Borghild Project

The Borghild Project is a hoax[1] that describes a German project purported to exist during World War II aimed at combatting the spread of syphilis among Nazi troops by supplying soldiers with sex dolls. According to the narrative, Adolf Hitler approved the project to distribute inflatable sex dolls to his soldiers, which could be transported in their backpacks in order to give them an option to avoid places of prostitution in Paris. After years of being considered a real project, the lack of evidence supporting its existence led to it being deemed a hoax in the early 2000s.

Alleged development

The project was supposedly inspired by Heinrich Himmler's 1940 memo to Adolf Hitler that there was a syphilis problem in the houses of prostitution in Paris. In the report, he wrote, "The greatest danger in Paris is the widespread and uncontrolled presence of whores."[2] As a result, Hitler is said to have given approval to create a smaller-than-life doll, which was to be designed under the supervision of Adam Zimmerman at the German Hygiene Museum. According to Rudolf Chargeheimer, a psychiatrist involved in the project, the doll was to have synthetic flesh that mirrored real flesh and its body should be as flexible as a real human. After Hungarian actress Käthe von Nagy supposedly refused to model for the project, the doll was designed with blonde hair and blue eyes.[2][1]

Demise

A total of fifty dolls were supposedly ordered for use in Jersey by officials, but the purported project was cancelled by Himmler after two years, after soldiers refused to carry them due to the fear of embarrassment if they were captured and one was found in their possession. The bombing of Dresden also supposedly destroyed the factories that were planned to build the dolls, as well as the records of the project.[2][1]

Evidence of a hoax

According to supporters, the main supporting evidence for the project were two photographs purportedly rescued from the trash, which were later disproven as a hoax. Furthermore, the existence of a journalist named Norbert Lenz has also been questioned, as there is no proof that he ever existed in the first place, nor has any employee at the German Hygiene Museum ever recalled the project ever existing, when asked.[1]

Film

In 2009, a black comedy titled The Borghilde Project was released. Starring Jaye Davidson, amongst other actors and actresses, the film presents the project as being factual, and was produced by Nobleman Films.[3]

gollark: However, it *is* only forbidden because andrewdrone is a horrible name.
gollark: Don't worry. The PotatOS privacy policy forbids it from harming you.
gollark: So I've created a useful* IRC bot for APIONET.
gollark: The popular* IRC network.
gollark: Possibly. Or I could advertise APIONET.

References
  1. Ferguson, Anthony (26 July 2010). The Sex Doll: A History (1st ed.). McFarland. pp. 24–27. ISBN 978-0786447947. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  2. "Hitler Gave Nazi Soldiers Blow Up Sex Dolls To Combat Syphilis: Book". Huffington Post. 12 July 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  3. "The Borghilde Project". Festival Focus. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2015.
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