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Nazis Attempted to Train Dogs to Talk, Read and Spell to Win WW2
IO9 ^ | January 7, 2014 | Esther Inglis-Arkell

Posted on 01/07/2014 7:42:21 PM PST by DogByte6RER

german shepherd photo: GERMAN SHEPHERD DSC_0042.jpg

Did the nazis really have a school for talking dogs?

Just when you think you've gotten to the end of the bizarre by-products of World War II, you learn about talking Nazi dogs. The question is: How official were they? We'll look into the school — or possibly the con game — of talking dogs.

Here's what we know. In 1930, Margarethe Schmidt lived with her mother in a relatively large house, and kept Asra, a Great Dane. Asra gave birth to five puppies, and the Schmidts took in a terrier. Somewhere along the line, all the dogs began learning to talk. And at some later point along the line, reports went out that these talking, spelling, and "reasoning," dogs, would go out into the battlefields and the villages and start working for the Nazis.

The idea that dogs could talk was not unprecedented in Germany. In the 1920s, a dog named Don, that would bark his name, tell people he was hungry, and ask for "kuche," became a celebrity and brought his owner a great deal of wealth. The Nazis harbored a sentimentality for animals, and a belief in the deep connection between humans and nature. Great Danes speaking German and helping their human comrades didn't seem that crazy. This might be why German newspapers published plans for educated dogs taking over low-level command posts and helping out on the battlefields. One dog, Rolf, reportedly learned to spell with his paw. He spelled out his thoughts on religion - in between hitting on women and asking them if he could wag their tails. Margarethe Schmidt was referred to as an "animal psychologist," in these pieces. Possible uses for the new educated dogs that she churned out were bandied about in the German power structure.

On the other hand, people who actually saw the educated wonder dogs generally agreed that they saw little more than the Clever Hans effect. Clever Hans was a horse who was said to talk and to do math problems by tapping his hoof, but was shown to be responding to clues in the body language of his trainer and the people around him. When the crowd relaxed back (after the proper number of taps that had been achieved), Hans stopped tapping. Animal behaviorists have, ever since, had to take pains not to let their expressions or body language show when they are gauging animal reaction.

The "speaking" dogs didn't speak. One guest was told they all had colds. They seemed to respond to trainers and to rehearsed commands. After the war - and after posing for a lot of pictures with her educated dogs - Margarethe Schmidt agreed with this assessment, saying that she received no money from the Nazi government and had no real plans with them. She was only running a sort of circus.

So the question remains a mystery. Did Germany actually try to train an army of talking Nazi dogs?


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; History; Military/Veterans; Miscellaneous; Pets/Animals; Science; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: canine; dog; doggieping; dogs; fascism; k9; nazi; nazis; weirdscience; wooffanss; worldwar2
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german shepherd photo: German Shepherd germansheppypaint1.jpg And painting too?!?
1 posted on 01/07/2014 7:42:22 PM PST by DogByte6RER
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To: All

Related topic post ...

Speak, Fido: Device Promises Dog Translations

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3108721/posts


2 posted on 01/07/2014 7:43:12 PM PST by DogByte6RER ("Loose lips sink ships")
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To: All

More background ...

Nazis tried to train dogs to talk, read and spell to win WW2

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/8532573/Nazis-tried-to-train-dogs-to-talk-read-and-spell-to-win-WW2.html


3 posted on 01/07/2014 7:43:52 PM PST by DogByte6RER ("Loose lips sink ships")
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To: DogByte6RER

"Whoever heard of a talking dog?"

4 posted on 01/07/2014 7:48:18 PM PST by Slyfox (We want our pre-existing HEALTH INSURANCE back!)
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To: DogByte6RER; a fool in paradise; Slings and Arrows
It must be noted that the Germans did succeed in teaching dogs how to play cards.
(Post WWII photograph of imprisoned German war criminals.)


5 posted on 01/07/2014 7:48:31 PM PST by Revolting cat! (Bad things are wrong! Ice cream is delicious!)
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To: DogByte6RER

While I have heard cats who can speak a few simple words, I’ve never heard a dog talk.


6 posted on 01/07/2014 7:50:08 PM PST by PAR35
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To: DogByte6RER

The Master Race.

7 posted on 01/07/2014 7:54:03 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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Comment #8 Removed by Moderator

To: Joe 6-pack

Das hundpingen!


9 posted on 01/07/2014 8:07:32 PM PST by Slings and Arrows (You can't have Ingsoc without an Emmanuel Goldstein.)
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To: DogByte6RER
Heh. Well, the Soviets had apeman warriors for the collective.

We had Hellboy and Superman. No wonder we won WWII.

10 posted on 01/07/2014 8:12:42 PM PST by Theoria (End Socialism : No more GOP and Dem candidates)
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To: DogByte6RER

11 posted on 01/07/2014 8:39:00 PM PST by ETL (ALL (most?) of the Obama-commie connections at my FR Home page: http://www.freerepublic.com/~etl/)
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To: DogByte6RER

Sorta reminds me of a joke I heard, “Ummm, sheep lie.”


12 posted on 01/07/2014 8:41:15 PM PST by Bringbackthedraft (Remember Ty Woods? Glenn Doherty ? Forgot already?)
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To: AnAmericanMother; Titan Magroyne; Badeye; SandRat; arbooz; potlatch; afraidfortherepublic; ...
WOOOF!

Computer Hope

The Doggie Ping list is for FReepers who would like to be notified of threads relating to all things canid. If you would like to join the Doggie Ping Pack (or be unleashed from it), FReemail me.

13 posted on 01/07/2014 8:48:45 PM PST by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
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To: DogByte6RER

14 posted on 01/07/2014 8:54:36 PM PST by Brandonmark (OWCM is The new American Minority! 11.06.12 - Day of Infamy!)
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To: DogByte6RER

15 posted on 01/07/2014 8:59:22 PM PST by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: Theoria

Heh. Well, the Soviets had apeman warriors for the collective.

We had Hellboy and Superman. No wonder we won WWII.

Godless Commies and Socialists love to tinker with nature to pervert it into their mold of weird crazy dreamed up utopian crap.


16 posted on 01/07/2014 9:11:27 PM PST by GraceG
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To: DogByte6RER

“Nazis Attempted to Train Dogs to Talk, Read and Spell to Win WW2”

Well, we see how well that worked out. But maybe the dogs were really “double” agents.


17 posted on 01/07/2014 9:22:45 PM PST by count-your-change (you don't have to be brilliant, not being stupid is enough)
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To: DogByte6RER


"This Dog is Amazing! Kriegsmarine? Learning how to use the ENIGMA machines and pad ciphers? Semafore? WHY THE HECK WOULD YOU WANT TO GIVE HIM AWAY?"



"Because zis dog is a liar. He barely did HAFF ze sings he boasts about..."
18 posted on 01/07/2014 9:32:49 PM PST by golux
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To: DogByte6RER

“My dog has no nose!’’ “How does he smell?’’ “Awful!’’.


19 posted on 01/07/2014 9:44:35 PM PST by jmacusa ("Chasing God out of the classroom didn't usher in The Age of Reason''.)
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To: DogByte6RER

The author has it backwards! It was the Nazis that learned to bark commands!!


20 posted on 01/08/2014 1:18:58 AM PST by ArtDodger
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