Maus: A Survivor’s Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Maus is the story of the author’s father, Vladek Spiegelman, and his mother Anja, who survived the Holocaust. It’s also the story of the author as he tries to come to terms with his father and his story of survival.

It is an amazing story and it is made more powerful by being in the form of a graphic novel. This volume is the first part of the story, where we meet Vladek and see him meet and marry Anja. They had a fairly prosperous life in pre-war Poland, which changed in September 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded and defeated Poland. As Jews, they were forced to live in a ghetto with little food provided. Vladek had managed to hide jewelry and other goods, so he could trade with Poles for additional food and other things.

As the ghetto was being liquidated, Vladek and other members of his family went into hiding. Sometimes Poles would help, but other times they would not. Every time the hiding place had to be changed, there was always the question of trust – would the people helping them inform the German authorities?

I’m skipping a lot of the details, for fear of spoilers, but Vladek and Anja are eventually betrayed, and they are sent to Auschwitz. This is where this volume of Vladek’s story ends.