MAUS is propagandist memoir says Canadian Polish Congress Part 1

The Problems with Spiegelman’s MAUS:

Why MAUS Should Not Be Taught in High Schools

or Elementary Schools

PART# 1 BACKGROUND

MAUS is a comic book, sometimes referred to as a graphic novel, authored by American cartoonist Art Spiegelman. The core of the book is an extended interview, with digressions, by the author/narrator with his father, a Polish Jew named Vladek, focusing on his experiences as a Holocaust survivor. Although MAUS has been described as both a memoir and fiction, it is widely treated as non-fiction. Time placed it on their list of non-fiction books. 

N.B.  Do not be misled by the classification of "non-fiction". It does not indicate that the publication is based on truth.  MAUS is a reflection of the subjective (or personal) opinion of what Spiegelman thinks is true. As long as the author believes in it emphatically, publishers will classify the work as "non-fiction".

MAUS is considered to be a postmodern book. It is a story about storytelling that weaves several conflicting narratives (historical, psychological and autobiographical). The book employs post-modern techniques such as depicting national groups in the form of different kinds of animals. Jews are drawn as mice, Germans as cats, and (Christian) Poles as pigs.

MAUS has been taught widely in U.S. high schools, and even elementary schools, as part of the literature curriculum for many years . It has recently been introduced in some Canadian high school literature classes as a supplementary resource, principally because the book appears on the literature in translation list prescribed by the International Baccalaureate program. Although taught under the rubric of literature, MAUS has essentially acquired the status of non-fiction. Although MAUS has met with criticism on the part of the Polish community, there is a general lack of recognition as to why the book is objectionable. MAUS raises concerns on many levels, ethical, didactic, and historical, but these concerns are

not explained by educators for the benefit of unwary students who are required to study MAUS. Moreover, students of Polish heritage have reported incidents of inappropriate remarks and taunts directed at them by other students as a direct result of the portrayal of Poles in MAUS. 

NB. Education administrators and teachers should read any of Richard C. Lukas' books, in particular, "The Forgotten Holocaust: The Poles Under German Occupation 1939-1944" 
It would clarify many misconceptions people have about the Polish people.  I strongly urge schools to include this book, and books like it, in their curriculum.  

 

Since MAUS is essentially a historical memoir, most readers would assume that, like

other memoirs, it is literally true. Few readers, especially elementary and high school students, have enough historical knowledge to see through its falsified depiction of Poles.

Although taught in literature courses, MAUS is primarily about the Holocaust, a historical event, which is rightly considered to be an important topic for study. However, the Holocaust is also, in many respects, a very complex and controversial topic – one that often calls for an in-depth knowledge of various factors that could impact one’s understanding of a particular issue under examination. 

NB. For students beginning a study of the Holocaust, I recommend you start with the website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Please click on the following link:
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143 

Therefore, an appreciation of the historical context is critical to a proper understanding of the events portrayed in MAUS. The focus of inquiry cannot solely be the personal story and perspective of Vladek, the mouse protagonist of the book. For the Holocaust to have educational value, the treatment of the historical context must strive for accuracy and objectivity. In particular, it is important to ensure that not only Jews but other groups who suffered under Nazi German oppression are presented in a fair manner. 


NB. Understand that Polish people were also victims of the Holocaust, please click on the link, http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005473

Also recommended is an article written by Terese Pencak Schwartz, entitled "Five Million Forgotten"  http://remember.org/forgotten/

The Jews in MAUS are, with few exceptions such as the Jewish council and Jewish

police, who assisted the Germans in the operation and liquidation of the ghetto in

Sosnowiec, portrayed in a favorable and sympathetic light. As the primary victims of the Holocaust, this is appropriate. Apart from the cats (Germans), who understandably appear only in the role of Nazis in the context of wartime occupied Poland, the pigs are the most prominent characters and have the most interaction with the mice (Jews). 

NB.  Polish-Jewish relations during WW2 is a very difficult subject to discuss as it opens old wounds of survivors who continue to suffer resentments towards one another.  Their stories cannot be explained in a simple format, much less with a cartoon.  Many articles on the web seem to support one side while condemning the other.  It does not bring us closer to understanding the past nor each other.  I would like to invite you to read my article on the subject, uploaded in 2007. While it is not a comprehensive in-depth study, it does provide an overview of the subject.    Please click on this link
http://www.polishgreatness.com/polishjewishrelations.html

Unfortunately, as will be explained, the portrayal of the pig people is seriously flawed in several important respects. MAUS clearly cannot be treated as an accurate historical record, although it is passed of as such. The perspective of the protagonist is too narrow and flawed. The voice of the author and narrator, rather than exposing the protagonist’s biases and misrepresentations of the historical record, reinforces them. MAUS does not teach students about the complexities of the Holocaust but rather oversimplifies such complexities. The reality is that the students’ level of understanding of these issues is generally rather poor or almost non-existent. In addition, neither they nor the teachers possess the necessary tools to properly assess the flaws of this book.

In a nutshell, the case against MAUS is that, despite its veneer of sophistication, the book is a rather primitive expression of the author’s prejudices in choosing to portray the Poles as a nation of swine. Furthermore, its portrayal of Poles contains serious misrepresentations regarding their alleged role in the Holocaust. This is contemptible, and unacceptable by Canadian standards. The notion that teachers can and will expose the biases and misrepresentations regarding Poles found in this book is unlikely in the extreme.

School children of Polish background who are subjected to this book justifiably feel that their identity or cultural heritage has been diminished by the perspectives described in this book and are, understandably, humiliated by this experience. They are at a loss as to how to respond. Unfortunately, educators have not demonstrated sensitivity to such matters and have ignored the potential for cruel jokes and gibes

NEXT 

 Part #2   

Why is portraying Poles as pigs objectionable

 from an ethical perspective?

Please click on above link

MAUS is propagandist memoir says Canadian Polish Congress (Introduction by Polish Greatness.com)

When cartoons are being used to teach students about the Holocaust, it should set off alarm bells in our minds, that the quality of our educational system has plummeted to an epic low. The Holocaust was a tragic and catastrophic event and its history should not be presented in such a trivial form as in Art Spiegelman's publication of "Maus".  The use of cartoon drawings to depict the Holocaust is grossly inappropriate and disrespectful to the memory of the victims and survivors.

Art Spiegelman is a cartoonist by profession and not an historian nor scholar.  He wrote, or rather,  illustrated 160 pages of graphic drawings in an effort to simplify the meaning of the Holocaust.  However, by his own admission he cannot grasp the enormity of the events surrounding the Holocaust and realizes that he knows only a fraction of what his father experienced during the war.

"What my father articulated is less than what he went through. And, because I am an American kid who grew up with Howdy Doody and Mad magazine, what I can understand is less than what he articulated. What I can articulate is less than what I understand. And what readers understand is less than what I can articulate."
quote by Art Spiegelman

Art Spiegelman is unqualified to teach anything about the Holocaust. At least he is honest enough to admit that his knowledge is insufficient.  But what is particularly disturbing is that "Maus" is held in such high esteem among school administrators and teachers. They blindly accept  "Maus" as part of the school curriculum, despite Spiegelman's candid admission that the book is fragmented and incomplete - the result is that the reader knows even less than Spiegelman.  It is a case of the blind, leading the blind, leading the blind.
 

panel from Maus (blatant propaganda)

The reason that "Maus" has been so popular` is that its simple format appeals to the lowest common denominator.  Joseph Goebbel, a master of Nazi propaganda during WW2, understood this concept very well.  In Mein Kampf, Hitler expounded on the techniques, all of which are still being used today by politicians and corporations to great success.  For example, he wrote that  "propaganda must always address itself to the broad masses of people....all propaganda must be presented in popular form {one example, are comic books} and must fix its intellectual level so as not to be above the head of the least intellectual of those to whom it is directed....the art of propaganda consists precisely in being able to awaken the imagination of the public through an appeal to their feelings..." Art Spiegelman would concur.

Furthermore, propaganda ignores the truth, or rather takes some aspects of it and twists it into a web of lies.  Consequently, students with the most malleable minds accept propaganda as if it were the gospel truth, and then unjustly vent their outrage against the targeted group.  This is already occurring in schools across Canada and the United States. As a direct result of the teaching of "Maus" in the classrooms, Polish students are being mocked, bullied and insulted by their classmates and accused of "killing Jews".  This is racism and slander, and it must not be tolerated.  For the sake of argument, suppose the situation were reversed where "Mein Kampf" would be taught in classrooms in which there were Jewish students. Undoubtedly there would be a howl of outrage and swift legal retribution.

Thankfully, Mein Kampf has been banned by numerous governments throughout the world, and rightly so. It is a dangerous and provocative book in the hands of the dull-minded and undereducated.  But Spiegelman's "Maus" is also a dangerous and provocative book in the hands of the dull-minded and undereducated.

Throughout the pages of "Maus" are drawings depicting Polish Christians as pigs and Nazi collaborators.  This is a racist slur which is based on Nazi WW2 propaganda.

I must admit that I have not read "Maus" from cover to cover and to be quite honest I do not intend to do so. It is sufficient to have viewed a few of his drawings.  "Maus" is not an historical or political narrative though some critics have described it as such.   Apparently, most people would rather read a comic book than a real history book.  The popularity of Maus can be attributed to its simplicity.  But history is far from simple. History demands that we study the past objectively and analytically, without melodrama, emotion, or little cartoon characters.

An interesting comment about  "Maus" was made by Marianne Hirsch, Professor of English and Comparative Literature (Columbia University).  She said that the publication, like others of its ilk, is an example of "postmemory".  That is, Art Spiegelman narrated  "memories that are not his own" but he writes about them as if they were. This is a condition most prevalent among children of Holocaust survivors. Born years after the war, these children grow up in such an intense family environment, that their parents' memories become their own (replete with errors, inconsistencies, and, as demonstrated in Maus, virulent propaganda).

In this special series I am posting (in four parts) the entirety of an article written by the Canadian Polish Congress (CPC), entitled, "The Problems With Spiegelman's MAUS: Why MAUS should not be taught in High Schools or Elementary Schools".   It is a very well written article in which the CPC presented objective arguments arguing against the use of Spiegelmans book in school curriculum.  CPC provided numerous examples, taken from the pages of  "Maus",  identifying racist propaganda being used against Polish Christians.  Moreover, the CPC is calling upon us all to contact our local school boards, administrators and teachers to demand the removal of "Maus" from school curriculum.  

If "Maus" is on your child's school curriculum, I strongly urge you to contact your school board and demand the removal of this book.  Whether you are Polish or not, it is everyone's responsibility to guard against the insidious infiltration of racist propaganda in our schools.

In each of the four parts of this series, you will notice occasional inserts prefixed by "NB" in the color purple, and typed in italics. These are my own comments, in addition to suggested links for your information.

NEXT

"The Problems with Spiegelman's MAUS:
Why MAUS should not be taught in High Schools or Elementary Schools"
Part #1 BACKGROUND

Please click on the link above