Persecution In Maus By Art Spiegelman

The Holocaust was a devastating period lasting from 1941 to 1945, secretly known as the persecution of Jews. The Jews were targeted by the Germans in many aspects. The Jews were persecuted by a means of fear, their living situations, and the post trauma the survivors have to deal with. In all these ways the Jews were not given the same rights as people of another religion they were restricted of many freedoms, this occurred in the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman. Spiegelman accurately portrays persecution through the eyes of his father, Vladek by explaining in detail what he had to go through at this time.

The Jews were very fearful of the Germans, because the Germans performed many awful actions toward the Jews and made them watch awful acts being done to Jews. The Germans used this fear tactic from the Jews to take control of them. This all started when Hitler was chosen as the chancellor of Germany. Then soon after he became chancellor, the Jews started getting kicked out of government agencies, state positions in the economy, law and cultural life. Then all of antisemitic acts began, the Nazis burned down Jewish businesses and harassed the Jews. The Germans got what they wanted by using fear tactics on the Jews, such as hanging people in the streets for not doing what they were told, or just shooting someone on the spot (The Nazi

Regime). Spiegelman portrays this in Maus, by showing how horrified Vladek was when he saw people being hung in the streets.
Another way the Nazis persecuted the Jews were by taking them from their homes and putting them in concentration camps or in ghettos. Some Jews were able to avoid all of that and they would hide from the Nazis hoping they wouldn’t be found. They would hide in non-Jewish homes, or in random places that would be safe from the Nazis for awhile then they would move on to another hiding place. The Jews had to go through a tough time in the concentration camps as well as the ghettos. This comes back to the fear tactic that the Germans used on the Jews, this came into play in the camps and ghettos because if the Jews did not do what the Germans told them to do they would be punished (The Nazi Regime). This occurred in Maus, they had to hide from the Germans and were afraid of being caught. They were always in disguise or were just being sneaky to keep away from the Nazis. In this way the Nazis were persecuting the Jews because they were taking them away from their homes and making them go places they did not want to and do work for them, and in the process they were punished for not doing what they say or for no reason.
The Jews were also persecuted by the Germans as a means of the post trauma the survivors had to carry with them after the Holocaust.

The Jews had to deal with all of the mental images of people being hung, seeing Germans beating people, and Germans shooting people. All of those images can haunt them for they rest of their lives. The Germans did tons of horrible things to the Jews and they Jews also had to do a bunch of things for the Germans that was hard work. Everything that happened during the Holocaust affected every single person that was a part of it. It will be something they will not forget for the rest of their

lives.
The Jews were persecuted by the Germans in several ways, a few ways they did this was through fear, their living situations, and the post trauma survivors had to deal with. The Jews had a lot to overcome after the Holocaust. The Germans did a ton of horrifying things to the Jews. In the graphic novel, Maus, Spiegelman portrays the persecution of the Jews very well. It expresses the fear they have of the Germans, and how they had to deal with their living situations or hide and take to chance of getting caught. Lastly there was a lot for the Jews to deal with after the Holocaust, having flashbacks and all of those mental images of the frightful actions the Germans took upon them.