Welcome back. Here we are after reading the hardest part of his narrative. There's not much I can say that Vladek can't say better, so let's start.

Part 2: And Here My Troubles Began

Chapter 1: Mauschwitz*

The quote is from a German newspaper about how Mickey Mouse is vermin. He dedicates this part (which was a separate book published in 1991) to his brother Richieu and his two children.

While on vacation in Vermont, Art puzzles over how to draw his wife. A bunny, a frog, or a poodle? Françoise converted for him, so she's a mouse of course. They receive the news that his father had a heart attack. When Art called him, he found out that Vladek had lied to get his attention. Mala had left him and took some of his money.

On the way to see his dad, he tells his wife that if he could save one of his parents from Auschwitz, it would have been his mother. He said the portrait of his brother was of an ideal child, and he couldn't compete. As a child, he would have nightmares about the Nazis and the camps. Art has his doubts about conveying his father's story in comic strip form.

His father is staying in a bungalow in the Catskills and expects them to stay with him all summer. Vladek claimed that Mala became angry when he renewed some bonds at the bank then left for Florida. Vladek is miserly with the matches. His neighbors the Karps are survivors and don't act like him. Art and his dad argue over his accounts. Françoise will look them over while they go for a walk.

When they first got to the camps, he and Anja were separated. The men were stripped of their clothes and their heads shaved. Given a water shower and thrown uniforms and wooden shoes. Registered and dehumanized with a tattooed number on their arm. Chimneys spewed a terrible smell. His friend Mandelbaum was with him. Mandelbaum's nephew told them that the Gestapo made him write the letter that he was safe. The smugglers ended up in Auschwitz, too.

A priest in his barrack told him the numbers on his arm were good omens in Hebrew letters (each Hebrew letter has a number too). Mandelbaum had a hard time with pants that were too big, one shoe that fit, and his spoon stolen. The Kapo was Polish and shouted orders at them. One day, there was need of someone who knew English and Polish. Vladek raised his hand and spoke both languages. He was told to stand to the left the next day. The Kapo took him to a room with food and told him to eat. Then Vladek taught him English. The Kapo let him exchange his uniform for a better fitting one and leather shoes. The Kapo got mad when he asked for a belt, shoes, and a spoon, but let him take them. The next day, Mandelbaum was selected for a work crew, and died soon after. Vladek was safe for two months.

When Art asks about Anja, he changes the subject. They sneak onto the hotel grounds to sit on the patio. He had played bingo there and won before. Since he didn't have a room, he gave the winning card to another guest.

Chapter 2: Auschwitz: Time Flies

Vladek died in 1982. In 1986, the first part of Maus was published. It's 1987 in Art's life. Françoise is expecting a baby. He won't option the rights to Maus for a movie. Reporters in dog and cat masks ask him invasive questions. He turns into a child and cries for his mom. He goes to see his therapist Pavel, who is a survivor. His office has stray dogs and cats and a framed photo of his pet cat. The media attention is interfering with his work. He has writer's block. Pavel suggests his father felt guilty for surviving and passed it on to his son. Art asks about what is in a tin shop. Pavel knows because he used to work in a tool and die shop. Their sessions help Art.

In the tin shop, the supervisor is a Russian Jew named Yipl. He berated him for being a capitalist exploiter. Real food can be "arranged" from Polish laborers who were hired to build more barracks and guard quarters. He gave some cheese to Yidl to make peace. The prisoners were fed bitter tea, watery turnip soup, and a slice of bread filled out with sawdust. Vladek always saved some of the bread. Old cheese or jam in the evening. Maybe a small piece of sausage.

They were counted every day and night. One guy saw himself as German first and served in the Great War. His son was in the military. That didn't matter, and a guard killed him soon after. Vladek knew Anja was in Birkenau two miles away. That camp was bigger and more crowded. More people were killed there. A woman named Mancie who supervised other women on building sites found out about Anja for him. Anja wrote a note which was smuggled over. Knowing he was alive gave her hope. The Kapo in Anja's barrack gave her impossible work like carrying the soup buckets. Vladek gave her bread sent through Mancie.

One SS guard was semi decent and talked with Vladek. Then he went to Birkenau and came back looking nauseated. He wasn't talkative anymore. Tin roofers were needed in Birkenau, and Vladek was sent there. Hungarian Jews were sent there to die late in the war (summer 1944). Vladek and Anja are able to meet. Another time after they speak, a guard asks who he was talking to. Then he beat him. Vladek was glad Anja didn't get any punishment.

Vladek went before the infamous Dr Mengele twice for selektion. He passed. One boy failed and was anxious for when he would be taken for death. There wasn't much Vladek could do to comfort him. Vladek found out there was need of a new shoemaker. He knew how to repair boots from watching his cousin Miloch in the ghetto shoe shop. One time he paid a professional shoemaker with bread to fix a rip and learned from him. The guard gave him a whole sausage. More Gestapo wanted his repairs and paid him in food. He gave food to the Kapo, too.

Some new barracks are being built for female munitions workers. Vladek sent a note to her. Anja told her Kapo that Vladek could repair her boots. Anja was spared from soup duty after that. Prisoners were issued three cigarettes a week. He saved them to buy a spot for Anja in the new barracks. Someone stole his stash, so he saved again. It worked, and Anja moved to his side of the camp. Anja was almost caught taking Vladek's food package. A friend helped her hide. The Kapo stood them in a line and demanded the culprit step forward. No one did, and her friends protected her.

Vladek was put on black work, which was hard labor. He was afraid he wouldn't pass the next selection, so he hid in the toilets. Art asks about the timeline. Vladek was there ten months. He was back on tin work after black work. Françoise calls for them to eat lunch. The Germans wanted tinmen to disassemble the machinery of the gas chambers to not leave a trace of their crimes. Vladek was an eyewitness. A crematorium worker told him how it worked. (The worst thing I read in this book tbh.) Hungarian Jews were burned in a mass grave. Some were still alive. Art asked why people didn't fight back. Vladek said they lived on hope that the Russians would arrive to save them. It was too unbelievable as it was happening. They were stunned and starving. If one German was killed, hundreds of prisoners could be killed in retaliation.

Vladek moans in his sleep. Art grew up thinking it was normal.

Extras

Marginalia

The Dreyfus Affair

Catskills

Françoise Mouly

Zyklon B means Cyclone B in English. Hydrogen cyanide pesticide.

Hebrew letters and numbers

Kapo: Lagerkapo. Camp head.

Mengele

Polish laborers in Auschwitz

An ]orchestra in Auschwitz](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_Orchestra_of_Auschwitz) was in the women's camp.

Spiegelman took a tour of Auschwitz in 1987 and was allowed to film parts of the camp to get the drawings right. There really were toilets and not latrines in Auschwitz.

Join me for the conclusion on July 29, for Part 2 chapters 3 to 5.

Questions are in the comments.