The Lasting Impacts of Human Catastrophe
Using Art Spiegelman's "Maus" to compare personal observations abroad, and to better understand lasting traumas of World War II that affect the present
Maus - Brief Overview
Maus by Art Spiegelman follows Artie, a Polish-American cartoonist and the son of Holocaust survivors: his father, Vladek, and his mother, Anja. (Artie is the author and narrator) Throughout the story, Artie interviews his father to create a graphic novel about his experiences during WWII. We learn Artie has been estranged from his father, and his mother, Anja, committed suicide about 10 years before the book starts (1968). Feeling guilty of not knowing what his parents went through, Artie is desperately trying to learn, while it seems Vladek has been trying to forget. Besides his parents, most of Artie's family, who were taken by the Nazi's during the war, did not survive, so his goal in creating his graphic novel is to understand better and preserve his father's experiences, to ensure the stories of Holocaust survivors aren't forgotten.
My Experience Studying Abroad
- European Institutions such as European Parliment, European Commission, and the European Union Court of Justice
- Legal institutions such as German Police Headquarters and German Constitutional Court
- Tour of the Natzweiler-Struthof Nazi Concentration Camp, in Natzweiler, France
During the summer of 2025, I had the opportunity to participate in the Comparative Law and Politics study abroad trip, stationed in Strasbourg, France. Ran by the political science department, students combined in-class learning with visits to several legal and political institutions across France, Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
Through this graphic novel...
We get two sides of the story, not just how the Holocaust affected survivors firsthand, through Vladek, but also how the trauma is passed down, seen through Artie. At first, Vladek was hesitant to tell his story for Artie to publish, because he didn't think anyone would be interested. The story is jumpy, but that's because we are getting both Artie and Vladek's points of view, mixing both past and present. Also, it is worth noting that Artie is the author, so he is creating the story based on Vladek's memories rather than his personal experience. Many times throughout, Artie is left confused trying to understand some of Vladek's stories, but Vladek notes that for many things, you had to be the one experiencing them to understand.
Vladek's Lasting Trauma
The idea of "surviving" the Holocaust is important in Maus because, through Vladek's experiences, we learn that surviving such a catastrophic event has more nuance than simply living through the atrocities. Though Vladek and Anja both survived the camps, the traumas they experienced continued to haunt them. This is evident not only in Anja's suicide years after the war ended, but also through some of Vladek's behaviors that represent survival mechanisms/habits.
Extreme financial stinginess for himself and others
Constant collecting + hoarding of random items
Obsessive Pill Counting to ensure none went missing
Severe anxiety around food, fearing it could go to waste
Anja's Burned Journal - "Murder"
For some time, Vladek and Anja were separated during the war, as Vladek was sent to Auschwitz and Anja was sent to Birkenau. Therefore, Vladek didn't know the extent of Anja's personal experiences during this separation. Artie wants to read his mother's diaries to further understand her own experiences, but soon learns that Vladek burned the diaries shortly after Anja's death, as he couldn't stand reading many of their shared memories with her gone. Artie snapped and called his father a "murderer" for doing so, claiming his father's actions killed his mother for a second time. Artie claimed his father burning them not only destroyed a piece of her, but also a valuable relic of history to be documented. This is important, because we often rely on survivor accounts to document and preserve information on important events in history. Burning these journals not only took a part of his mother away from him, but also rid Artie's chance of understanding her own perspective during the war.
Why is Maus relevant today?
An important part of the story is that even though Artie himself didn't experience what his parents did, the lasting traumas have been passed down to him in different ways. Not only does Artie have a hard time connecting with his father due to his trauma, but he also suffers from depression from guilt that he wasn't with his family during their suffering. It is common for us to think about the Holocaust in terms of who survived and who didn't. However, through this story, we not only get historical accounts from a survivor but also what surviving meant for him and his family. We shouldn't think of survivors as just simply "surviving" because, as in Vladek's case, the atrocities experienced changed those lucky enough to survive and their loved ones forever. This is similar to how we interpret historical events such as World War II as a whole today. While the people in this class will never fully be able to comprehend the atrocities that occurred on and off the battlefield, the impact of the past is evident on the present today, through standing institutions such as the United Nations, European Union, and NATO, along with the historical accounts we have gained from survivors.
My point?
The consequences of the Holocaust and World War II have not only had a lasting impact on the international system as a whole, but also on individuals and families who directly or indirectly suffered. This is a prime example of how the past can haunt the present.
Natzweiler-Struthof Camp
During my study abroad trip, students toured the Natweiler-Struthof Concentration Camp, the only main Nazi concentration camp built in French territory. This camp held prisoners, many from resistance movements across Nazi-occupied territory.
When first entering the gates, there is a museum where you can enter and watch a video about the history of the camp. Throughout our tour, there was this heavy feeling not just among our group but among the other visitors present. Aside from our tour guide, the site was silent as we imagined what the site looked like when it was active. Toward the end of the tour, one of the only remaining buildings preserved was where the Nazi's conducted unethical medical experiments and cremations of the prisoners.
Conclusions
Human catastrophes, such as what was experienced during the Holocaust, continue to influence the world around us today. The traumas that result are fluid, as they continue to affect many people and groups across time.
Through my study abroad experience, touring a preserved Holocaust site opened my eyes to help contextualize things I have learned in the classroom. Additionally, observing several of the international institutions created post-war to prevent another similar catastrophe aided in my political science studies, showing how important international cooperation is to aim for peace.
While we will never fully comprehend these atrocities ourselves, we can learn from, reflect, and preserve the insights from those who did.
I hope other students who have the opportunity to study abroad can experience a variety of unique opportunities that come with it, including the ability to understand history from different cultural perspectives.
Human Catastrophe - Lasting Traumas
Madison Shreve
Created on March 29, 2026
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Transcript
The Lasting Impacts of Human Catastrophe
Using Art Spiegelman's "Maus" to compare personal observations abroad, and to better understand lasting traumas of World War II that affect the present
Maus - Brief Overview
Maus by Art Spiegelman follows Artie, a Polish-American cartoonist and the son of Holocaust survivors: his father, Vladek, and his mother, Anja. (Artie is the author and narrator) Throughout the story, Artie interviews his father to create a graphic novel about his experiences during WWII. We learn Artie has been estranged from his father, and his mother, Anja, committed suicide about 10 years before the book starts (1968). Feeling guilty of not knowing what his parents went through, Artie is desperately trying to learn, while it seems Vladek has been trying to forget. Besides his parents, most of Artie's family, who were taken by the Nazi's during the war, did not survive, so his goal in creating his graphic novel is to understand better and preserve his father's experiences, to ensure the stories of Holocaust survivors aren't forgotten.
My Experience Studying Abroad
During the summer of 2025, I had the opportunity to participate in the Comparative Law and Politics study abroad trip, stationed in Strasbourg, France. Ran by the political science department, students combined in-class learning with visits to several legal and political institutions across France, Germany, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
Through this graphic novel...
We get two sides of the story, not just how the Holocaust affected survivors firsthand, through Vladek, but also how the trauma is passed down, seen through Artie. At first, Vladek was hesitant to tell his story for Artie to publish, because he didn't think anyone would be interested. The story is jumpy, but that's because we are getting both Artie and Vladek's points of view, mixing both past and present. Also, it is worth noting that Artie is the author, so he is creating the story based on Vladek's memories rather than his personal experience. Many times throughout, Artie is left confused trying to understand some of Vladek's stories, but Vladek notes that for many things, you had to be the one experiencing them to understand.
Vladek's Lasting Trauma
The idea of "surviving" the Holocaust is important in Maus because, through Vladek's experiences, we learn that surviving such a catastrophic event has more nuance than simply living through the atrocities. Though Vladek and Anja both survived the camps, the traumas they experienced continued to haunt them. This is evident not only in Anja's suicide years after the war ended, but also through some of Vladek's behaviors that represent survival mechanisms/habits.
Extreme financial stinginess for himself and others
Constant collecting + hoarding of random items
Obsessive Pill Counting to ensure none went missing
Severe anxiety around food, fearing it could go to waste
Anja's Burned Journal - "Murder"
For some time, Vladek and Anja were separated during the war, as Vladek was sent to Auschwitz and Anja was sent to Birkenau. Therefore, Vladek didn't know the extent of Anja's personal experiences during this separation. Artie wants to read his mother's diaries to further understand her own experiences, but soon learns that Vladek burned the diaries shortly after Anja's death, as he couldn't stand reading many of their shared memories with her gone. Artie snapped and called his father a "murderer" for doing so, claiming his father's actions killed his mother for a second time. Artie claimed his father burning them not only destroyed a piece of her, but also a valuable relic of history to be documented. This is important, because we often rely on survivor accounts to document and preserve information on important events in history. Burning these journals not only took a part of his mother away from him, but also rid Artie's chance of understanding her own perspective during the war.
Why is Maus relevant today?
An important part of the story is that even though Artie himself didn't experience what his parents did, the lasting traumas have been passed down to him in different ways. Not only does Artie have a hard time connecting with his father due to his trauma, but he also suffers from depression from guilt that he wasn't with his family during their suffering. It is common for us to think about the Holocaust in terms of who survived and who didn't. However, through this story, we not only get historical accounts from a survivor but also what surviving meant for him and his family. We shouldn't think of survivors as just simply "surviving" because, as in Vladek's case, the atrocities experienced changed those lucky enough to survive and their loved ones forever. This is similar to how we interpret historical events such as World War II as a whole today. While the people in this class will never fully be able to comprehend the atrocities that occurred on and off the battlefield, the impact of the past is evident on the present today, through standing institutions such as the United Nations, European Union, and NATO, along with the historical accounts we have gained from survivors.
My point?
The consequences of the Holocaust and World War II have not only had a lasting impact on the international system as a whole, but also on individuals and families who directly or indirectly suffered. This is a prime example of how the past can haunt the present.
Natzweiler-Struthof Camp
During my study abroad trip, students toured the Natweiler-Struthof Concentration Camp, the only main Nazi concentration camp built in French territory. This camp held prisoners, many from resistance movements across Nazi-occupied territory.
When first entering the gates, there is a museum where you can enter and watch a video about the history of the camp. Throughout our tour, there was this heavy feeling not just among our group but among the other visitors present. Aside from our tour guide, the site was silent as we imagined what the site looked like when it was active. Toward the end of the tour, one of the only remaining buildings preserved was where the Nazi's conducted unethical medical experiments and cremations of the prisoners.
Conclusions
Human catastrophes, such as what was experienced during the Holocaust, continue to influence the world around us today. The traumas that result are fluid, as they continue to affect many people and groups across time.
Through my study abroad experience, touring a preserved Holocaust site opened my eyes to help contextualize things I have learned in the classroom. Additionally, observing several of the international institutions created post-war to prevent another similar catastrophe aided in my political science studies, showing how important international cooperation is to aim for peace.
While we will never fully comprehend these atrocities ourselves, we can learn from, reflect, and preserve the insights from those who did.
I hope other students who have the opportunity to study abroad can experience a variety of unique opportunities that come with it, including the ability to understand history from different cultural perspectives.