Oscar the cat

glen · Post by **glen** » Sat Nov 25, 2006 4:49 am

last i read, the cat lived till its natural end.

Karl Heidenreich · Post by **Karl Heidenreich** » Sat Nov 25, 2006 6:19 pm

Because lately there had been some wild ideas about Bismarck´s mission on May 1941 then I have this new amazing idea about the cat:
Maybe Oscar was one of Canaris´agents and the Rheinubung was only a "diversion" to put the cat on board British ships and sabotage them after gathering important "ultra" info. Oscar was really an Sturbanfuhrer, that´s why he was a black cat: he was wearing the SS uniform avoiding then to be shot as a spy if caught.

glen · Post by **glen** » Sun Nov 26, 2006 10:01 pm

gosh yes, batman!
the ww2 book that i have is a paperback that has trivia questions and strange facts in it. i picked it up in 1988 and confronted them about the bismarck cat oscar. they however have never sent a reply that the data of proof i wanted without sending them money first. however, the cat was picked up out of the ocean may 27th 1941 saturday after the sinking of the greatest ship of all, the bismarck.
glen

Karl Heidenreich · Post by **Karl Heidenreich** » Mon Nov 27, 2006 3:33 pm

Glen:

after the sinking of the greatest ship of all, the bismarck.

Hi Glen, be carefull, don´t say that Bismarck was the greatest so easily, because the Iowa Class Guard and the Anti-Bismarck acolites could strikeout you.

Djoser · Post by **Djoser** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 10:10 pm

How in hell did the cat manage to survive in the water and get picked up, when hundreds of men were left to drown?

I mean I know cats can swim to some extent, but several hundred feet with hundreds of drowning men struggling for their life?

Sounds fishy to me, though i do know that many warships have had pets or mascots. The Russian fleet at Tsushima supposedly had an exotic menagerie aboard from its long journey previous to the battle.

Patrick McWilliams · Post by **Patrick McWilliams** » Thu Nov 30, 2006 10:21 am

Djoser wrote:How in hell did the cat manage to survive in the water and get picked up, when hundreds of men were left to drown?

Don't you know that a cat has 9 lives? Oscar survived the sinking, sneaked out of Rosyth, stole a ride on a train heading south (killing a few British mice on the way to survive), before boarding a destroyer at Southampton.

It was subsequently torpedoed off the French coast but Oscar, using another of his lives, managed to swin the 5 miles to what he thought was safety amongst his fellow countrymen. But he was interned and questioned by Naval Intelligence, who accused him of having abandoned his post on Bismarck. Thankfully, he convinced his jailors that he had been chasing mice on the ship until the last possible moment.

By now rehabiliated, and a national hero, he received the Cat's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords from Hitler in November 1941.

What became of him subsequently is a matter of some debate and numerous books. Historians cannot agree whether he was pensioned off to a comfortable retirement in an ex-servicemen's home in Bremen or sent to be Hitler's personal feline adjutant in the Wolf's Lair in East Prussia.

Some claim that he was promoted and served as advisor to Hitler during his holidays in Bertchesgaden. However, this cannot be proved although US troops did find evidence of a cat with an oily skin (presumably from the ships he served on) having lived there for some time.

Perhaps the truth will never be known.

RF · Post by RF » Thu Nov 30, 2006 10:44 am

By all accounts Hitler hated cats. He preferred dogs.