The Holocaust in Comics: A Brief Summary of Volumes 1 & 2 of Art Spiegelmans Maus
This 3-page undergraduate paper summarizes both volumes of Art Spiegelmans Pulitzer-Prize-winning graphic novel, Maus. The two books chronicle the relationship between Artie Spiegelman, a comic-book artist, and his father, Vladek, who is a Holocaust survivor. Artie pleads with his father to tell him the story of the war, and Vladek complies. He tells his son how he met his first wife, Anja, and how their early marriage was overshadowed by the anti-Semitic policies of Nazi-occupied Poland. He relates his army service, his stay at a prisoner of war camp, and his eventual return to his family. He relates the ways in which his family was increasingly separated as they tried to avoid the camps and death. Eventually, he and Anja are sent to Auschwitz, betrayed by Nazis as they attempt escape to Hungary. The second volume of Spiegelmans book concerns Vladeks experience in Auschwitz, where he is separated from his wife, and his eventual return home. Vladek, dealing with his increasingly bad health and the departure of his second wife, details how he was able to survive the death camps by remaining useful. In turn, Artie reveals how difficult it is for him to be the child of Holocaust survivors.
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