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Generational trauma is a term referring to the transfer of “the traumatic experiences of one generation onto subsequent generations.” Spiegelman depicts generational trauma and its impact through the lingering attachments that it has on Art’s father and thus affecting him in collateral. Art’s experiences in Maus depict his generational trauma mostly through his father, for Vladek’s own lingering sense of dread and obsessive behavior to save up. The trauma is not just a matter of direct experience but also a matter of how that trauma is passed on to children, who inherit the weight of their parents' suffering.

Generational trauma manifests itself in a myriad of ways, the most prominent being through Art’s relationship with his father, Vladek. As a survivor of the Holocaust, and someone who had basically lost everything to Nazi, Germany. Vladek’s own trauma influences his behaviors. This can be seen almost throughout the entire book, despite surviving, Vladek is unable to let go of that sense of survival, the need and consumption of draining everything that he has in fear that it could be taken away from him once more. From obsessing with using only the bare necessities to the anxiety of not ever being able to feel safe in his own body, Vladek holds this kind of trauma as seeing that he has to at least try to do better than his past. Be able to salvage a sense of security despite being in a place far away from his perpetrators. These traits however, are passed down to Art. Unable to understand his father’s own pain as well as his own issues surrounding his own identity. Art feels torn between his father’s past trauma and the expectations placed on him as a child of a survivor, constantly caught in the tension of trying to live a “normal” life while understanding the deep-rooted emotional wounds of his father’s history as this feeling of Vladek wanting to be able to control something in his life while Art wants to escape that sense of control and become his own self.

Generational trauma can also affect the wider community. Not only did Holocaust survivors lose family members, but their entire communities were destroyed, depicted especially through how when Vladek finally is able to leave his camp, he is left with nowhere to go or return to, family dead and his origin point infested with those who still would not hesitate to kill him in one way or another, it leaves Vladek stranded in a place where he is lost. The survivors’ experience was not just personal but collective, and the trauma of losing an entire culture and way of life is carried on by their children. Children of survivors grow up in a world where the repercussions of genocide and war are ever-present in their parents' lives, even if they weren't physically present for those events themselves. The weight of such collective trauma—being part of a group that has been victimized, dehumanized, and nearly annihilated—can feel like an inherited burden that affects the children's worldview, mental health, and ability to connect with others.

The concept of breaking generational trauma is extremely complex, however it is possible to be able to break the cycle of generational trauma, even if it were to take generations to come as it does not have to be something that is a constant forever. A person can heal from generational trauma and break the patterns in their own family while learning its cause and acknowledging its existence

I believe there's a sort of beauty in expressing such a grim matter in such a more “childish” art form. Symbolically, I think Spiegelman is trying to say how things that take place in the book, and during the Holocaust, cannot be escaped by anyone, even children as comics are accessible even to them. Aside from the symbolic meaning, comic form as a whole allows for a lot more expression than a full writing piece. It adds a layer of realism by being able to see the emotions on the characters faces as opposed to having it described to you in a novel. I think if the book was in a novel form rather than comic it would make it feel a lot less real and almost disconnected in a sense. Visually being able to see these people being lined up and fated for essentially what is execution is just a terrifying situation. Also through the comic format, Spiegelman is able to use the metaphor of different groups being different animals. Since it isn’t explicitly said, but rather something the reader will just notice by looking at the panels, it is quite hard to pull something like this in a full word form. In a graphic novel, Jews being mice, or the prey, and Germans being cats, or the hunters, spoke and put into perspective how the situation often felt. It was a game of cat and mouse for Jews trying to escape and often times when they felt safe they never truly were, like how Vladek was “offered” to sleep in a hole behind the barn by a farmer, only to later be outed out by the same farmer who supposedly didn’t care nor wanted any trouble. These depictions of these different groups not only allowed readers to see the power dynamic but also made it so that readers are able to disconnect from their experience. Our generation is not Holocaust survivors and I doubt we will ever be able to understand their trauma or pain. Had the characters been human, we may have been more inclined to try and relate to them, but we can’t, their experiences are completely different from ours. We can try to understand and process what happened but at the end of the day, they live in different worlds than us and these depictions achieve that message, similar to the dynamic Artie has with his father. Speaking of the father son relationship, Spiegelman constantly shifts between the past and present. This could be brushed off as simply done for fluidity but it can also be attributed to demonstrate generational trauma. As said in “The Shadow of a Past Time”, “ Comics are composed in panels--also called frames--and in gutters, the rich empty spaces between the selected moments that direct our interpretation. The effect of the gutter lends to comics it's ‘annotation’ of time and space” (Chute 7). The comic format is a way to frame individual moments and highlight them but that doesn’t altogether separate them from other events. Artie will never be able to escape his legacy of being a child of a Holocaust survivor, this book is very proof of that. Just as how his father will never be able to escape the horrors and memories from the Holocaust itself. It’s all a loop, Artie and Vladek are connected and although they lived completely different lives they share the same horror that they cannot escape. Also the novel format relies heavily on imagery and using one's imagination to picture the events in the novel. I think Spiegelman wants to get away from that because the events of the Holocaust were very real and not so much as a fantasy as it seems to my generation. The comic form also makes these horrific events a lot more digestible. There’s a lot less processing, reading, and analyzing than a full word form would require. It allows people to be able to take the meaning of the book a lot more easily without taking away from the severity and message of the book itself. Although a comic form is “immature” or “childish”, sometimes for people to be able to understand important and heavy events such as these, they must be simple. Comic format achieves that.

Trauma is accrued over time and passed down whether directly or indirectly by the parents and their teachings, becoming generational. The effects of trauma on an individual last a lifetime, changing the way that they think about the world and people in it, perhaps making them hyper paranoid and alert or careless and reckless, but either way these traits can deeply affect future generations. The parenting style of an individual is molded by the experiences they’ve had and their parents before them. The lasting effects of trauma will influence a person’s parenting style by forcing the learned methods of survival into adulthood and onto their children. This may come off as overbearing to the child but perfectly reasonable to the parent, leading to conflict between them and potential new trauma for the child. If one’s parents share their issues to a child at a young age, that child may end up feeling guilty for what has happened to their parents despite having no hand nor share in participating. We can see this highlighted throughout Maus where Art is constantly trying to understand the horror of his parent’s trauma and feeling helpless that he can’t change the past, leading to his hyperfixation. This weight of the past of their parents deeply affects the children and their worldviews. According to Stanislav Kolář in their paper Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma in Spiegleman’s Maus, “Regardless of the degree of the absorption and internalization of this historical and personal trauma, it is possible to say that the transmission of the cataclysmic wartime experiences of survivors has formed a significant part of the identity of the children of survivors, and has become one of the crucial constituents of their Jewishness, regardless of the extent of their assimilation.” (Kolář 2) We can see especially how Art Spiegleman blames himself with the depiction of his mother in the comic about her death. He blames himself for not being good enough and for not being loving enough when in all actuality his mother had struggled with mental health for years before her suicide. Her mental health issues were only exacerbated by the sheer brutality of the Holocaust. Additionally, because of the continuous friction between him and his father, disagreeing on many topics, Art grows up to be cynical about the world and his father, straining their relationship. In the early moments of the book, Art doesn’t seem to recognize that his father’s mind has shifted into a permanent survival mode, always looking for the best possible solution, molded by his trauma. After his father’s death the reader can interpret that Art’s opinion on his father was constantly metamorphosing with the new knowledge of his father’s story and the trauma he went through and while their relationship wasn’t always perfect Art genuinely liked his father. Generational trauma is something people are bound to, its history, however that doesn’t mean it has any influence on their potential. Acknowledging trauma and being able to work with it is a strength and vital in keeping history and family central parts of one’s identity.

Yes, in my opinion, Spiegelman’s use of the comic form effective in conveying the emotional and historical weight of the Holocaust. It shows the Holocaust in a unique light, something no other depiction (that I’ve seen) can do. Every other piece of media on the Holocaust that I’ve seen has been plain writing or a video, which are all very helpful in capturing what happened. However, the use of comic makes it stand out in a sea of Holocaust stories, and allows it to resonate better with readers, because it is more memorable and unique. Additionally, the use of comic format helps us understand the dynamics of the Holocaust. Each group of people is depicted as an animal, making each character distinguishable between groups. This helps the reader understand exactly how prevalent someone’s identity was at the time, as it is mostly all that the reader can decipher from just the picture. It also helps the reader understand the dynamics between the victims and the perpetrators, as the Germans are cats and the Jews are mice. The Polish are pigs, which can be interpreted in different ways. Pigs are not held with much regard, but still have value in society. Additionally, they can be sympathized with in proper settings, like in Charlotte’s Web. The Jewish population being depicted as mice gives them irredeemable qualities, as mice are rarely ever desired or valued. Cats are both valued (as pets) and respected (as animals), showing how German Nazis held incredibly high status and valor in their time, within their community. The use of graphic novel format also helps Spiegalman include other helpful images that would have not been done justice if simply explained in text. At the end of the book, he includes the photos that his father showed him of his family. The photos overshadow the comic panels and messily lay across the pages. This helps put the reader in the moment with Artie, and understand what he is feeling. Additionally, it evokes a sense of nostalgia, as it makes the reader feel like they are looking at a stack of old pictures from their own life.

The comic form also allows for a more fluid narrative, as Spiegalman is able to include dialogue from the present day while showing panels from decades prior. This could not have been done with text, as it would be too confusing. This helps show the connection between the past and present in terms of bearing witness to the Holocaust. Hillary Chute corroborates this, as she says “The comics medium, as Spiegalman makes us aware, is not only dialogic--able to represent the competing voices of autobiography and biography in one layered text--but cross discursive.” Some may argue that the graphic novel formal does not give the Holocaust the sensitivity it deserves, but it catches the eye of the average reader, who may never pick up a book about the Holocaust except for Maus. The comic form makes it more accessible, as it sets it apart from other accounts. Without a unique feature, the story of Art and his father may have gone mainly unnoticed by the general public, which would have been a great disservice.

In the graphic novel “Maus” by Art Spiegelman, Spiegelman illustrates the story of his father, Vladek, living through the Holocaust as a Jewish man. The story shifts between the retelling of this horrid story and the current relationship between Art and Vladek. Though Vladek is a survivor, his life after the Holocaust isn’t a fairytale happy-ending, and his trauma as a survivor of Auschwitz and Nazi Germany follows him after liberation. Throughout the graphic novel, Spiegelman emphasizes Vladek's mentality as a saver and cheapskate, which has affected his relationship with Artie and Mala, Vladek’s wife. Artie is constantly frustrated by Vladek’s stubbornness especially when they go to the market to return groceries. Prior to the Nazi takeover, Vladek was a well-off Jewish business owner and this gave him an upper hand to survive during the war. While the survival of Jewish prisoners was based predominantly on chance, Vladek’s prior wealth and connections to people in his Sosnowiec had influences on his ability to survive and the outcome. Vladek tries to buy his and Anja’s escape to Hungary with money and other goods, though this proves futile. While the small things such as a slice of bread to trade helped Vladek survive, he comes out of the Holocaust traumatized and in a world so far from what he had known before. Vladek’s habitual cheapness is a trauma response that manifests as this need to seek financial security and overall safety in his circumstances. This can be observed in many of Art Spieglman’s illustrations such as Vladek’s numerous arguments with Mala about money including the use of wooden hangers over wire. Vladeck’s frugal nature plays into the generational effects of trauma, and how it impacts Vladek and Artie’s relationship. Artie mentions that Vladek refused to buy Artie basic things when he was a child to save money, leading to the increasing strain on their already distant relationship as Artie grew up. However, Vladek claims all the money is for Artie once Vladek dies even though Artie states that “even for himself he won’t spend any money”. The passing on of these harbored funds represents a carried weight of the trauma and baggage from Vladek’s experience in the Holocaust.

Another aspect of Vladek’s survival that impacts him is the fact that he survived. While the concept of a survivor story may seem like a “happy ending”, this is not the case for most survivors. Simply because one has survived a horrible thing doesn’t make them happy. Vladek’s survival acts as a major internal conflict for him because it puts an unnecessary weight on his back to be successful because he survived. While almost all of Vladek’s family and hometown friends perished in the Holocaust, including his first son, Richieu, Vladek and Anja survive. This adds to the generational pressure to succeed for Artie, since he is the son of two survivors against all odds and the brother of a dead boy. Artie expresses his frustration and his feeling of having to live up to an impossible expectation. While Richieu would have become a doctor by this time, Artie feels like a failure compared to the phantom accomplishments of Richieu. This further perpetuates the generational trauma of Holocaust survivors living with the survivors' guilt.

According to Marianne Hirsch, “[p]ostmemory characterizes the experience of those who grow up dominated by narratives that preceded their birth, whose own belated stories are evacuated by the stories of the previous generation shaped by traumatic events that can be neither understood nor recreated”. This can be applied to an aspect of Artie’s identity that lives on with him is the fact that he was born in the wake of the Holocaust. Vladek remembers Artie’s birth in association to the Holocaust by comparing Artie’s broken arm as similar to that made when Nazis said “Heil Hitler.” This anecdote further puts Artie’s existence in the shadow of the Holocaust.

Generational trauma impacts the children of Holocaust survivors as seen in Maus with Spiegelman’s portrayal of Vladek and Artie’s relationship. The immense pain and trauma that Vladek endured shaped the way he parented Artie, which often led to control, emotional distance, and miscommunication and this created a very distinct disconnect between them. This divide is especially evident in their conversations, where tension and miscommunication often arose. One moment that really highlights this is early on in the graphic novel when Art was asking his dad for more details about his experience during the war. As Vladek recounts his story and multitasks by counting his pills, he accidentally knocks over his pills. He immediately blames Artie despite it not being his fault. Artie even offered to help by counting the pills for him, but Vladek refuses, insisting that Artie doesn’t know how to do it his way. This interaction exemplifies the strain in their relationship, showing how Vladek’s trauma manifests in controlling tendencies and how it creates frustration and distance between father and son. Artie, in turn, struggles with his own feelings of frustration, guilt, and resentment. This is evident when Artie angrily calls his father a “murderer” for destroying his late mother’s diaries and even when Vladek is elderly and ill, Artie often reacts with impatience rather than compassion. It really surprised me when I saw how rude Artie would be when speaking to his father especially after Mala had left Vladek because he was so quick to tell his father that he and his wife would only stay for a few days and how quickly he’d snap at Vladek in general. These interactions highlight how unresolved trauma is passed down, affecting now only the survivors but also the children, who have to inherit that emotional weight of the past. Hillary Chute discusses in “The Shadow of Past Time”: History and Graphic Representation in Maus, Maus not only recounts history but it explores how trauma is “transmitted to the second generation” and how it “structures the relationships between those who did and did not live through it”. This is evident in the way Artie struggles to truly understand his father’s experiences but he still feels burdened by them and we see this towards the end when he is talking to his shrink, Pavel. Vladek’s trauma isn’t just a part of his past, but it also actively shapes his present and, in turn, Artie’s life even after Vladek’s death. It is hard to say whether it is possible for one to move beyond generational trauma or if it’s better to live with and acknowledge it. One must confront the trauma in order to heal because denying it or closeting it can only lead to further damage. I know that a lot of people find empowerment in embracing their history and it’s also important for a person to not let trauma define their identity. I believe that generational trauma will never fully disappear, but it is possible to heal or at least try to by acknowledging history and breaking those cycles of pain.

While some may feel that a comic isn't serious enough to illustrate the Holocaust, I do believe Artie's use of the comic form draws in the reader and holds their attention while also effectively conveying the emotional and historical weight of it. I won’t deny that the book did move me at different points and I feel like in its own way the depiction of people, especially the Jewish, as animals was particularly striking. When we think of mice we may feel repulsed because they're "vermin" and not necessarily wanted in human spaces. We feel the need to get rid of them via extermination. The Germans being depicted as cats shows their "superiority" over the other people in the book, since we perceive them as the main predator of mice and they are typically shown more love and respect by people. The novel definitely is serious enough to discuss the Holocaust, especially for younger audiences or anybody who may not be ready to look at darker sources of information about it because while there are some parts that are shocking and upsetting, it’s still more tame than documentaries that may contain actual footage of occurrences during the Holocaust. The book doesn’t joke about the Holocaust and touches on real issues that people may not acknowledge as much such as survivor’s guilt, trauma, and the effect it had on the descendants of survivors. It’s a unique way to retell the account of someone who actually had to live through it and it gives the readers breaks to process any hard information they may have just taken in. In terms of educating people and getting information about the Holocaust out in general, the book being in comic form helps this sort of information reach a larger audience and I feel like the details stick with the reader more. I feel like the movement between the past and the present in the novel is a crucial part of what could be taken away from the book. At the beginning of the book we briefly start off in Artie’s childhood, and then move to the present where he first approaches his father about having him tell his story. From that point on we bounce between the retelling of his father’s story the present day. This snap back to reality typically occurs after his father finishes talking about a specific tragic occurrence and I feel that it reminds us that this happened to a real person and this is just one account of millions. We’re able to see Vladek’s face and emotion that he displayed as he told his story and this is important because it helps us understand that decades later, he was still heavily impacted. This is significant because a lot of people don’t understand how someone could still be impacted by something that took place “a long time ago” and believe some things are better off forgotten. We learn from Maus that even though some may be able to move forward in their lives prior to a traumatic event, everything they had to endure still sticks with them regardless of how much time has passed. Many who survived the Holocaust lost, if not all, the majority of their family members and were constantly facing death on a daily basis. It should be completely understandable without question if they haven’t “simply moved on” and this is a topic Artie conveys in the book.

Generational trauma profoundly affects the children of Holocaust survivors, shaping their identities, relationships, and mental health in significant and enduring ways. Art Spiegelman’s Maus vividly illustrates how the weight of inherited trauma changes family dynamics, individual psychology, and cultural identity, emphasizing how the past continues to influence the lives of future generations. Children of Holocaust survivors often experience what is known as “secondary trauma,” where they internalize their parents' suffering despite not having lived through the traumatic events themselves. This can result in feelings of guilt, anxiety, and hyper-vigilance, along with a strong sense of obligation to honor their parents’ survival through personal achievements or by maintaining their cultural heritage. In Maus, Spiegelman confronts his father Vladek’s controlling and anxious behaviors, which stem directly from his Holocaust experiences. Vladek’s extreme frugality, paranoia, and emotional detachment are products of the unimaginable trauma he endured, and these characteristics, in turn, shape Art’s own identity. He grapples with the burden of being the child of a survivor, feeling both resentment and guilt, particularly in relation to his father’s expectations and his mother’s suicide. This pattern is not unique to Spiegelman; it is a common experience among families of survivors of genocide, war, and oppression. The repercussions of generational trauma extend beyond Holocaust survivors; similar patterns can be observed in the descendants of those impacted by the Armenian Genocide, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Khmer Rouge’s brutal regime in Cambodia, who frequently report heightened anxiety, depression, and a deep-seated fear of persecution. Similarly, Native American communities continue to face the enduring effects of forced displacement, cultural erasure, and systemic oppression, while the descendants of enslaved individuals in the United States encounter both psychological and social challenges.

Originally posted by fulton on February 11, 2025 08:15

Even if they did not physically go through the suffering, children of Holocaust survivors, like Art Spiegelman, are particularly impacted by generational trauma because they carry the emotional burden of their parents dissressed memories and traumatic experiences. Art finds it difficult to relate to and comprehend his father's trauma in Maus. Art's connections, character, and general way of life are all influenced by his father's experiences during the Holocaust. In addition to making Art feel alienated, his inability to comprehend his father's suffering has an impact on his own identity and mental well-being. This demonstrates how past trauma can have complicated and long-lasting effects on the following generation.

Entire communities can suffer greatly as a result of wars, genocides, and other traumatic events, and the effects of these catastrophes can persist for many generations. The trauma has an impact on those who experienced it as well as their offspring, grandkids, and others. Children may hear tales of pain, grief, and terror as they get older, which can have an impact on their mental health and influence the way they see the world. Even if the children were not present during the events, they are frequently impacted by these tales that are passed down from one generation to the next. They may have inherited anguish and anxiety as a result, which makes it more difficult for them to fully separate themselves from the suffering endured by their ancestors.

It is hard to say if generational trauma will always be a part of the lives of people who inherit it or if it can ever be fully overcome. Some people may think that healing is possible, while others may think that the trauma is too severe to be completely removed. Nonetheless, it is evident that a crucial first step in the healing process is admitting the trauma. People can start processing the trauma of the past and resolving its consequences on their lives by acknowledging and discussing it. People can better understand their own feelings and the difficulties they encounter when they acknowledge the trauma. While some may believe that the only way to deal with the trauma is to live with it, others may concentrate on figuring out how to end the cycle so that future generations do not have to bear the same burden. Many people also want to ensure that their kids don't experience the same emotional burden and hardships that they did. This could entail offering emotional support, discussing the past in a way that promotes healing, and, if necessary, obtaining expert assistance. In any event, it is evident that acknowledging the trauma and having an honest conversation about it while working through it together are important components of healing.

The main idea is that even those who did not physically experience the suffering of the Holocaust still carry its emotional weight. This highlights how trauma extends beyond those who directly experienced it, influencing identity, mental health, and relationships. I strongly agree with this perspective, as history has repeatedly shown that trauma can be inherited—whether through learned behaviors, cultural memory, or even epigenetic factors.

Your discussion of how entire communities suffer across generations is particularly insightful. It connects Art’s personal struggle to a broader societal issue, reinforcing that trauma is not just an individual burden but a collective one. This idea reminds me of how survivors of other genocides (such as Armenian or Rwandan genocide survivors) pass down stories of suffering that continue to shape their descendants’ worldview.

One area that could be expanded is the idea of healing. You mention that some believe trauma can be overcome, while others think it is too deeply embedded. It would be interesting to explore what factors influence whether someone can heal. Does open discussion help, or does it sometimes reinforce the trauma? Exploring different perspectives on this could be really interesting.

Spiegelman manages to illustrate and convey the horrors of the Holocaust while also keeping the reading digestible. The Holocaust was notably a horrifying event and it’s difficult to sugarcoat what had happened during it; that being said, it makes learning about it and understanding it rather uncomfortable. Maus allows readers to grasp the events of the Holocaust while also leaving a certain level of censorship to make it easier to comprehend. The formatting of the story, switching from the past and the present, builds a bond between the characters Vladek and Artie as we get to see how Vladek has grown and how Artie was raised with the trauma of the Holocaust behind them. The contrast between the violence and malice of the Holocaust and their current life shows how they are just ordinary people who had to resilience in order to survive and adapt. This time structure not only humanizes the historical trauma but also emphasizes the long-lasting psychological effects on survivors and their families.

Also, Spiegelman’s choice to depict different groups using animals (Jews as mice, Germans as cats, and Poles as pigs), adds a layer of symbolism that showcases the power dynamics and dehumanization that was present during the Holocaust. Even though the images presented are simplified to keep the reading more digestible and comic-like, the raw emotions and horror of Vladek’s experiences are still present, making the story accessible without diminishing its gravity. It also makes it easier for younger kids to understand the Holocaust without being afraid or disgusted by the monstrosities committed by making it connected to something they know, like animals and the food chain. Cats eat mice, mice are pests, pigs are dirty and sloppy creatures. It shows the social hierarchy of the time without having to directly say it, which I feel is also why this book is so amazing. The way it manages to convey feelings without iterating it to the reader’s and the use of images and emotion to connect to people. Spiegelman doesn’t solely rely on exposition but allows his images to carry much of the emotional impact. The expressions of the characters, despite their animal features, convey their suffering and fear at moments. This choice makes the story feel more universal, ensuring that the Holocaust’s history and its lessons reach a wider audience.

Overall, I feel like this book is such an important book to show to people who want to learn more about the Holocaust or anyone really. It conveys an important POV of such a critical event. It serves as a reminder of the horrors of history and the importance of remembering the past so that such atrocities are never repeated. Whether someone is well-versed in Holocaust history or learning about it for the first time, Maus offers a compelling and necessary perspective that remains relevant today.

Originally posted by Wolfpack1635 on February 10, 2025 23:41

As stated in the Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma in Spiegelman's Maus by, Stanislav Kolar, Kolar states that “Problems with the precision of memory are of particular importance in connection with trauma, because the unfamiliarity and extremity of the traumatic situation is great enough to prevent comprehension and integration of this situation into the mind of the victim”. The trauma experienced by the Spiegelman family in the Holocaust prevents Artie from fully connecting with his father impacting his daily life. In Maus II, Artie speaks about the completion of his story with anxiety and feels he can not properly make sense of Nazi extermination camps without having a full relationship with his father. Artie begins to speak about his late brother Richieu who he calls his “ghost brother”. He states that his parents did all they could to find him after the war. Vladek holds himself responsible for not saving Richieu, although he could have done nothing to save him. Mala, Vladek’s second wife, suffers becuase of the blame Vladek places on himself. They often fight in the story and it seems that Vladek thinks she is a poor replacement for his late wife Anja. For Vladek, Anja’s death and the suffering he experienced prevented him from dealing with the loss and trauma in his life. Vladek suppresses his memory of Anja as the story is never shown from her point of view and Artie later learns that Vladek destroyed her journals, silencing her forever.

On page 16 of Maus II, Artie reveals that he has had nightmares of SS men dragging him and his Jewish classmates out of school. Spiegelman write Maus from the words his father gives him in interviews, preventing Artie from fully grasping his father’s story. Later on page 16, Artie states that he sometimes wishes he had experienced the Holocaust with his parents to understand what they went through. Artie feels guilty that he pieced together his family’s story and feels he is doing injustice to them, he states “I feel so inadequate trying to reconstruct A reality that was worse than my darkest dreams”.

The suffering of Vladek during the Holocaust and his inability to forgive himself for the death of Anja and Richieu affect Artie who feels shattered by his father’s stubbornness and inability to fully open up. In The Shadow of a Past Time by Hillary Chute, Chute reveals that Vladek’s trauma is passed to Artie because it affects him through his family and how he is treated as a son who will never live up to his late brother. After all, he did not experience the Holocaust. This is shown in Maus II, when Artie says he cannot compete with his brother and believes that the photo of Richieu in his parent's room is their attempt to keep him in their life. He calls himself a “pain in the ass” and that Ricieu was the “ideal kid”. He said Richieu could have done great things and could have “dealt with Vladek”.

I believe that Maus reveals it is impossible to move on from generational trauma without first acknowledging it. This is shown by the distance between Vladek and Artie shrinking as they speak more about the Holocaust. The gap in Artie’s understanding is filled with more and more interviews and they become closer. Although he will never fully understand the trauma his father experienced he now cares for his father and after worrying about the potential of his father moving in with him, he does not shy away from traveling to bring his father home to a more suited hospital for his care. Artie tries his best to understand his father but realizes he never truly will.

I agree with your statements on Artie’s feelings and relationships with not only his father but other members of his family. I liked your use of direct quotations from the book to support your thoughts. Your last paragraph really sat with me and made me think. The first time I read it I disagreed with the statement about generational trauma. After rereading the paragraph to process what you wrote I realized that I actually agreed with you. Generational trauma is something that is definitely hard to completely stop but if nothing is acknowledged it will be impossible like you said. Artie’s feelings about his brother Ricieu are extremely strong and can be interpreted in many different ways. The refusal to talk about not only his mom but also his brother leads to blanks in the story while genuinely questioning and wanting to know more about his own family's history. How much do you think of the photo of his brother in his dads room but none of him? What about his mothers diaries being destroyed?If you would have added a great deal to your response and strengthened the argument of generational trauma.

Originally posted by iadnosdoyb on February 11, 2025 22:00

Generational trauma profoundly affects the children of Holocaust survivors, shaping their identities, relationships, and mental health in significant and enduring ways. Art Spiegelman’s Maus vividly illustrates how the weight of inherited trauma changes family dynamics, individual psychology, and cultural identity, emphasizing how the past continues to influence the lives of future generations. Children of Holocaust survivors often experience what is known as “secondary trauma,” where they internalize their parents' suffering despite not having lived through the traumatic events themselves. This can result in feelings of guilt, anxiety, and hyper-vigilance, along with a strong sense of obligation to honor their parents’ survival through personal achievements or by maintaining their cultural heritage. In Maus, Spiegelman confronts his father Vladek’s controlling and anxious behaviors, which stem directly from his Holocaust experiences. Vladek’s extreme frugality, paranoia, and emotional detachment are products of the unimaginable trauma he endured, and these characteristics, in turn, shape Art’s own identity. He grapples with the burden of being the child of a survivor, feeling both resentment and guilt, particularly in relation to his father’s expectations and his mother’s suicide. This pattern is not unique to Spiegelman; it is a common experience among families of survivors of genocide, war, and oppression. The repercussions of generational trauma extend beyond Holocaust survivors; similar patterns can be observed in the descendants of those impacted by the Armenian Genocide, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Khmer Rouge’s brutal regime in Cambodia, who frequently report heightened anxiety, depression, and a deep-seated fear of persecution. Similarly, Native American communities continue to face the enduring effects of forced displacement, cultural erasure, and systemic oppression, while the descendants of enslaved individuals in the United States encounter both psychological and social challenges.

The most compelling part of the post, or perhaps the part I most agreed with, was how Vladek’s bad habits are caused by his experiences in the Holocaust, and that they are one of the most direct sources of generational trauma for Art. However, I think that Vladek is able to work his way past some of his shortcomings, albeit not well, to extend a hand out to his son. He seeks to establish an all important relationship, but Art does not do enough to accept this hand. While I agree with this poster’s thoughts about how Vladek’s behavior is a major component of generational trauma in Art’s life, I would suggest that they dive further into how Vladek and Art’s mother are not the sole factors. In the case of Art, it seems as though he feels an invisible pressure to do great things to honor his mother and brother, but he doesn’t actually want to do it in the way Vladek wishes. However, as we see in the novel, Vladek soon opens up, and therefore further analysis needs to be done about whether the blame is on the damage already done or on Art’s inability to establish a better relationship with his father. I agreed with much of what the poster wrote, but I would encourage them to elaborate further on their ideas.

Originally posted by bookshelf on February 11, 2025 15:58

Yes, in my opinion, Spiegelman’s use of the comic form effective in conveying the emotional and historical weight of the Holocaust. It shows the Holocaust in a unique light, something no other depiction (that I’ve seen) can do. Every other piece of media on the Holocaust that I’ve seen has been plain writing or a video, which are all very helpful in capturing what happened. However, the use of comic makes it stand out in a sea of Holocaust stories, and allows it to resonate better with readers, because it is more memorable and unique. Additionally, the use of comic format helps us understand the dynamics of the Holocaust. Each group of people is depicted as an animal, making each character distinguishable between groups. This helps the reader understand exactly how prevalent someone’s identity was at the time, as it is mostly all that the reader can decipher from just the picture. It also helps the reader understand the dynamics between the victims and the perpetrators, as the Germans are cats and the Jews are mice. The Polish are pigs, which can be interpreted in different ways. Pigs are not held with much regard, but still have value in society. Additionally, they can be sympathized with in proper settings, like in Charlotte’s Web. The Jewish population being depicted as mice gives them irredeemable qualities, as mice are rarely ever desired or valued. Cats are both valued (as pets) and respected (as animals), showing how German Nazis held incredibly high status and valor in their time, within their community. The use of graphic novel format also helps Spiegalman include other helpful images that would have not been done justice if simply explained in text. At the end of the book, he includes the photos that his father showed him of his family. The photos overshadow the comic panels and messily lay across the pages. This helps put the reader in the moment with Artie, and understand what he is feeling. Additionally, it evokes a sense of nostalgia, as it makes the reader feel like they are looking at a stack of old pictures from their own life.

The comic form also allows for a more fluid narrative, as Spiegalman is able to include dialogue from the present day while showing panels from decades prior. This could not have been done with text, as it would be too confusing. This helps show the connection between the past and present in terms of bearing witness to the Holocaust. Hillary Chute corroborates this, as she says “The comics medium, as Spiegalman makes us aware, is not only dialogic--able to represent the competing voices of autobiography and biography in one layered text--but cross discursive.” Some may argue that the graphic novel formal does not give the Holocaust the sensitivity it deserves, but it catches the eye of the average reader, who may never pick up a book about the Holocaust except for Maus. The comic form makes it more accessible, as it sets it apart from other accounts. Without a unique feature, the story of Art and his father may have gone mainly unnoticed by the general public, which would have been a great disservice.

I completely agree with your opinions on the functionality of Maus’s comic form. You can really see how well thought out everything was and though other forms of Holocaust accounts are also very interesting and insightful, this novel was definitely uniquely striking. I like your analysis of the animals that Artie chose to use. He could’ve done any other set of predators and prey but the intentional use of a cat and mouse dynamic really added to the book. I feel like the fact that this book can be used to educate a variety of age groups is a huge part of this because I feel like even if you show this book to a sixth grader and they don’t go too deep into the psychology and layers of everything, they’ll still get a sufficient idea of what these people had to go through. This book draws the attention of many. I agree with your claim that the movement of the book between the past and present makes for a more fluid narrative. I think that even though I may have picked up on that while I was reading, it was more of a subconscious thought so I didn’t lend it much thought while I was creating my response. I thought that those little jumps to the present served three purposes. To give the reader mental breaks after reading something heavy, to reveal how the memories still hurt Vladek, and to remind the reader that they are reading the accounts of a real person. I feel like that reminder really gets sealed in at the end of book one when everyone is drawn as humans with animal masks. There’s a lot to unpack with this book but I think you did a really nice job analyzing everything.

Originally posted by orangemindss on February 07, 2025 08:50

While reading Maus, I realized just how much pressure parents place on their children to live up to certain expectations. It makes them question their worth and hinders them from communicating healthily with others. Most children learn to grow accustomed to how their parents choose to function in life; they pick up certain attitudes and behaviors that they believe to be the way to live life. In Maus, Artie seems to struggle with understanding how other people may view various circumstances and are unable to place themselves in the shoes of other people. Because of this, he forms opinions using only what he believes to be the correct way of life, deeming any other suggestion of a different route as something offensive. Similarly, the readers watch as Vladek becomes easily frustrated when certain situations do not go the way he desires them to. He believes that people should follow his every command, but when they fail to stay in line he is unable to see them as a once caring person.

It is evident that the experiences of our role models in life tend to be characteristics based down throughout our livelihoods. In “Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma in Spiegelman’s Maus,” Stainslav quotes that children have had narratives from their parents placed on them as means for certain trauma to never be repeated in the future. Parents allow their unresolved conflicts to cloud their relationships with their children as they do not want them to struggle as they have. By doing this, they place harsh expectations about what the child should be living up to, and when they fail to do so they are condemned for it. For example, many parents wish to see their children reach higher education than they could so that they can have higher paying jobs and live in comfort. These presumptions add pressure for a child to do well in school and be the top of their class in certain aspects, and convince them that if they do not do this thing then their parents may not treat them the same. In Maus, Artie seems to hold this type of resentment towards his father for the critical remarks that he always makes and assuming Artie to be incapable of handling certain things that seem so minuscule.

To move past generational trauma one must learn to be satisfied with themselves; how they are and what they have done in life. If you continue to carry insecurities and use them against yourself on a daily basis, then you are only digging a deeper hole of despair. A person is left feeling alone and unable to control what is going on around them; however, they can work to create a person that they want to be for themselves, living authentically and true to themselves. This search for their personal truth may through various things such as religion, therapy, writing, or art. Many people find different ways to cope with the pain that they are enduring, but they must be willing to confront it so that they can move forward in life. Continuous suppression will only lead to a world of more pain. We all have experienced times that harsh expectations were placed on us and we have felt that disappointment when we are not able to satisfy those around us; the most important thing to realize in these scenarios is to understand how we could do better for ourselves in the future, realizing what does and does not work for us to thrive in life.

The most compelling ideas in my peers' posts are about how parents project unresolved conflict onto their children and how individuals are shaped by family dynamics influenced by trauma. I agree with this idea because it highlights how children internalize their own parents' struggles, creating emotional barriers. The comparison between Arties struggles and real-world parental pressures makes the argument relatable as well. Many children feel the need to live up to certain standards even if they don't align with their personal desires. In addition, the idea that children tend to develop feelings of self-doubt and are overwhelmed by pressure as a result of a parent's projection of unresolved conflict is also striking. I agree with the fact that this projection is often unintentional but leaves profound effects. This type of upbringing shapes one's personality, identity and future relationships which this person touches upon. This person also touched on the idea that “ Continuous suppression will only lead to a world of more pain” which was also mentioned in other peers' posts, as well as mine. This is a really important thought because it expands on how generational trauma is a cycle and has the possibility of being broken with the right help. Overcoming these struggles requires acceptance and healing. Overall this is a well developed and insightful response.

Originally posted by opinionated person on February 11, 2025 13:34

Generational trauma greatly impacts children of Holocaust survivors because when they’re young, they absorb much of their parents’ attitudes and feelings, and these are passed down to their own children. Similar to all types of trauma in families, children will internalize it, subconsciously or not, and repeat it to their children. Trauma is impossible to forget, especially when it’s over a prolonged period of time like the Holocaust. People who survive it don’t simply walk away and immediately begin a new life, they have to adjust slowly. They could be feeling survivor’s guilt or immense sadness and be driven to suicide, like Anja. In addition, children of Holocaust survivors haven’t gone through all that their parents went through. Art Spiegelman was born in New York, where he didn’t have to worry about family members being taken away forever, when his next meal would be, or whether he would still be alive to even eat it. Because of this, children of Holocaust survivors can never truly know their parents, even though they try, such as Art did through his book Maus.

The weight of direct ancestors hugely impacts young people because that’s who they’re the closest to. However, an entire community’s trauma even more greatly affects young people because that’s the environment they’re growing up in. It’s not the same as with direct ancestors, where young people spend time with others as well as them. If young people are only experiencing a community’s trauma, that’s the only thing they’ll know because it’s all around them. Both trauma experienced by direct ancestors and trauma experienced by a community play into a young person’s life because immigrants, such as Holocaust survivors, tend to move into areas that already have other families who share the same culture and experiences as them. Because of this, children of Holocaust survivors are affected not just by the trauma of their parents and grandparents, but also by the shared trauma of the community they live in. This is similar to all communities who have experienced genocides, such as in Rwanda, Armenia, and Cambodia.

It’s not possible to move past generational trauma; it’s so ingrained in a family that it’ll always be there. It’s better to live with it and acknowledge it, because that’s how a survivor can get back a bit of a sense of normalcy, even though there’s no way to go back to living life like how one did before the traumatic event. Vladek tried to do that when he moved to the US and started a new family, but he can never forget what happened to him, which is something Artie takes advantage of. He doesn’t consider that reliving trauma could be hard for his father, and he can be very demanding at times, although it is a new and interesting idea to write a Holocaust story from only one person’s perspective instead of trying to encompass all of it. This, along with the comic form, make the story much easier to read and understand.

In general, I agreed with almost everything this person said and wrote a lot of similar things in my own post. One idea from this post I found interesting (and something that I had thought of, but couldn’t entirely put into words) was that the children of Holocaust survivors absorb many of their parents’ attitudes when they are young & living at home. I also think this can be extrapolated to pretty much any set of parents & children, as many young people have similar views as their parents.

However, I think the most compelling point was that the children Holocaust survivors can never truly know their parents. Even if they try to gain understanding, this commenter thinks that it is impossible for them to completely do so because they did not live through the Holocaust and a person’s accounts cannot wholly encompass their experiences. I honestly don’t know whether I agree with this or not, but I’m leaning more towards agreement. I think that it is nearly impossible for people who did not experience the Holocaust first hand to really grasp it, but I don’t think this means that they can never know their parents. While the Holocaust did make up a large, and very significant, part of the parents’ lives, it is not the only important influence on their lives. It is true that it greatly informs a lot of what they do and think, but it is not the sole influence on their post-war lives. It is because of this that I don’t entirely agree or disagree with this idea, but do find it fascinating.