So I stumbled across this comic book, bought it and just finished reading it a couple of days ago. I've been thinking a lot about it since. It tells the story of the author's father, who was an Auschwitz survivor, and how he and his family suffered through and survived the Holocaust. Has anyone else read it, and what do you think about it? Is a comic book the appropriate medium for that kind of story?
Comic books are often used for that sort of thing because they combine the verbal with the visual and so reach people on two different levels. So it is quite appropriate. I may have read something along similar lines in my youth because long ago my generation were raised on such cautionary tales in the hope that we would never be antisemitic in either ideology or politics. It worked for the most part but then again it seemed to help turn some small portion of the population even more antisemitic. Anyway, that was my generation whereas the generation that followed mine were raised on Civil Rights issues cautionary tales in comic book and other forms. Again it seemed to work for the most part . . . with some caveats. On the whole I believe that such efforts are noble and should be encouraged as long as they do stick to the generally known facts and do not stray too far into the pernicious realm of ideological propaganda. The problem is almost always in the radicalization by professional agitator types who have hidden agendas and are using a cause as a vehicle for other things. So one needs to be careful.
Thank you for your thoughts, Gatewood. I agree with all of this. Can I ask which decade you're describing when you refer to your youth? I believe I'm younger than you and even in my generation a lot of people consider comic books as being for kids, without even being aware that there is an adult niche. I suspect the good ol' US of A is years ahead of Europe when it comes to accepting comics as a legitimate art form.
It is a Graphic Novel, not a comic book. But for some that is a distinction without a difference. This was a brilliant book from a thoughtful writer and at the time it was common to do this kind of work. It is a remarkable piece of work and I have used it to teach about the Shoah and to explain the second generation survivor experience. There are many things that grew out of this to as it freed others to use the graphic imagery to deal with difficult topics and tell interesting stories. Maus is an awarding winning and powerful story, pulls no punches and truly gets at the psychology of survivors.
I was born in the late 1950s and such cultural exposures to the horrors of WWII were fairly commonplace up to the Civil Rights events of the middle to late 1960s whereupon (quite gradually in fact) the latter began supplanting the former. Mind you these were always either isolated issue pieces in their own right or were bits and pieces of informative or educational instruction merged with the heroic exploits of brave teams of soldiers or (eventually) of super heroes doing their thing. As for the acceptance of comic books inside the United States keeping the cost per comic down was a huge help for children and for teens and young adults raised on Great Depression era stories and by parents who were going to squeeze every penny until it squealed in pain. Since libraries were not everywhere available but small grocery stores selling cheap comic books in racks were, there were always eager purchasers and then lucky children or older youths shared and passed around copies and then someone saved what ended up in their hands so that others could always come back for second and third readings. Anyway that was my experience as an impoverished youth growing up in our nation's deep south. The experiences of other U.S citizens my age might very well have been considerably different.
I'm usually aware of the distinction - but I used the word comic book without thinking twice because there is no such distinction in my mother tongue German. Which is a pity and part of the problem I spoke about in my post #3. If I had a hundred copies I'd give one to every kid I saw. I've been taught about the Holocaust at a very young age (I guess my parents didn't want to rely on the school system) and thus none of the book's themes were new to me - but it still had a profound impact on me. By the way, if you know other interesting works of that kind, I'd appreciate recommendations.
"Maus" is just perfect and indeed it is not a comic, but a fully-fledged graphic novel. Both the atmosphere of these horrid times and the main types of characters are depicted in great detail. When I first read it a few years ago, I was really terrified, it was such a realistic and deep experience. I can compare it only to the movie "Schindler's List", which is also very truthful and genuine in showing the details of Shoah.
In my humble view it is absolutely inappropriate to paint the (Jewish) Auschwitz prisoners as mice ! It implies they were weak and ignores that in a concentration camp the very attempt to survive was an act of heroism-no matter, whether it succeeded or failed. Moreover Art Spiegelman is self-hating Jew and vile anti-American, smearing Israel and ridiculing the 9/11 victims !
There are no self-hating Jews - it's an element of anti-Semitic propaganda. Everyone can have his own opinions and it does not change the fact that his comic is a masterpiece.
Thanks for your opinion, too, although I obviously disagree. I'd guess that with his low-key drawing style using animal faces for the characters was an artistic device to help distinguish the characters' ethnicity and at the same time avoid having to give each character distinct features - make them all look the same. That's my artistic take on it, but if you feel offended by the book, there's no point to argue against your personal feelings.
I am a strong Zionist but I find Maus is an excellent book. I see nothing wrong with Depicting Jews as Mice. Most Jews refused to fight back (with some small exceptions like Sobibor and the Warsaw Ghetto) Tolerating Spiegalman's views shows how much better we are than them. he can spout his nonsense and we won;t kill him or even harrass him. Unlike the muslims and tgheir filthy Dhimmi allies
"Refused to fight back" ?! They fought back, whenever they had a chance to ! Small exeptions ?! Just one example - the very term "resistance" is French and the Jews composed one percent of the French population, but some 10-15 % of the French resistance fighters ! Even the anti-Semite Charles de Gaulle admitted that "The Synagogue gave more fighters than the Church" In former times the diaspora Jews punished by herem thieves and robbers, who broke both the law of the Jews and the law of their country. The modern-day Jews should boycott a pathological self-hater and anti-American Art Spiegelman. Sorry, I am not Islamophobic.
Spiegelman is not a self-hater and the only one pushing an Anti-American outlook here is you. Are you truly so completely ignorant of how mice and cats are depicted in most folk literature? Do you honestly think Spiegelman is trying ot say that Jews OR mice are cowardly and that cats are like Nazis or vice versa? You need to study up on the use of metaphor until you realize how brilliant a use of it Maus actually is.
