Final answer:
Commandant Breuer's reference to people in the camps as 'pets' likely indicates a dehumanizing attitude, aligning with the oppressive and cruel treatment of prisoners during the Holocaust. The term diminishes victims' humanity, reflecting the Nazi ideology that perpetrated such atrocities in concentration camps like Auschwitz and Dachau.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term 'pets' used by Commandant Breuer to refer to the people in the camps likely reflects a deeply disturbing view in which the individuals detained are dehumanized and regarded as less than human. Historically, the Nazis sought to dehumanize the Jewish people and other groups they imprisoned by stripping them of their rights, freedoms, and even their status as human beings, as reflected in the cruel and inhumane conditions of the concentration camps. Jewish people and others held in such camps were often forced into labor, separated from families, and denied basic human dignities. The comparison to 'pets' suggests a view of these human beings as owned, controlled, and stripped of agency, much like how Yi Tuan describes pets as beings with limited ability to make freewill decisions and existing under human dominance.
Within the horrific context of these camps, prisoners were subject to systematic abuse, starvation, overcrowding, forced labor, and murder. It is within this broader historical backdrop of atrocities, such as those committed at Auschwitz and Dachau, that Breuer's description must be understood. The term trivializes the profound suffering and strips away the individuality and humanity of the camp detainees, aligning with the ideology that allowed for the mass extermination of millions during the Holocaust.