By now the lurid tale of Hitler’s last hours is well known. Knowing that Germany had lost the war, and blaming everyone from Jews to the German Army, he bit a cyanide capsule while shooting himself at the same time. His long time mistress, Eva Braun, preceded him in self-inflicted death. And he also poisoned his beloved dog Blondi.
One can see why Hitler would want to kill himself. He did not want to be taken captive by the Soviets or the British or the Americans. And since his dream that the Third Reich would conquer the world had turned into a nightmare of defeat and humiliation, he had nothing to live for anyhow.
But why poison his dog? Dogs do have a way of adjusting to new masters, and Blondi would not ever realize that the Nazis had lost the war. We can only speculate about Hitler’s motives.
On occasion someone will point out, mordantly, that at least Hitler loved Eva Braun and Blondi. But even here the murderer of millions has his otherwise terrible record marred. Whether he thought the dog would be mistreated — and Hitler was an expert in mistreatment — or just wanted company for his own pain, or simply wasn’t thinking logically, the poisoning of Blondi once more underlines just how paranoid, selfish, and demented he really was.
Well, we have long known that about him. What still defies analysis, however, is how this tenth-rate thinker and fanatic was able to seize control of a nation known for its great composers, scientists, and writers.
Why he poisoned his dog is just one mysterious question about Hitler, and hardly the greatest one.
I’m Tom McBride, and that’s my Perspective.
