The animals in the national socialism: Among all eaters

Until today, it is widely used in the narration of the animal love of the national socialists. Among the first laws of the regime, the German law of animal protection, the on 24. November 1933 was adopted and in its first sentence it was said that the "responsibility of humans for animals as our fellow creatures" areas "to protect the life and well-being". Well known are the stories of dog-lovers and vegetarians to Hitler, used to describe a meat broth as "Leichentee" to are aware of photos of Göring, as he feeds a young lion with the bottle. In his new book Jan Mohnhaupt has gathered, after his study of the "Zoo of the Other," in the times of German division, also such stories; however, he focuses on ideological backgrounds, and contradictions. Thus is propagated the animal welfare of the national socialists, but at the same time, the majority of animal right associations dissolved and prohibited. Racist stereotypes are based on the animal world; the distinction between useful and harmful animals culminates rapidly in the opposite position of the "Lord of animals" – dogs, bears, wolves, predators and, for example, to the cats as "Jews" in the Kingdom of animals.

Mohnhaupt begins his presentation with the memory of a small Zoo at the Buchenwald concentration camp; the camp commander Karl Koch has built this Zoo, just fifteen steps from the crematorium far. A three meters high and three kilometers long electric fence separates the Grounds of the concentration camp from the areas of the Zoo is the overseer and guards, where. For the care of the bears kennel Sinti and Roma are recruited, which is said to have learned, as a "juggler" dealing with dancing bears. Occasionally, a chef with one of the prisoners in the bear pit to throw, to amuse on their Destruction. These grey Details the story of a supposedly good-natured St. Bernard dog-mongrel Barry fits in Treblinka, trained to the command: "man, the barrel of this dog!" The dogs Mohnhaupt devotes his first Chapter; it's about the breeding history of the German shepherd dog, but also the conflicting perception of the wolves, the worshipped, on the one hand, as "totem animals", on the other hand, as the sworn enemies of agriculture, and hunted to be fought.

As racial hygienic parade examples of useful and harmful animals

Not less ambivalent relationship to the pigs. The pig is regarded as the German Animal par excellence, which in the Nazi Propaganda also helped the Jews and Muslims, the consumption of pork is prohibited. At the same time, pigs are omnivores, so a direct food competitors of the people. Already during the First world war, so Mohnhaupt, says this competition has led to mass slaughter, because it was feared that the available potato stocks would not be sufficient for the population and pigs. So, a type of fresh meat reserve was drastically reduced, what to miss a famine harvest rather promoted than prevented.

the Wolf or pig? Unlike Tex Avery's cartoons, in which the big bad Wolf with a swastika and goose-stepping against the three little pigs go to war, the Opposition in Hitler's Reich no role, especially not when hunting deer, wolves or wild pigs. The hunt is Mohnhaupt the focus of the fifth Chapter: she acted as the domain of the rich hunter, master Goering, and presented his trophies in Carinhall and hunting exhibitions. By the way, is the comments that göring's passion for hunting attracted the displeasure of Hitler or Goebbels.

Revealing the third Chapter on the insects: stories from the is – until the last school classes – collectivized rearing of silkworms for the production of the much-needed material for Parachutes or reports by the active, also with the support of the children operated the war against the potato beetle's,. Almost self-evident that silk caterpillars and Colorado potato beetle in the classroom could serve as a racial hygienic parade examples of useful and harmful animals. The book finally ends, unsurprisingly, with a Chapter to the horses. While the German tanks were named after the Tiger (and later, the Leopard), the horses about on the Eastern front, is indispensable: they had to drag the supply of food and weapons. Overall, it was probably about three million horses, donkeys and mules, which were used in the war in this role. Ideologically, the horse was – paradoxically enough: of all things, a flight animal that feeds on plants – heroisiert and revered; in the everyday life of the winter war, they ended often enough in the cauldron of ravenous soldiers. The heroes of the times, the cavalry were over just for a long time. Only one animal had benefited from the war, really, Laus says Mohnhaupt in a brief epilogue, namely, the Dress. And later, perhaps, the German shepherd dog who lost his "brown Image", however, is never quite as little as the wolves, which were hunted in the post-war period for the purposes of "re".

Jan Mohnhaupt has presented a liquid and clearly-written book operates, in some passages, maybe a little too close to the ubiquitous Nazi Kitsch. But, after all, his study makes an important contribution to the criticism of the aforementioned narrative of the animal love of the Nazi regime.