Maus A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History

The graphic novels, Maus I and II, were both written and illustrated by cartoonist Art Spiegelman. Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History was first published in 1986. Its sequel, Maus II: A Survivor’s Tale: And Here My Troubles Began, was published in 1992. The two graphic novels can be classified as primary and secondary sources. On one hand, the graphic novels are a portrayal of Art Spiegelman’s account with his father, which make the novels a primary source in the form a nonfiction autobiography. On the other hand, Maus I and II, describe the story of Art Spiegelman’s father, Vladek, as a Jewish person during Germany’s expansion and Nazi rule. Vladek’s accounts are detailed through a series of interviews with Art Spiegelman

The Nazis (portrayed as cats) used their power to severely maltreat Jews in Europe. During this period, there were pogroms in Poland and Germany. Vladek described the stories he had heard about “synagogues [being] burned, Jews beaten with no reason, [and] whole towns pushing out all Jews.” Additionally, Nazis enforced restrictions on Jews in Sosnowiec. For example, Vladek recalled, “At 7:00 it was a rule, all Jews had to be in their home and all lights out.” Jewish businesses were “taken over by “Aryan Managers,” and Nazis took furniture out of the houses of Jews. Overtime, the condition for Jewish people gradually worsened. Jewish people’s businesses got liquidized, and Nazi German’s rounded-up identified Jews and sent them to labor camps. Vladek described how Germans “swinged [children] by the legs against a wall” to stop their screaming. Eventually, Vladek had to part with his son, Richieu, for his protection, but he, like many, were killed. Germany’s power was resisted by Jewish people in Poland. Vladek, and other Jewish people built bunkers to hid and avoid being taken by Nazis. In the novels, Anja and Vladek concealed themselves as Poles to find a safe place to stay. Some Jews bribed Poles to help hide them. In return, Poles would hide them in their houses and sometimes provided them with food. At the end of Maus I, Anja and Vladek were sent to Auschwitz where Nazis brutality increased. Jewish people

Vladek told Spegielman, “It was the beginning of 1938 – before the war – hanging high in the center of town, it was a Nazi flag.” On the flag was the swastika. It was the national symbol for German Nazis. During this time, fascism arose in Germany; fascism is an extreme form of radical authoritarian nationalism. After widespread discontent, poverty, and despair following World War I, Germans looked to Jews as the scapegoats as the cause of all of Germany’s problems. Anti-Semitism, a hatred Jews, grew in Germany and beyond. In the early 1930s, Nazis became the largest political party in Germany; its leader was Adolf Hitler. He utilized ethnocentricity to proclaim that Germans, specifically those of Aryan race, were superior. Hitler established a state-sponsored discrimination towards Jews, disabled people and homosexuals. Maus I discussed pogroms occurring in Germany. During pogroms, people were permitted to burn Jewish businesses and homes. In an ultra-nationalist response to Germany’s on-going resentment, Hitler wanted to expand. This is depicted in Maus I through the invasion of Poland. Vladek was drafted to fight in a war against the Germans; however, he was later taken as a war prisoner. Throughout the two graphic novels, Jewish people had their rights restricted. In Maus I, Jews were forced to register and have their passports stamped for identification. They were often