog adolf and teaching it to salute should not be a crime in any country. ....This post needs levity .

Remind me again what the total world death toll due to Nazism was?

[null and void]

And just yesterday I saw a guy with a tee shirt that said something like ‘Sieg Heil is what you say when you see me’.

I was on a shopping mission and he was gone by the time I was ready to accost him.

[atomic conspiracy]

"Performing a Nazi salute is outlawed in Germany,"
I was thinking that perhaps the dog should be arrested then, but it turns out he has been:
"The dog has now been placed in an animal shelter,"
....where he is undergoing rehab no less:
"where staff are training him to raise his paw to shake hands, rather than perform a Nazi salute."

[RightWhale]

They look like girls.

[atomic conspiracy]

There was a mangy, mean, mongrel who used to hang around our fire-base in Vietnam. We started feeding him and he eventually became something of a pet. We named him Mao Tse Tung. We would probably be packed off to a rehab for this today.

[null and void]

That and they like to pretend their grandparents were all in the Resistance (like the French and Spanish).

Not all of them. I used to work with a former Hitler Youth...

[null and void]

Excellent!

[Gandalf_The_Gray]

Post 56: naming of a god, should be naming of a dog.

Reminds me of the old joke about the dyslexic agnostic insomniac. He lay awake all night wondering if there really was a dog!

Groan...

Regards,
GtG

PS Did I ever tell you the one about the hermaphrodite contortionist? Well...

[Mr. Mojo]

Here's a question for you: What's more Nazi-like, 1) naming a dog 'Adolf' and teaching him to 'salute' or 2) arresting/jailing someone for doing so?

The answer (2) should be obvious -- the authoritarianism (clothed in political correctness) practiced by the current German gov't is an indication their fascist tendencies are still far from extinguished.

[freekitty]

LOL

[RightWhale]

You’re quite right of course. Just buying a monthly train pass reauires five different shapes and colors of rubber stamp imprints.

[barryg]

It seems to me that the dog should be jailed, not the owner.

What’s the dog’s excuse?

[AndyJackson]

What's more Nazi-like, 1) naming a dog 'Adolf' and teaching him to 'salute' or 2) arresting/jailing someone for doing so?

I hope that the foundation of our constitutional republic does not hang on the balance of this false dichotomy. If I name my dog after a famous Klansman and teach him to don a white hood and make scary noises at minorities, I don't expect many people to show up for my trial when I am charged, quite deservedly, with hate crimes. In fact it would be the kind of act that would make such otherwise reprehensible legislation palatable.

[Mr. Mojo]

If you think dressing up a dog in a KKK outfit should land one in prison then you’re just as much of a nutcase as someone who would actually do it. ...and far more constitutionally challenged.

[AndyJackson]

I would like to think that the future of human liberty will survive carving out space to honor those who were victims of 20th century totalitarianism.

[Thoro]

Holy cow! That’s a real web site! HA!

[Mr. Mojo]

The best way to honor the victims you speak of is to eschew totalitarianism in all its forms. Advocating laws that prohibit dressing up dogs in goofy/offensive costumes (with penalty of prison) not only doesn't do that, it in fact embraces the very totalitarianism you claim to despise. Better rethink your position.

[AndyJackson]

I have not advocated anything, actually.