War with the Newts

War with the Newts is Karel Čapek's darkly humorous allegory of twentieth-century European politics. Captain van Toch discovers a colony of giant newts in Sumatra which can not only be taught to trade and use tools, but also to speak. As the rest of the world learns of the creatures and their wonderful capabilities, it is clear that this new species is ripe for exploitation - they can be traded in their thousands, will do the work no human wants to do, and can fight - but the humans have given no thought to the terrible consequences of their actions.