Sax, Boria.
Animals in the Third Reich: pets,
scapegoats and the
Holocaust Continuum Publishing. 2000. 208p bibi Index ISBN 0-8264-
1238-0, $24.05
Rarely does a book contribute to
two fields so significantly as this one. Sax, an independent scholar and
consultant to various human rights organizations, has written the first book to
explore thoroughly the Nazi cult of animals. In a way, this book reads like a
mystery novel, as it uncovers some of the chief paradoxes of Nazi ideology. The
Nazis promoted vegetarianism and passed the most progressive anticruelty laws
the world has ever known. Yet they also developed a mystical technocracy that
reduced morality to the crudest version of a biological struggle for survival.
They used images of animals to vilify their enemies (especially, of course, the
Jews) and add to their own mystique (the 58 were portrayed as predator
animals). Sax is especially insightful about the subtle ways that the Nazis parodied
and plundered Christian theology. This book is a must for all collections in
German history and in animal rights. It is a deep and profound reflection on
the complex and perplexing ways that animals can shape human culture and
politics. All readership levels. —S. H. Webb,