‘Nazi salute’ actually began as a reflex to block incoming milkshakes, confirm historians

The so-called ‘Nazi salute’ or ‘Hitler salute’ was never actually a greeting and was more of a reflex against incoming dairy projectiles, historians have confirmed today.

The gesture, in which the right hand is raised high with the fingers straight out and palm facing downwards, is traditionally associated with Hitler, but how it came about is only just being discovered.

Historian Simon Williams told us, “The ‘Nazi salute’, which used to be seen at Hitler’s rallies and which has more recently and very depressingly been witnessed at pro-Brexit rallies from supposedly patriotic Britons, began in the mid to late 1930s.”

He explained, “Rather than being a greeting to easily identify yourself as someone who leans to the far-right politically, it actually started off as more of a reflex action to block the torrent of incoming soft drinks being thrown at you by rational thinkers.

“The first milkshake was chucked at Adolf in the 1920s, when he made the mistake of disparaging the Jewish people whilst standing dangerously close to a milkshake vendor outside a synagogue.

“Raising his right hand at the last minute was all he could do to prevent the dousing, and it rapidly became a pre-emptive move to prevent future dairy-based attacks, and it kind of caught on from there.”

He added, “It doesn’t always work, mind – if you’re a tiny fascist like Tommy Robinson, no amount of Nazi-saluting is going to protect you from a milkshake thrown by anyone above the height of about five foot six, as we saw recently.”