Keywords

Holocaust, Shoah, Primo Levi, animal cruelty, violence, slaughter, suffering, Jewish, Auschwitz, ethics

Abstract

Is it ethically admissible to compare the suffering of Jews during World War II to the general suffering of animals in the Western world? Who considers this parallel to be morally obscene, and who supports the comparison? Based on the historical evidence of Nazis insulting Jews with animal verbiage and herding them into the gas chambers of concentration camps, this study looks at a few textual examples by the Italian Jewish author Primo Levi, finding a conciliatory position in his poetry and prose.

Original Publication Citation

"Reconciling the Controversy of Animal Cruelty and the Shoah: A Look at Primo Levi' s Compassionate Writings," Lingua romana 10 (1) Fall 2011: 40-50.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2011

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6638

Publisher

Lingua Romana

Language

English

College

Humanities

Department

French and Italian

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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