Sacrifices In Art Spielberg's Maus

As part of the fascist conquest to create an ideal race during the World War II, Jewish people struggled to survive by evading their Nazi hunters and persecution. In Art Spielberg’s Maus he depicts his dad’s, Vladek, Holocaust experience through comics as his dad informs him of his WWII experience. In the novel Jewish people are drawn as mice and German’s cats to show how there is a constant conflict of pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes. Vladek and other Jew are forced to hide, evade, and trick the Nazi soldiers in a similar fashion to the game to survive the persecution of his people. To survive the Holocaust as a Jew numerous sacrifices are required to be made in order to escape death. Sacrifices are not always to the benefit oneself, such as when sacrifices are made for the well being of others. A friend of Vladek, Mancie, who used her position as a guard at the Birkenau concentration camp would relay messages between Vladek and his wife, Anja, snuck bread into camps to help Anja who was in Birkenau and likely not being supplied a sufficient amount of food. Vladek explained to his son how “If the S.S. would see she is taking food into the camp, right away they will kill her. But always she took. So she said, “If a couple is loving each other so much, I must help however I can”

Because Anja knew several languages she was able to read communist documents and translate them to German for her friend conspirator friend. The police caught onto this, forcing her to hide these documents. Vladek reiterated to his son Anja’s plea, “Miss Stefanska - please! Hide this package for me - don’t tell anyone about it!”, and Vladek commented, “Anja was a good customer, so she agreed” (30). Ms. Stefanska put her safety in peril for the sake of a someone who she shared a personal relationship with to protect Anja from being caught by the