Ingram wrote that the accusation of monorchidism in the song alluded to the theory that monorchidism caused Hitler to be insane, in the same way that "'lone nut' retains the idea of a causal relationship between monotesticularity and madness." This song's itemized taxonomy of malformed German genitalia-the monorchid, the micro-orchid, the anorchid-was particularly forceful, and satisfying, to Allied soldiers in that it scattered satiric buckshot across the whole Nazi high command (Hitler Hermann Göring, commander in chief of the Luftwaffe Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer of the SS and Goebbels, Reich minister of propaganda).Īccording to Kelley, in claiming that Hitler had only one testicle, the opening line suggests that Hitler had less than the normal amount of sexual prowess and, symbolically, courage. In that sense, defective testicles rendered the Nazis defective soldiers. Since the 1920s, the words balls or ballsy had come to denote notions of courage, nerve, or fortitude. But the mockery extended beyond just the Nazis' sexual capacities. Folklorist Greg Kelley of the University of Guelph-Humber wrote: Īs a means of ridiculing the Nazis, "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball" became immensely popular among Allied troops, who in transmitting this song were exercising something of a wartime convention by demeaning the sexual faculties of enemy leaders. Murdoch, a philologist with the University of Stirling, a notable aspect of the lyrics is that they attack enemy leaders, but not the enemy in general. University of Kent psychology professor Janet Sayers wrote that the song was a response by the Allies to the use of "male fantasy" in Nazi propaganda. The lyrics attack Nazi leaders' masculinity by mocking and belittling their alleged testicular deformities. In the fourth line, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels's name is often mispronounced "go-balls" so that it rhymes with the accusation of anorchia ("no balls" meaning no testicles). The second and third lines similarly attack Luftwaffe chief Hermann Göring and SS chief Heinrich Himmler by suggesting they suffered from microorchidism ("very small" testicles). The opening line is a reference to widespread rumours that Adolf Hitler suffered from monorchism ("one ball" meaning one testicle). It has been cited as an example of morally-correct disrespect that used political mockery to boost morale in wartime.īut poor old Goebbels has no balls at all. By suggesting that Nazi leaders suffered from testicular deformities, the song symbolically attacks Nazis' masculinity and courage, suggesting a physiological cause for their madness and evil, and changing the leaders from symbols of strength to objects of pity. The song has been described by scholars as a subversion of Nazi "male fantasy" propaganda that attacks Nazi leaders without attacking the German people. Its familiarity increased after its use in a scene in the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai. The song first appeared among British soldiers in 1939 and was quickly taken up by Allied military and civilians. The author of the lyrics is unknown, though several claims have been made. The most common version references rumours that Adolf Hitler had monorchism ("one ball"), and accuses Hermann Göring and Heinrich Himmler of microorchidism ("two but very small") and Joseph Goebbels of anorchia ("no balls at all").Īn alternate version suggests Hitler's missing testicle is displayed as a war trophy in the Royal Albert Hall. "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball", sometimes known as "The River Kwai March", is a World War II British song whose lyrics, sung to the tune of the World War I–era " Colonel Bogey March", impugns the masculinity of Nazi leaders by alleging they had missing, deformed, or undersized testicles. For the theories about Adolf Hitler's testicles, see Possible monorchism of Adolf Hitler. "Hitler has only got one ball" redirects here.
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