Maus by Art Spiegelman

Maus by Art Spiegelman is a clever story about a man learning his father’s WWII story for his story. I enjoyed how Spielgelman included how he collected his father’s memories. Maus is centered on Vladek Spielgelman, Art’s father, recounting what happened to him and his family during WWII. Vladek is a well off Jew, living in Poland, with his new wife, Anja, when the war breaks out. Vladek and his whole family are Jews and quickly try to escape the persecution. Throughout the book Vladek uses his money and influence to protect his family, but when the war worsens he realizes that money has no power. They’re all on their own. The tale is a haunting one, recounting how all of Vladek’s family, including his first-born son, was killed. Vladek and Anja were the only ones to make it out alive after surviving the Auschwitz death camp. Intermingled with the story of Vladek’s past is the story of his present. Art Spiegelman, Vladek’s son and author of the book, is trying to get his father’s story while having to deal with his father’s stubbornness and constant tirades with his current wife, Mala, who was also a concentration camp survivor. Vladek recounts how he met his first wife, Art’s mother, and the obsessed girlfriend he had before his wife. He then explains how he became successful with his own business and had his first son with his loving wife, Anja. Shortly after his son is born, Vladek must join the army and once in battle against the Germans he’s taken in as a prisoner of war. He’s released and goes back to his family who he hasn’t seen in two years only to be shoved back into the claws of war when the Nazi’s begin hunting down all the Jews. The story is truly haunting and unforgettable. Art Spielgelman depicts the Jews as mice. Perhaps he does so because, to the Nazis, this is what the Jews represent. Dirty, filthy, mice. The Germans are depicted as cats, which we all know are infamous mouse destroyers. The depiction of mice can be viewed as a negative thing, yet mice are one of the few creatures of our planet that have persevered over hundreds of thousands of years, through natural disasters, being hunted by predators, evolution, climate change, and so on. They are very strong survivors. Mice hide better than most creatures and Jews were forced to hide, many times in the same places mice hid. There’s even a part of the story where Vladek and Anja are hiding in a bunker when they encounter some rats. The use of animals to depict people was a very clever decision that Spiegelman made. The style of art was also very supporting of the mood of the piece. The quick, dark hatchings set the tones of the WWII era. My favorite panel of the entire book was the one in which Vladek and Anja are walking down a sidewalk shaped like a swastika. This visual representation is just so clear and powerful. It’s definitely an image not worth forgetting.