JEWISH PRESS
Dr. Seuss And The Jews
By Saul Jay Singer
March 3, 2021

…Many of Seuss’s whimsical children’s books contain serious political themes: Yertle the Turtle is a cautionary tale against fascism and dictators (Seuss later stated that Yertle was meant to serve as a metaphor for Hitler – “originally, Yertle had a moustache, but I took it off”); Horton Hears a Who is a parable about the American occupation of Japan; and The Butter Battle Book pillories the Cold War and nuclear deterrence. In The Sneetches, his powerful critique of anti-Semitism, members of a group sport stars on their stomachs as a sign of their supremacy and to maintain their oppressive social domination over others. Seuss’s specific use of stars was inspired by the yellow Magen David the Nazis required Jews to wear on their clothing so as to be immediately identifiable as Jews. READ MORE