Holocaust Blog 2

Sarah Cook

 

Maus by Art Spiegelman

Page: 32-33

 

Propaganda was used a lot during World War 2 to support Nazism and the war efforts. By using propaganda it was a way the Nazis could gain support. They used posters, cartoons, books and music to represent Nazism. They tended to target the children because Hitler believed that children were the future of Nazi Germany. The Poisonous Mushroom was a story book created during World War 2. The story targeted Jewish people as being horrible and bad people. This put ideas and thoughts into young children’s minds that the Jews were bad people and you should not respect them or appreciate them. In Maus on page 149 when Vladek was walking through town the young children started screaming “Help! Mommy! A Jew!!” (Spiegelman,149). This clearly demonstrates how kids thought Jews were terrible people. These young kids were terrified and thought Vladek was going to in danger them in some way. The kids did not stop yelling until Vladek said “Heil Hitler” (Spiegleman, 149). Once he said this the children weren’t afraid anymore and the mother even apologized for her children’s actions. She states “you know how children are” (Spiegleman, 149). Again you can clearly see how brain washed children were. They were taught only to believe what the Nazis said was true, and they were unable to learn anything that the Nazis didn’t approve of. Children learned the meaning of the swastika and what it stood for. The swastika was used on many propaganda posters and comics. On pages 32 and 33 in Maus, it was the beginning of 1938 and Vladek was on the train. Vladek looks out the train window only to see for the first time a swastika. Many people during the early years of the War did not know how bad it truly was or was going to be. On panel 3 on page 33 you see a Jew holding a sign that says “I’m a filthy Jew” (Spieglemen, 33). This panel portrays just the beginning of what was in store for the Jews.