Man’s Destruction Has No Boundaries Created by Alan Mellovitz

Introduction Never before in the history of the western world has a civilized nation, which Germany was assumed to be, conceived, and carried out such blatant and atrocious acts of genocide and mass murder. The lessons of World War II affects the United States even more than fifty years later as one reflects on the Nazis’ acts and the lack of response and reaction from the rest of the world as the news of Nazi atrocities was revealed. Man’s cruelty to others degrades all of civilization. War, with its mass murder, bombing, and killing makes man less humane and less rational. The Nazis used intimidation and threats of death to keep people in line. Nazis were like cats hunting their prey, without rational thought, they saw their prey, captured it, and killed it. Unlike animals, however, they tortured their prey before they killed. Humans are believed to use their brains or use rational thoughts; however, the Nazis acting in animal-like ways, debased humankind, and followed their leader, Hitler, blindly. The greatest and most fearful lesson one learns from World War II is that this war destroyed the boundaries of man’s humanity and the enduring legacy is man’s inhumanity to humans knows no limitations.

(Spiegelman 1:83)(Spiegelman 2:95) The Atomic BombThe Holocaust Ending Statement

Spiegelman used cats and mice not only to show the Nazis power over the Jews, but as a symbol to show how inhumane the acts of the Nazis were. This picture shows the cat whiskers of the soldier and his total disregard as the human is hanging by his neck for a week. An animal would never hold his prey up to be ridiculed. Once acts such as these were done, it allowed unthinkable acts to become part of the mainstream of Nazi civilization. Menu

This cartoon shows extremely inhumane conditions. Every night the mice stepped over dead bodies to reach the bathroom. The feelings and emotions of the true Holocaust victims eventually had to be turned off in order to survive. Emotions and feelings are part of the human experience, thus the victims became less human. Even Vladek was preparing for an inhumane death, “Now its my time. Now I will be laying like this ones and somebody will step on me!” (Spiegelman 1:95) His emotions and feelings are being destroyed as he realizes his fate. Menu

Auschwitz, labeled as work camps, became know as death camps. People were worked to death, or gassed to death and then burned in ovens to quickly get rid of the bodies. This was the Nazi’s answer to the “Jewish Problem.” This was no humane action, but an act of wickedness. Menu

Mass destruction killed thousands of Japanese by burning them using an Atomic Bomb. Once horrible mass destruction started during World War II, like the Holocaust, the boundary of comprise was broken and the bomb was dropped. The dropping of the bomb showed the atrocious destruction Humanity was capable of. Menu

The Ending Statement