The Historical Graphic Novel

Art Spiegelman1 Born in Stockholm in 1948 but grew up in New York His brother died as a child, and his mother committed suicide; he has a history of mental illness Worked for Topps Gum Co. for twenty years, creating novelty cards, stickers and candy Began doing underground comix in 1966

Comix Definition2: the word “comix” originates from the underground and alternative comic book world (1960s San Francisco). They were created as the counterpart to the Marvel or DC comics that were light hearted and action packed. Comix contain adult themes, political viewpoints, diary motifs, and psychedelic mindsets. The X was added to differentiate these types of books from other comic books This "X" was also used to show that it often had X-rated material.

In the late 1970s Spiegelman started doing drawings and comics for the NY Times, Village Voice and Playboy He instructed at the School of Visual Arts, NY 1979 – co-founded RAW magazine with his wife, where Maus was first introduced as a serial The first half of Maus was published in 1986 and the second was published in 1991 He has won several awards for his work, most significantly the Pullitzer Prize for Maus in 1992 Maus has been published in 20 different languages

Maus: A Survivor’s Tale Part 1: My Father Bleeds History This story focuses on two different plotlines: Vladek’s experience as a Jew in WWII Poland Art’s difficult relationship with his father Hence, this story covers several genres: creative non-fiction, historical fiction, autobiographical and biographical writing, and of course, the graphic novel.

Brief History of WWII World War II began in September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland as a result of what Germans saw as the unfair treatment they received when the Treaty of Versailles was created in WWI Britain, France, Canada were some of the biggest players in this war and famous events such as D-Day occurred during this time It was during this time that millions of Jews were subject to concentration and extermination camps (the Holocaust)

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/resource/wwii.htm

Hitler, Nazis and the Holocaust3 The Nazi philosophy was based on the idea that Germans (in particular the Aryan race) were superior to other human beings (in particular the Jews) Germany was going through much economic turmoil in the 1930s and they blamed the “rich and lazy” Jews for their suffering; they thought the Treaty of Versailles was a Jewish conspiracy This was also known as anti-Semitism

How were the Jewish People Persecuted? 1933 – Germans were no longer allowed to shop in Jewish stores 1934 – all Jewish shops had to write the word “Juden” or show the yellow star of David in their windows

1935 Nuremburg Laws Jews were no longer German citizens and could not marry a non-Jew Some Jewish people paid a fee to leave the country; many shops refused to sell food or medicine to Jews Much violence ensued

Kristallnacht Video Clip http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/second_world_war/clips/16030/

Kristallnacht – The Night of the Broken Glass November 1938 – a Jewish man shoots a Nazi diplomat in Paris In response, Hitler ordered 7 days of treachery against the Jews 10,000 shops were destroyed and looted Homes and synagogues were set on fire and destroyed The Jews were forced to pay for the damages and clean up after the terror 30,000 were sent to concentration camps at this time This was the beginning of the Holocaust

Auschwitz Radio Clip http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/second_world_war/clips/10642/

Resources/Links 1. http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Spiegelman.html 2. http://comicbooks.about.com/od/glossary/g/comix.htm 3. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/Jews_Nazi_Germany.htm