Judith Latham
2025-01-23 03:47:48 UTC
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PermalinkPerhaps the best takeoff on the Hitler greeting, however, was that of
a performer from Paderborn: he taught his trained chimpanzees to
extend their arms in Nazi fashion. (According to the performer's son,
the chimpanzees enjoyed doing this.) Every time the animals saw
someone in uniform, even a postman, they would give the Nazi salute.
This dadaistic coup of the Paderborn comic, who was a committed Social
Democrat, attracted the ire of his "racial comrades," who reported him
to the authorities. A directive was soon issued forbidding apes from
using the Hitler greeting, with the penalty for noncompliance being
the "slaugh-ter" of the animals. When it came to expressions of
respect for their leader, the Nazis did not have much sense of humor.
Judith