"This is the first book to explore the paradox of the Nazi cult of animals and the obsession with the annhilation of "biologically inferior" people.".

"Animals in the Third Reich begins by contrasting Jewish, Christian, and polytheistic traditions relating to animals in Germany, and examines the ways that the Nazi movement adopted, altered, challenged, or exploited these traditions. This discussion covers several perspectives on the treatment of animals, including those of zoologists, veterinarians, novelists, painters, sculptors, and the general public.

Adopting and exploiting such traditions, the Nazis elaborated their own symbolic system of relating certain animals to supporters and antagonists of the movement - Aryan wolves and horses; Jewish pigs and apes."--BOOK JACKET.