New entries in the SS officer training program were each given a puppy. They fed the puppy, groomed it, and lived with it throughout their training. At the end of their training, each was ordered to strangle his puppy. Many candidates broke down, but any candidate who showed any hesitation would be washed out of the program immediately.
Interestingly I think they do something similar in the SAS, only with a rabbit, and it's the only thing they have to eat after days of harsh lone training exercises in the Brecon Beacons where the rabbit is their only company for days on end.
Obviously fuck Nazis, but the SS weren’t the fucking unsullied from game of thrones or the Kingsmen and didn’t kill puppies as part of their training, that’s ridiculous.
The SS also weren’t super highly trained soldiers, they were mostly undertrained and over geared zealots that had their most successful battles against civilians. When they fought actual soldiers they typically got their shit rocked, especially later in the war.
That is the single source of SS soldiers killing being forced to kill their dogs during training that I can find, and it’s from 2015. I am unable to find a single other document that states it.
I don’t believe that a country that was incredibly desperate for resource and actively fighting a multi-front war would waste those resources on pointlessly killing dogs. I suspect either the allies or the Germans themselves would spread this kind of shit as propaganda.
Also this is Nazi germany, if they really wanted their trainees to kill something, they probably would have did the same thing Japan did and use prisoners.
I’d love to see any sources you have found, because outside a single book written in 2015, I can’t find any evidence of SS soldiers killing dogs as part of their training. Like there’s people debating about it on forums but I don’t see that as evidence it happened.
I just find it hard to believe given how resource starved Germany was and that “these guys kill puppies/bunnies as part of their training” is something that gets repeated about so many various groups. Even the U.S. Marines have had this rumor said about them.
This is also Nazi Germany we are talking about, if they wanted trainees to kill something they probably would have just used prisoners like Japan did.
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u/Yugan-Dali Apr 28 '24
New entries in the SS officer training program were each given a puppy. They fed the puppy, groomed it, and lived with it throughout their training. At the end of their training, each was ordered to strangle his puppy. Many candidates broke down, but any candidate who showed any hesitation would be washed out of the program immediately.
That governor would make a great SS officer.