The Legacy of Vladek

What I read: I have just finished reading the sequel to Maus which is called Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began.  Chapter 4 is called "Saved" and in it Vladek finally survives the war.  First though, he gets sent to a lake with the other prisoners and it seems like they are all about to get shot.  Luckily the German officers decide to abandon the prisoners and leave them alone.  

Vladek and his friend Shivek run to a barn to hide.  They get found by the Americas, who are drawn as dogs, and are saved by them.  They both start working for the Americans and are treated with respect.  They are basically working as helpers to the American soldiers.

The last chapter of the series is called "The Second Honeymoon."  In this chapter Vladek old again and really weak.  He needs oxygen to help him breathe.  

Vladek tells Art about how after the war ended, he went to Sweden and worked as a salesman there. The Swedish people are drawn as reindeer.  He really likes living in Sweden and would have stayed there.  Later on, we find out that Vladek gets diabetes.  While in Sweden, Vladek finds out that Anja also survived the war and is still in Poland.  He returns to get her and they reunite on the last page of the book.  This is a contrast to seeing their gravestones together, which is that last picture in the book.

What I thought about: I was really struck when Vladek calls his son Art "Richieu" right before he dies.  This shows that Vladek is always sort of living in the past and inside of all the terrible experiences that he went through.  It's right one the last page of the book and can be seen above.  It's pretty sad to think about how Vladek had such a hard life and even right before he dies, he's still struggling with that.  I wonder if all parents who have kids who die feel this way.

I also thought about all of the various groups that were targeted by the Nazis during the Holocaust.  Toward the end of the book, Vladek talks about how Anja went to see a fortune teller to find out about her family's fate during the war.  

The fortune teller is a Romani and she is drawn as a moth.  This is another person who survived the Holocaust. 

There were also gay people who were targeted by the Nazis and they ended up in concentration and death camps, too.  Many gay men and lesbians were also killed.  Gay men were identified with a pink triangle on their clothes and lesbians had to wear a black triangle. 

What I conclude: I'm so glad that I read this book.  I feel like I learned more about the Holocaust and about the ghettos before that even though I already knew quite a lot about this topic.  I feel like this is a much more personal way to learn about this topic instead of reading facts and statistics.  Vladek's story is real and it feels so emotional to read about what he went through.

I was also interested to read about Art and what it was like for him to be raised by two parents who survived the Holocaust.  It seems like that wasn't easy either.  Today Art and his wife Francoise have been together for a long time and they have two adult children. Those children, Vladek's grandchildren, never got to meet Vladek and Anja.  That seems sad, but they do have an amazing legacy that they can read about in their father's book.

In all, I would really recommend this book for people who like graphic novels and history.  It's a wonderful read and totally worth reading.