Jackie (dog)

Jackie was a black-and-white spotted dog, a Dalmatian mix,[1] that became known for the political incident it caused between its owner, Tor Borg, his company, and Nazi Germany.

In an exchange dated January 29, 1941, German Vice Consul Willy Erkelenz in Helsinki wrote that "a witness, who does not want to be named, said he saw and heard how Borg's dog reacted to the command 'Hitler' by raising its paw".

However, he claimed the incident in question had occurred earlier, telling Nazi officials: "The rumor might emanate from an episode in the summer of 1933 which happened within my family only and which had no ulterior political background whatsoever.

[2] The incident was unknown for many years until being uncovered by historian and author Klaus Hillenbrand, who discovered the story while researching Nazi era activities in the German federal archive.

[5] Johannes Tuchel, head of the Memorial to the German Resistance, noted that "This case shows that National Socialism was striving to dominate all spheres of public life and all areas that it could influence.