Feb 09 2007
Nazi Rabbits
I stumbled across this very disturbing article while looking for something else. The Wisconsin Historical Society has in its collections a book, bound in angora wool, that once belonged to Heinrich Himmler. It describes, in great detail illustrated with photographs, the extensive Nazi angora rabbit project that operated within the same camps where millions of humans were ruthlessly exterminated. The rabbits were treated wonderfully while the humans were starved and gassed.
The rabbits were raised for their soft, warm fur, which was shaved and used for, among other things, the linings of jackets for Luftwaffe pilots. And it is believed that the rabbits also served as a reminder to the prisoners that they were valued less than animals near the bottom of the food chain.
Chicago Tribune war correspondent Sigrid Schultz found the book in its hiding place near Himmler's Alpine villa, and described the significance of the angora project:
"In the same compound where 800 human beings would be packed into barracks that were barely adequate for 200, the rabbits lived in luxury in their own elegant hutches. In Buchenwald, where tens of thousands of human beings were starved to death, rabbits enjoyed beautifully prepared meals. The SS men who whipped, tortured, and killed prisoners saw to it that the rabbits enjoyed loving care.
"Why had Himmler ordered the book with the innocent-looking rabbits to be hidden?" wrote Schultz, who died in 1980, long after the "Angora" album was acquired as part of WHS's mass communications collections. "Had he realized that it cast a revealing light on the mentality of the SS? Had he reached the point where he did not want those who found the book in his house to see evidence in black and white of the determination of his gangs to make humans under their control feel beneath the level of an animal … ?"
Schultz also noted that Himmler had given speeches bragging that "We Germans are the only people in the world who have a decent attitude towards animals." He also described his prisoners in the camps as "human animals" but added that "it is a crime against our blood to worry about them."
Absolutely stunning. A complete disconnect with humanity in favor of "kindness to animals". The pictures can be viewed at the society's website here. Use the search pictures tool and enter "Angora". They will also have a special online exhibition coming out next month.
