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With the huge box office success of Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie, news outlets around the world have been revisiting the rather questionable story of the original Barbie doll who started life as the "adult novelty toy" version of a 1940s German cartoon character named Lilli... and was allegedly trialled in Jersey.
Created in 1952 by artist Reinhard Beuthien for Germany’s most popular tabloid Bild, Lilli was a quick-witted seductress who challenged and allured her male suitors.
Lilli’s popularity resulted in a doll being created which was sold as an adult novelty toy in bars, tobacco kiosks and adult toy stores.
Around the same time, Ruth Handler – the creator of Barbie and one of the founders of Mattel – came across Lilli on a trip to Europe.
Pictured: Lilli was the inspiration for the first Barbie doll.
She bought a few Lilli dolls to take home and re-worked the design, later debuting Barbie at the New York toy fair in 1959.
In 1964, Mattel bought all patents and copyrights to Bild Lilli, after which its manufacturing ceased in Germany.
While the connection between Lilli and Barbie is undisputed, some of the articles also suggest that Lilli inspired the first iteration of sex dolls – which were apparently trialled by Nazis in Jersey during the Occupation!
A Daily Mail article claims that "the dolls were apparently trialled in Nazi-occupied Jersey at the German barracks in St Helier".
But is there any truth to this rumour?
The story goes that Adolf Hitler ordered the Nazis to develop sex dolls to prevent his soldiers from catching syphilis from French sex workers.
Dubbed 'The Borghild Project', this "more secret than top secret" project was an attempt to stop the spread of syphilis by providing Nazi soldiers with inflatable sex dolls.
The story appears to have originated from an undated blog post by an alleged journalist named Norbert Lenz which claims that "the world’s first sex doll – or 'gynoid' – was built in 1941 by a team of craftsmen from Germanys Hygiene Museum Dresden".
The facts in the blog appear to be completely unsubstantiated, but gained traction when the story appeared in 2010 book 'Mussolini's Barber: And Other Stories of the Unknown Players Who Made History Happen' by Graeme Donald.
Pictured: Author Graeme Donald included the story of 'The Borghild Project' in his book, Mussolini's Barber.
The author claimed that he uncovered the sex toy operation while retracing the footsteps of Barbie inventor Ruth Handler.
But there appear to be no other sources to the story apart beyond Lenz's undated and unverified claims.
Although almost definitely untrue, the Norbert Lenz blog makes for fascinating reading.
Entitled 'The Borghild-project – a discreet matter of the III. Reich', the blog alleges that Heinrich Himmler – leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany – was concerned about the "unnecessary losses” that German troops had suffered in France due to diseases caught from street prostitutes.
In a letter, Himmler said: "The greatest danger in Paris are the wide-spread and uncontrolled whores, picking by clients in bars, dancehalls and other places. It is our duty to prevent soldiers from risking their health, just for the sake of a quick adventure."
Pictured: The 'Hitler invented sex dolls' rumour appears to originate from a hoax blog post entitled 'The Borghild Project'.
The "purpose and goal of the dolls" was to "relieve" the soldiers. The blog claims that the following is an extract of a letter from a psychiatrist involved in The Borghild Project:
"[The soldiers] have to fight and not be on the browl or mingle with 'foreign womenfolk'. However: no real men will prefer a doll to a real woman, until our technicians meet the following quality standards:
1. The synthetic flesh has to feel the same like real flesh
2. The doll’ s body should be as agile and moveable as the real body
3. The doll’s organ should feel absolutely realistic.”
Unsurprisingly, the Borghild sex doll was meant to reflect the beauty standards of the Nazis with fair hair, light skin and blue eyes.
Several different versions of the doll were apparently tested at Soldatenheims – recreational areas for soldiers to relax – in St. Helier during the Occupation.
Pictured: Soldatenheims provided a safe recreational establishment where German soldiers could have a hot meal, relax with their comrades, and read and write to their loved ones.
Himmler was apparently "so enthusiastic" about the prototype that "he ordered 50 Borghilds on the spot".
However, Lenz's blog ends by explaining that allied bombs described the buildings where the dolls were being produced and they were destroyed in 1945.
No evidence of 'The Borghild Project' remains.
Local Occupation historian Colin Isherwood admitted that he had heard of the before, but said: "I don’t think there is any credible evidence to say it ever occurred, certainly not being trialled in Jersey."
"Can't help but think any soldier with one of these dolls would have been mocked by their comrades," he added.
Mr Isherwood explained: "It is true that the German Authorities were concerned with the spread of syphilis and venereal disease, because if a soldier were to catch them, it could mean lengthy medical treatments.
"There were brothels in the island, the main being located at the Victor Hugo hotel. The girls were from France and were on ‘heavy workers’ rations! Doctors would regularly check the girls in case of any infections.
Pictured: Local Occupation historian, Colin Isherwood.
"In June 1943, the German Kommandant, Knackfuss, issued an order banning dancing due to an outbreak of syphilis amongst the local population.
"But, as for the dolls, hmm…"
So, hopefully it's not too deflating to discover the truth behind this urban myth!
For interesting (and substantiated) stories of the Occupation from Mr Isherwood and other local researchers, you can look back on this special e-edition of Bailiwick Express daily news email HERE.
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