Donny's baseball bat

Bear Jew and his bat.

“Two hits, I hit you, you hit the ground!”

―Donny Donowitz

Donny's baseball bat is a baseball bat that sgt. Donny Donowitz used to beat Nazis to death during WWII France. It's his trademark weapon.

According to the Cannes cut, he acquired it back home in Boston at Mr. Goorowitz's sporting goods shop. After buying the bat, Donny knocks on doors in his Jewish neighborhood, asking people to sign the name of a loved one that's still in Europe, on the baseball bat. This is presumably why the name Anne Frank is carved into the bat. He later stops at Mrs. Himmelstein's apartment, where she writes down the name Madeline.

Overview

The baseball bat has the characteristics of a standard baseball bat: it is made from ash wood and it's very heavy. It also appears to be extremely resistant to repeated use, as it hasn't broken, despite prolonged uses.

In Inglourious Basterds

Chapter Two - INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Before leaving for Europe to fight Nazis, Donowitz obtained the heaviest baseball bat he could find, and began collecting Jewish signatures on his baseball bat from his friends and neighbors in Boston. He uses this bat to beat many German soldiers to death, such as Werner Rachtman. This practice got him the nickname "Bear Jew" (Bärenjude) among the German soldiers.

The weapon is not seen afterwards and its fate remains unknown.

Trivia

• A deleted scene reveals the origins of The Bear Jew's bat. This scene was still in the film during the screening at the Cannes Film Festival.
• One of the Jewish names carved on The Bear Jew's bat is "Anne Frank".
• Despite being Donny's iconic weapon, he is only seen using it in Chapter Two, and doesn't appear for the rest of the film. No explanation is given for its fate.

Original script mention

       MR.GOOROWITZ
          Good for you son. Kill one of those
          Nazi basterds for me, will ya?

          DONNY
          That's the idea, Mr.Goorowitz.

          MR.GOOROWITZ
          What can I do you for, Donny?

          DONNY
          I need a baseball bat.
          The store owner leads him to a basket with eight bats init.
          Donny starts going through them without saying anything.

          MR.GOOROWITZ
          You gettin your little brother a
          present before you ship out?
          Donny, concentrating on the bats, not looking up;

          DONNY
          No.
          Donny's "no", silences the gabby Goorowitz. He seems to
          settle on one, feeling it's weight in his hands.

      DONNY
          I'm going through the neighbourhood.
          If you have any love ones in Europe,
          who's safety you fear for, I'd like
          you to write their name on my bat.

          MRS.HIMMELSTEIN
          You must be a real BASTERD, Donny?
          
          DONNY
          You bet your sweet ass I am.

          MRS.HIMMELSTEIN
          Good. A Basterds work is never done.
          Specially in Germany.

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