Full Breakdown
Germany’s Raccoon Invasion: From Nazi-Era Myths to a Two-Million-Strong Population
8/16/2026, 9:32:09 PM
Origins and Early Releases
For decades a popular story claimed that Nazi commander Hermann Göring ordered the release of North American raccoons in Germany. Archival research by former Vöhl Forestry Office head Eberhard Leicht disproved any direct political involvement, showing only an administrative application to the Prussian hunting office. The first documented release occurred in April 1934, when two crates of raccoons were set free on the south side of Lake Edersee near Vöhl, about 50 km southwest of Kassel. Subsequent DNA analysis by zoology curator Alain Frantz identified two additional releases that seeded populations in eastern Saxony near the Czech border and in the Harz Mountains of northern Germany. These founder groups have since expanded, making Kassel the “raccoon capital of Europe” with an estimated urban population of roughly 30,000 animals.
Population Expansion and Economic Damage
Germany’s raccoon numbers have surged to about two million, a 300 % increase between the 1990s and 2018. The species now crosses borders into the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, and has been reported as far as Spain, Sweden and Greece. Escapes from captivity—including an Italian zoo in the early 2000s—add to the spread. The animals are notorious for property damage, with incidents ranging from raiding mulled-wine stalls at Christmas markets in Erfurt to creating communal “toilets” in attics.
Ecological Impact Debate
Wildlife ecologist Berit Michler, who led a decade-long study in Müritz National Park, argues that there is no solid evidence of a significant threat to native biodiversity. Nonetheless, other research points to raccoons preying on amphibian eggs, water-bird eggs and rare European pond turtles, and they can carry parasites harmful to humans. The German hunting lobby cites a Goethe University Frankfurt study linking raccoons to declines in amphibian populations, a view echoed by Torsten Reinwald of the German Hunting Association.
Management Strategies and Public Opinion
All German states permit year-round hunting; the annual kill count has quadrupled since 2005 to over 250,000 animals. Reinwald emphasizes scientific findings that support continued culling. Conversely, Vera Heck, managing director of the Federal Association of Wildlife Rescue Organisations, promotes a mixed approach: sterilisation, targeted hunting, and fencing to protect vulnerable habitats while allowing coexistence. Public sentiment remains split between those who view raccoons as pests and those who feed them nightly in urban parks.
Verbatim Quotes
- “It was a common narrative among tourist guides, local politicians and larger parts of the population that Hermann Göring himself ordered the release of the raccoons in the wild,” — Eberhard Leicht, former head of the Vöhl Forestry Office.
- “There is no indication anywhere that politicians – such as Göring, as a member of the Nazi Reich government – had any influence on the decision,” — Eberhard Leicht, former head of the Vöhl Forestry Office.
- “Generally speaking, they're quite good at escaping,” — Alain Frantz, zoology curator at the Luxembourg Museum of Natural History.
- “At the moment they are shooting, shooting, shooting and every year there are more raccoons,” — Vera Heck, managing director of the Federal Association of Wildlife Rescue Organisations in Germany.
