General Patton's statement concerning the Jews being a "subhuman species" was very arrogant and showed a great deal of ignorance on General Patton's behalf. Ignorance has and always will be a fertile breeding ground for racism and imperialism. Even though General Patton was an excellent military leader, he was not exempt from making ignorant statements. It is quite apparent that Mr. Patton based his conclusion upon what he encountered when he liberated the Jews from the Concentration Camps. General Patton's statement also showed a great deal of insensitivity concerning the Jews and their suffering. General Patton failed to realize that any human being or groups of human beings could sink to a level of degradation comparable to what the Jews experienced given similar circumstances and conditions.

Jews were forced to endure a great deal of physical trauma during the Holocaust. Mr. Spiegelman's books expressed in vivid detail the horrendous torture and suffering the Jews were subjected to during this time period. Vladek, along with millions of other Jews, was beaten. They were beaten for not conforming to the unrealistic expectations of the Polish Police and the Gestapo. These beatings were usually quite severe. Many Jews died as a result of these beatings. They were often forced to participate in strenuous exercise, as a form of punishment. The Polish Police would force them to repeatedly perform running exercises and sit ups. Many of them died from sheer exhaustion. Anja was beaten severely because she could not carry a huge container of soup. Anja was extremely small and incapable of carrying such a load. The Polish Police were oblivious to the suffering of the Jews. These beatings certainly allowed the Germans to exert a great deal of power over the Jews. This power allowed the Jews to become degraded and dehumanized.

Jews were also subjected to extreme psychological and emotional torture. They were forced to stand helplessly by and watch their loved ones being sent away to Auschwitz. They were also forced to agonize daily over their plight. They never knew if they would be shot to death or sent to the ovens. Many jews were duped into believing that they could leave and were shot to death instead for trying to escape. Vladek and Anja lost their son Richieu. Richieu was sent away with Tosha and her children. Tosha, along with the children, drank poison to escape Auschwitz. Jews were forced to deal with such agony over the course of four years. Many of them lost their relatives. Many of the Jews were hung and were left hanging to serve as an example for the others. Jews were also forced to dispose of corpses of fellow Jews. Many of the Jews could not deal with such lunacy; and as a result were rendered insane.

Jews were subjected to extremely unsanitary conditions. They were often housed in quarters filled to three times or more its capacity. Many Jews suffocated and were trampled to death as a result of the cramped conditions. They were forced to urinate and defecate on themselves because they were immobile. Vladek told of having to walk on bodies of Jews in order to get to the bathroom. These conditions provided a fertile breeding ground for diseases. Many Jews died as a result of typhus. They also became infested with lice as a result of their living conditions. The Germans and the Polish Police would not allow them to obtain food if they were infested with lice. As a result, many of the Jews starved to death. Mala told of having to clean human feces and vomit as a source of employment. In an attempt to go to the infirmary, Vladek aggravated an existing injury. This infliction could have caused a severe sickness or even death.

Given the circumstances and environment of the Concentration Camps; the Jews apparent sub-human form and degradation were quite understandable. General Patton should not have been too precipitous in his assumption, having not experienced to the fullness the extend of torture that was the Jews' plight. He assumed that they were only a people that had been incarcerated for a period of four years, but other considerations had to be examined. This was a people that was very proud of their heritage in every sense of the word. They could no longer live in their homes, practice their occupations, take care of their children, practice their religion, and were forced to observe whatever newly formed laws the Germans enacted or die. He Patton? expected these people to remain culturally refined and maintain their social refinements in the face of an evil that could not easily be reckoned with by any human. Therefore his assumption of the Jews was erroneous. It is unfortunate that General Patton's thinking was not more in keeping with General Eisenhower. General Eisenhower proved he was wise beyond his years in his statement that he wanted to see the atrocities first-hand as evidence that they had definitely occurred and would alleviate future tendencies to allege that the Holocaust was merely propagand.