Eternal Treblinka : our treatment of animals and the Holocaust

The book examines the origins of human supremacy, describes the emergence of industrialized slaughter of both animals and people in modern times, and concludes with profiles of Jewish and German animal advocates on both sides of the Holocaust. ETERNAL TREBLINKA describes disturbing parallels between how the Nazis treated their victims and how modern society treats animals. The title is taken from a story by the Yiddish writer and Nobel Laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer: "In relation to them, all people are Nazis; for the animals it is an eternal Treblinka." The Foreword is by Lucy Kaplan, former attorney for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who is the daughter of Holocaust survivors. ETERNAL TREBLINKA has already received support from more than 200 humane, animal protection, and environmental groups around the world. The book examines the origins of human supremacy, describes theemergence of industrialized slaughter of both animals and people in modern times, and concludes with profiles of Jewish and German animal advocates on both sides of the Holocaust.

ETERNAL TREBLINKA describes disturbing parallels between how the Nazis treated their victims and how modern society treats animals. The title is taken from a story by the Yiddish writer and Nobel Laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer: "In relation to them, all people are Nazis; for the animals it is an eternal Treblinka."

The Foreword is by Lucy Kaplan, former attorney for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), who is the daughter of Holocaust survivors. ETERNAL TREBLINKA has already received support from more than 200 humane, animal protection, and environmental groups around the world.

Foreword xi Preface xv Part I A Fundamental Debacle 1 1. The Great Divide Human Supremacy and the Exploitation of Animals 3 2. Wolves, Apes, Pigs, Rats, Vermin Vilifying Others as Animals 27 Part II Master Species, Master Race 51 3. The Industrialization of Slaughter The Road to Auschwitz Through America 53 4. Improving the Herd From Animal Breeding to Genocide, 81 5. Without the Homage of a Tear Killing Centers in America and Germany 109 Part III Holocaust Echoes 137 6. We Were Like That Too Holocaust-Connected Animal Advocates 139 7. This Boundless Slaughterhouse The Compassionate Vision of 'Isaac Bashevis Singer 169 8. The Other Side of the Holocaust German Voices for the Voiceless 201 Afterword 231 Notes 233 Bibliography 271 Acknowledgments 281 Index 283 Sigmund Freud put the issue of human supremacy in perspective in 1917 when he wrote: "In the course of his development towards culture man acquired a dominating position over his fellow-creatures in the animal kingdom. Not content with this supremacy, however, he began to place a gulf between his nature and theirs. He denied the possession of reason to them, and to himself he attributed an immortal soul, and made claims to a divine descent which permitted him to annihilate the bond of community between him and the animal kingdom. This book explores the similar attitudes and methods behind modern society's treatment of animals and the way humans have often treated each other, most notably during the Holocaust