Blondi

This article is about Adolf Hitler's dog. For similar names and related words, see Blondie.

Dog owned by Adolf Hitler

Blondi

Blondi in 1942

Species| Canis lupus familiaris
Breed| German Shepherd
Sex| Female
Born| 1941
Died| 29 April 1945(1945-04-29) (aged 3–4)
Berlin, Nazi Germany
Cause of death| Cyanide poisoning
Nation from| Nazi Germany
Owner| Adolf Hitler
Offspring| Wulf and four other pups

Blondi (1941 – 29 April 1945)[a][2] was Adolf Hitler's German Shepherd, a gift as a puppy[3][4] from Martin Bormann in 1941. Hitler kept Blondi even after his move into the Führerbunker located underneath the garden of the Reich Chancellery on 16 January 1945.[5]

Hitler was very fond of Blondi, keeping her by his side and allowing her to sleep in his bed while in the bunker. According to Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge, this affection was not shared by Eva Braun, Hitler's companion, who preferred her two Scottish Terrier dogs named Negus and Stasi.

Blondi played a role in Nazi propaganda by portraying Hitler as an animal lover. Dogs like Blondi were coveted as "germanische Urhunde", being close to the wolf, and became very fashionable during the Nazi era.[6] On 29 April 1945, one day before his death, Hitler expressed doubts about the cyanide capsules he had received through Heinrich Himmler's SS.[7] To verify the capsules' potency, Hitler ordered Dr. Werner Haase to test one on Blondi, who died as a result.[8]

## Blondi's puppies

[edit]

In March[9][10] or in early April[11][12] (likely 4 April)[13] 1945, she had a litter of five puppies with Gerdy Troost's German Shepherd, Harras. Adolf Hitler named one of the puppies "Wulf", his favorite nickname and the meaning of his own first name, Adolf ("noble wolf"),[14] and he began to train her.[15] One of Blondi's puppies was reserved for Eva Braun's sister Gretl. Eva sent Gretl a letter containing a photo of Blondi and three of her puppies, Gretl's being indicated with an arrow.[16]

## Other dogs

[edit]

During his military service in World War I, Hitler rescued a stray white Fox Terrier named Fuchsl. Hitler had great affection for the dog, and when he was not on duty at the front, he would spend much of his free time playing with the dog in the barracks. Hitler was profoundly distraught when he lost him in August 1917.[17][18][19]

He had been given a German Shepherd before named "Prinz" in 1921, during his years of poverty, but he had been forced to lodge the dog elsewhere. However, the dog managed to escape and return to him. Hitler, who adored the loyalty and obedience of the dog, thereafter developed a great liking for the breed.[20]

He also owned a German Shepherd called "Muckl".[21] Before Blondi, Hitler had two German Shepherd dogs, a mother [born 1926] and daughter [born ca. 1930] – both named Blonda. In some photos taken during the 1930s the younger Blonda is incorrectly labeled as Blondi (in most cases photograph inscriptions were written later).[13]

In May 1942, Hitler bought another young German Shepherd "from a minor official in the post office in Ingolstadt" to keep Blondi company.[22] He called her Bella.[23] According to Traudl Junge, Eva Braun was very fond of her two Scottish Terrier dogs named Negus and Stasi. She usually kept them away from Blondi.[24]

## Death of Blondi and other dogs

[edit]

During the course of 29 April 1945, Hitler learned of the death of his ally Benito Mussolini at the hands of Italian partisans on 28 April. This, along with the fact that the Soviet Red Army was closing in on his location, strengthened Hitler in his resolve not to allow himself or his wife to be captured. That afternoon, Hitler expressed doubts about the cyanide capsules he had received through Heinrich Himmler's SS.[25] (By this point, Hitler regarded Himmler as a traitor.) To verify the capsules' contents, Hitler—who already intended to have Blondi killed so that she did not fall into the hands of the Soviets—ordered Dr. Werner Haase to test one on Blondi; at midnight on the night of 29 April, Haase gave her the poison in the lavatory, quickly killing the dog.[26][27] Hitler was reportedly expressionless as he viewed the dog's corpse,[27] but he became completely inconsolable.[28]

According to a report commissioned by Joseph Stalin and based on eyewitness accounts, Hitler's dog-handler, Feldwebel Fritz Tornow, took Blondi's pups and shot them in the garden of the bunker complex on 30 April 1945, after Hitler and Eva Braun had committed suicide that same day. He also killed Eva Braun's two dogs, Gerda Christian's dogs, and his own dachshund. Tornow was later captured by the Allies.[29] Erna Flegel, who met Hitler and worked at the emergency casualty-station in the Reich Chancellery, stated in 2005 that Blondi's death had affected the people in the bunker more than Eva Braun's suicide.[30] After the battle in Berlin ended on 2 May 1945, the remains of Hitler, Braun, and two dogs (thought to be Blondi and her offspring Wulf) were discovered in a shell crater by a unit of SMERSH, the Soviet counter-intelligence agency.[31][32] The dog thought to be Blondi was exhumed and photographed by the Soviets.[33]

## See also

[edit]

* List of individual dogs

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Some sources incorrectly suggest 1934 as Blondi's date of birth.[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Eatwell, Roger (1995). Fascism: A History. Chatto & Windus. p. 152.
2. ^ Kershaw, Ian. Hitler: A Biography, W.W. Norton & Co. p. 252. ISBN 0-393-06757-2
3. ^ Comfort, David (1994). The First Pet History of the World. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 247\. ISBN 0-671-89102-2.
4. ^ some sources suggest the Summer of 1942 (see: Wires, Richard (1985). Terminology of the Third Reich. Ball State University. p. 9.) or even February 1943 (see: timelines.ws Archived 14 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine)
5. ^ Beevor, Antony (2002). Berlin: The Downfall 1945. Viking-Penguin Books. p. 139\. ISBN 978-0-670-03041-5.
6. ^ Sax, Boria (2000). Animals in the Third Reich: Pets, Scapegoats, and the Holocaust. Foreword by Klaus P. Fischer. New York and London: Continuum. ISBN 978-0-8264-1289-8.
7. ^ Kershaw, Ian (2008). Hitler: A Biography, W.W. Norton & Co. pp. 951–952.
8. ^ Kershaw, Ian. Hitler: A Biography, W.W. Norton & Co. p. 952.
9. ^ Galante, Pierre; Silianoff, Eugène; Silianoff, Eugene (1989). Voices from the Bunker. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's. p. 12\. ISBN 0-399-13404-2.
10. ^ Dekkers, Midas; Vincent, Paul (2000). Dearest Pet: On Bestiality. Verso. p. 171\. ISBN 1-85984-310-7.
11. ^ Eberle & Uhl 2005, p. 188.
12. ^ Brush, Karen A. (2007). Everything Your Dog Expects You to Know. New Holland Publishers Ltd. p. 108\. ISBN 978-1-84537-954-4.
13. ^ a b "Distant Relatives". Abby K-9. March 2006. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007.
14. ^ Bullock, Alan (1962). Adolf Hitler: A Study in Tyranny, Penguin Books, p. 785.
15. ^ Kohler, Joachim; Taylor, Ronald K. (2001). Wagner's Hitler: The Prophet and His Disciple. Polity Press. p. 19\. ISBN 0-7456-2710-2.
16. ^ Gun, Nerin E. (1969). Eva Braun: Hitler's Mistress. Meredith Press. pp. 241, 246. ISBN 0-7456-2710-2.
17. ^ Altman, Linda Jacobs (2005). Adolf Hitler: Evil Mastermind of the Holocaust. Internet Archive. Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Enslow Publishers. p. 28\. ISBN 978-0-7660-2533-2.
18. ^ Kershaw, Ian (1998). Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris. Penguin Press. ISBN 0-393-320359.
19. ^ Giblin, James; Payne, Robert (2000). The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler. New York, Praeger [1973]. p. 20. ISBN 0-395-90371-8.
20. ^ Beevor, Antony (2002). Berlin: The Downfall 1945. Viking-Penguin Books. p. 357\. ISBN 978-0-670-03041-5.
21. ^ von Schirach, Baldur (1967). Ich glaubte an Hitler. Mosaik Verlag. p. 106.
22. ^ Goebbels' Diary, 30 May 1942: " He [Hitler] has bought himself a young German Shepherd dog called "Blondi" which is the apple of his eye. It was touching listening to him say that he enjoyed walking with this dog so much, because only with it could he be sure that [his companion] would not start talking about the war or politics. One notices time and time again that the Führer is slowly but surely becoming lonely. It is very touching to see him play with this young German Shepherd dog. The animal has grown so accustomed to him that it will hardly take a step without him. It is very nice to watch the Führer with his dog. At the moment the dog is the only living thing that is constantly with him. At night it sleeps at the foot of his bed, it is allowed into his sleeping compartment in the special train and enjoys a number of privileges...that no human would ever dare to claim. He bought the dog from a minor official in the post office in Ingolstadt."
23. ^ Dowd, Maureen (13 July 2011). "Opinion: Hitler's Talking Dogs". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
24. ^ Junge, Traudl (2003). Until the Final Hour: Hitler's Last Secretary. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 77\. ISBN 978-0-297-84720-5.
25. ^ Kershaw, Ian (2008). Hitler: A Biography, W.W. Norton & Co. pp. 951–953. ISBN 0-393-06757-2
26. ^ Kershaw, Ian (2008). Hitler: A Biography, W.W. Norton & Co. p. 952. ISBN 0-393-06757-2
27. ^ a b Eberle & Uhl 2005, p. 266.
28. ^ O'Donnell, James (1978). The Bunker: The History of the Reich Chancellery Group. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 166\. ISBN 0-395-25719-0.
29. ^ Eberle & Uhl 2005, p. 273.
30. ^ Harding, Luke. "Hitler's nurse breaks 60 years of silence", The Guardian, May 2, 2005.
31. ^ Beevor, Antony (2002). Berlin: The Downfall 1945. Viking-Penguin Books. p. 399\. ISBN 978-0670030415.
32. ^ An autopsy determined that both dogs had been shot and that Blondi had been killed by poison. Some sources say that Wolf was killed with the other puppies in the Chancellery garden (see Moorhouse, Roger (2007). Killing Hitler: The Plots, The Assassins, and the Dictator Who Cheated Death. Bantam. p. 323\. ISBN 978-0-553-38255-6.).
33. ^ Le Tissier, Tony (1992). Berlin Then and Now, After the Battle. ISBN 978-0900913723

### Sources

[edit]

* Eberle, Henrik; Uhl, Matthias, eds. (2005). The Hitler Book: The Secret Dossier Prepared for Stalin from the Interrogations of Hitler's Personal Aides. Translated by Giles MacDonogh. New York: Public Affairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-366-1.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blondi.

* Germany portal
* Dogs portal

* v
* t
* e

Adolf Hitler

Politics|

* Führer
* Führerprinzip
* Political views
* Political directives
* List
* Speeches
* Prophecy
* Mein Kampf
* in Arabic
* in English
* Zweites Buch
* Last will and testament
* Books
* Nazism

Events|

* Military career
* Rise to power
* Hitler cabinet
* Nazi Germany
* World War II
* The Holocaust
* Assassination attempts
* Death
* conspiracy theories

Places of
residence|

| Führer Headquarters|

* Berghof (Kehlsteinhaus)
* Reich Chancellery (Führerbunker / Vorbunker)
* Adlerhorst
* Anlage Süd
* Felsennest
* Tannenberg
* Werwolf
* Wolf's Lair
* Wolfsschlucht I
* Wolfsschlucht II
* Special train (Führersonderzug)

|

Civilian residences|

* Braunau am Inn
* Linz
* Vienna (Meldemannstraße dormitory)
* Munich (16 Prinzregentenplatz)
* Obersalzberg (Kampfhäusl)

Personal life|

* Health
* possible monorchism
* Wealth and income
* Religious views
* Sexuality
* Vegetarianism
* Staff
* Bodyguard
* August Kubizek
* Stefanie Rabatsch
* Reinhold Hanisch
* Psychopathography
* Hitler's Table Talk
* Paintings
* 50th birthday
* German naturalization

Personal
belongings|

* Hitler's Globe
* Private library

Perceptions|

* Books
* Cult of personality
* In popular culture
* Killing baby Hitler
* The Victory of Faith
* Triumph of the Will
* Hitler: The Last Ten Days
* The Meaning of Hitler
* Hitler Diaries
* Moloch
* Hitler: The Rise of Evil
* Downfall
* Shigeru Mizuki's Hitler
* Apocalypse: Hitler

Family|

* Eva Braun (wife)
* Alois Hitler (father)
* Klara Hitler (mother)
* Johann Georg Hiedler (grandfather)
* Maria Schicklgruber (grandmother)
* Angela Hitler (half-sister)
* Paula Hitler (sister)
* Leo Rudolf Raubal Jr. (half-nephew)
* Geli Raubal (half-niece)
* William Stuart-Houston (half-nephew)
* Heinz Hitler (half-nephew)
* Jean-Marie Loret (possible illegitimate son)
* Blondi (dog)

Other|

* Streets named after Hitler
* Mannerheim recording

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Final occupants of the Führerbunker by date of departure (1945)

20 April|

* Hermann Göring
* Heinrich Himmler

21 April|

* Robert Ley
* Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer

22 April|

* Hugo Blaschke
* Karl Gebhardt
* Christa Schroeder
* Johanna Wolf
* Eckhard Christian

23 April|

* Albert Bormann
* Theodor Morell
* Joachim von Ribbentrop
* Albert Speer
* Julius Schaub

24 April|

* Walter Frentz

28 April|

* Robert Ritter von Greim
* Hanna Reitsch

29 April|

* Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven
* Gerhard Boldt
* Rudolf Weiss
* Wilhelm Zander
* Heinz Lorenz
* Willy Johannmeyer
* Walter Wagner

30 April|

* Nicolaus von Below

1 May|

* Wilhelm Mohnke
* Traudl Junge
* Gerda Christian
* Constanze Manziarly
* Else Krüger
* Otto Günsche
* Walther Hewel
* Ernst-Günther Schenck
* Hans-Erich Voss
* Johann Rattenhuber
* Peter Högl
* Werner Naumann
* Martin Bormann
* Hans Baur
* Ludwig Stumpfegger
* Artur Axmann
* Georg Betz
* Heinz Linge
* Erich Kempka
* Heinrich Doose
* Günther Schwägermann
* Ewald Lindloff
* Hans Reisser
* Armin D. Lehmann
* Josef Ochs
* Heinz Krüger
* Werner Schwiedel
* Gerhard Schach
* Hans Fritzsche
* Käthe Heusermann

2 May|

* Helmuth Weidling
* Hans Refior
* Theodor von Dufving
* Siegfried Knappe
* Rochus Misch

Still present on 2 May|

* Werner Haase
* Erna Flegel
* Helmut Kunz
* Fritz Tornow
* Liselotte Chervinska
* Johanna Ruf
* Johannes Hentschel

Committed suicide|

* Ernst-Robert Grawitz (24 April)
* Adolf Hitler (30 April)
* Eva Hitler (née Braun, 30 April)
* Joseph Goebbels (1 May)
* Magda Goebbels (1 May)
* Alwin-Broder Albrecht (1 May)
* Wilhelm Burgdorf (2 May)
* Hans Krebs (2 May)
* Franz Schädle (2 May)

Killed|

* Hermann Fegelein (executed for desertion, 28 April)
* Blondi (Hitler's dog, poisoned 29 April)
* Goebbels children (poisoned 1 May)

Unknown|

* Heinrich Müller

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template