German Teaches Dog Adolf to Give Hitler Salute


Oct 15, 3:37 pm ET

By Tobias Schwarz
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man who taught his dog Adolf to give a Hitler salute by raising his right paw has been charged with violating Germany's anti-Nazi laws for a series of incidents in recent years, a Berlin court said on Wednesday.

Police investigated the man after members of the public complained they had seen Roland Thein giving the stiff-arm "Hitler salute" and telling his dog: "Adolf sit, give me the salute!," a court spokeswoman said.

As he was questioned by police the man ordered his black mongrel to give them the Hitler salute as well, she said.

But a Berlin justice official said later on Wednesday prosecutors were dropping the specific charges against the man related to the dog and instead focusing on other incidents in which the man was seen by witnesses using outlawed language such as "Sieg Heil" and "Heil Hitler" in public.

The spokesman for Berlin's justice ministry said it wasn't clear whether it was a crime to order a dog to give a Hitler salute and that's why that was being dropped. He said, however, prosecutors had sufficient evidence from earlier incidents.

Germany has strict laws banning the use of Nazi symbols, but Thein, sporting a Hitler-style mustache and military tunic, said he didn't understand what the fuss was about.

Thein demonstrated Adolf's "Hitler salute" trick to a Reuters photographer in his back yard in southwestern Berlin after summoning the dog from a kennel with "Adolf" painted over the entrance.

"Adolf, give me the salute!" Thein barked as the dog raised his right paw. Thein also said he welcomed the media attention he and his dog were getting.

The trial is set for Thursday. Thein is accused of shouting the Nazi battlecry "Sieg Heil" in front of Berlin police and of wearing a "Hitler" T-shirt and shouting "Heil Hitler" at a market in the city in separate incidents in 2002.

(Additional reporting by Erik Kirschbaum)