The Time The Nazis Tried To Invent Their Own 'Jurassic Park'

It goes without saying that the Nazis had a LOT of weird failed schemes that were meant to help their plans for world domination. But not all of these plans involved military prowess or human genetics. One of them didn't even involve humans at all. A pair of German zoologists were tasked with recreating two long-extinct mega-animals.

The brothers Lutz and Heinz Heck went to work in extensively breeding animals in an attempt to bring back the aurochs and tarpan, two super-sized, super-aggressive ancestors of modern cattle and horses, respectively. Why? To recreate the glory of the storied ancient Germanic forests for future ultimate hunting sessions. So yes, they wanted to bring the animals back so people could kill them again.

Even weirder? The brothers thought of the project long before the Nazis even got in touch with them. This means the Nazis heard of their plan and decided it was crazy and awful enough to fit their overall modus operandi, so they gave the brothers the green light.

After 14 years, Lutz claimed to have successfully "resurrected" an aurochs. In reality, it was nothing but a new breed of cattle, known today as Heck cattle. They do possess an aggressive temperament, but are only the size of regular cows. NON-prehistoric-monster cattle?? BOOORIIIIING.

Eh, as far as extinct animals go, it's still not as cool as the Thylacine. Pick up a copy of Tasmanian Tiger (Extinct Animals) today and show the next generation!

Support Cracked's journalism with a visit to our Contribution Page. Please and thank you.

For more, check out The Weird Nazi Tiny Tanks You Never Learned About In School and Check Out This Crazy Hell-Themed Nightclub From The 1890s.

Follow us on Facebook, you won't regret it.