Nazi troops are seen in a newly unearthed video making an Alsatian smoke a pipe after dressing it up in glasses and a party hat.
The shocking footage, filmed at a hotel in the occupied Netherlands, shows soldiers with members of the notorious SS enjoying themselves at the dog’s expense.
A rusty old tin containing the reel was donated anonymously to local authorities.
Researchers who examined it have said the film – in which hotel staff are also seen is exceptionally rare, because most footage showing Dutch collaboration with their Nazi occupiers was destroyed after the Second World War.
Authorities are still trying to identify the Nazi officials seen in the eight-minute clip, which is believed to have been filmed in the winter of 1941-42.
The dog is thought to have been a mascot for the military unit that the men belonged to.
Nazi troops are seen in a newly unearthed video making an Alsatian smoke a pipe after dressing it up in glasses and a party hat
The shocking footage, filmed at a hotel in the occupied Netherlands, shows soldiers with members of the notorious SS enjoying themselves at the dog’s expense
Harco Gijsbers, of the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam, said he had never seen anything like it in all his years of work.
The clip was filmed at the former Hotel Proot in Alkmaar, north of Amsterdam. A clothing store now stands in its place.
Jesse van Dijl of the Regional Archives said collaboration with the Germans wasn’t uncommon at the time.
He said: ‘For many people, it was a way to get through the difficult times.
‘These kinds of videos, showing Dutch people partying with the Germans, were, of course, massively burned after the liberation.
‘The footage could be used as evidence against the Dutch people depicted in them.
Authorities are still trying to identify the Nazi officials seen in the eight-minute clip
The clip also shows Nazi soldiers and officials enjoying themselves with hotel staff
The lively hotel scene in the video
‘Photos of these kinds of situations aren’t unique, but moving images are.’
Van Dijl explained the film was part of a larger legacy left to the woman who donated it, adding: ‘She didn’t have the opportunity to view the footage so she had no idea what was on it.’
The hotel frequently hosted Nazi meetings, and Anton Mussert, leader of the NSB (National Socialist Movement), dined there.
Movie nights were also held at the venue.
Gijsbers said: ‘The owner was quite pro-German.’
Relatives of the former hotel owner have also seen the footage.
Van Dijl said: ‘They found it painful and moving.
‘They’ve come to know their grandfather, who received a heavy sentence after the war, as a kind man.
‘But they also recognise that the historical footage is special.’
The clip begins with a parade before cutting to the lively hotel scenes.
Lip readers examined the footage but ‘unfortunately they couldn’t make head nor tail of it’, van Dijl said.
He added: ‘We hope to find someone who can help us.’