Blondi

Blondi (1941 – 29 April 1945) was Adolf Hitler's German Shepherd, a gift as a puppy from Martin Bormann in 1941. Blondi stayed with Hitler even after his move into the Führerbunker located underneath the garden of the Reich Chancellery on 16 January 1945. Hitler was reportedly very fond of Blondi, keeping her by his side and allowing her to sleep in his bed in the bunker. According to Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge, this affection was not shared by Eva Braun, Hitler's companion (and later his wife), who preferred her two Scottish Terrier dogs named Negus and Stasi. Blondi played a role in Nazi propaganda by portraying Hitler as an animal lover. Dogs like Blondi were coveted as "germanischer Urhunde", being close to the wolf, and became very fashionable during the Nazi era. On 29 April 1945, Hitler expressed doubts about the cyanide capsules he had received through Heinrich Himmler's SS. To verify the capsules' potency, Hitler ordered Dr. Werner Haase to test one on Blondi, who died as a result. According to Albert Speer, Hitler killed Blondi because he feared that the Russians would capture and torture her after overrunning the bunker.