The Great Cat & Dog Massacre: The Real Story of World War II's Unknown TragedyUniversity of Chicago Press, 14 mar 2017 - 248 pagine The tragedies of World War II are well known. But at least one has been forgotten: in September 1939, four hundred thousand cats and dogs were massacred in Britain. The government, vets, and animal charities all advised against this killing. So why would thousands of British citizens line up to voluntarily euthanize household pets? In The Great Cat and Dog Massacre, Hilda Kean unearths the history, piecing together the compelling story of the life—and death—of Britain’s wartime animal companions. She explains that fear of imminent Nazi bombing and the desire to do something to prepare for war led Britons to sew blackout curtains, dig up flower beds for vegetable patches, send their children away to the countryside—and kill the family pet, in theory sparing them the suffering of a bombing raid. Kean’s narrative is gripping, unfolding through stories of shared experiences of bombing, food restrictions, sheltering, and mutual support. Soon pets became key to the war effort, providing emotional assistance and helping people to survive—a contribution for which the animals gained government recognition. Drawing extensively on new research from animal charities, state archives, diaries, and family stories, Kean does more than tell a virtually forgotten story. She complicates our understanding of World War II as a “good war” fought by a nation of “good” people. Accessibly written and generously illustrated, Kean’s account of this forgotten aspect of British history moves animals to center stage—forcing us to rethink our assumptions about ourselves and the animals with whom we share our homes. |
Sommario
1 | |
A Chronicle of a Massacre Foretold? | 23 |
No Human Panic 400000 Animals Killed in Four Days | 47 |
A Phony War for Whom? | 69 |
Eating and Food in the War | 84 |
Who Is Going to Ground? Who Is Protecting Whom? | 99 |
Chapter Seven The Growing Strength of AnimalHuman Families and the Wartime State | 115 |
Altre edizioni - Visualizza tutto
The Great Cat and Dog Massacre: The Real Story of World War Two's Unknown ... Hilda Kean Anteprima limitata - 2017 |
Parole e frasi comuni
air raid Air Raid Precautions Anderson shelter animal charities Animal Owners animal welfare animal-human relationship Animals and Humans Annual Report argued ARP for Animals August Battersea Dogs Home behavior birds Bishopsgate Institute Blitz bombardment Bombed Animals breed Britain British budgerigars canine cat’s cats and dogs Cats Protection League chapter Civil Defence civil servants companion animals Croxton-Smith Daily Mirror death diarist diary entry dog’s dogs and cats Dogs in Wartime Dunkirk emotional evacuated example feeding feline Gwladys Cox historians Hodgson Home Front horses human and animal human companion included July Kean killed kittens Letter Lind af Hageby living Mass Observation massacre meat memory mice NARPAC National Archives Nazi NCDL Nella Last NVMA October PDSA People’s pets popular rescue role routinely Royal Veterinary College RSPCA seen September 1939 story stray suggested Tennyson Jesse veterinary profession Veterinary Record veterinary surgeons warden woman