The Holocaust, we have seen movies, read books, and learned about it in history class, but how much do we really know? Can we really understand what went on and how it affected not only those that did not survive but also those did survive? In Maus and Maus II by Art Spiegleman, we are taken through time, from pre-Holocaust to post-Holocaust to present time. Art interviews his father, Vladek, about not only his experience, but also the experiences of other survivors. During the Holocaust the Jews were being discriminated against by the Nazis and some of the Polish people.
The Jews were being discriminated against not only because of their ethnicity but also because of their religious beliefs. In Maus II Vladek discriminates against people of color even calling them a “Shvartser”. In this scene Vladek is treating people of color the way he was being treated during the Holocaust. Spiegelman adds this conversation with his dad, Vladek, to show that even the discriminated against can turn around and be the discriminator.
In Maus and Maus II, Spiegelman shares his father’s experience during the Holocaust in a form of a comic book. Spiegelman decides to use transitions in time to keep his audience captivated. The only difference is that instead of being a happy or mysterious comic, it is very tragic and morbid but very true. We follow Vladek through his life in pre-war Poland, parts of Germany, Switzerland and then to present time in Queens, New York.
While reading Spiegelman’s graphic novel we as the reader can visualize Vladek’s past not only through the pictures but also with how the book is written. We can see that Vladek’s life during the Holocaust was full of not only loss and tragedy but also hope and survival. Throughout the book we can see how Vladek’s experience during the Holocaust and War has caused him to continue to suffer even after. As the book continues we see that Vladek has kept the important skills he had learned during the Holocaust with him in the present time and can not seem to let them go.
