In a world where obsessive power, manipulation, hatred and the desire to annihilate a single population reign, no one survives unscathed. The Holocaust was a horrific event led by Adolf Hitler that resulted in the persecution, torment, and suffering of millions of Jews across Europe. Vladek Spiegelman survived the merciless torture of the largest concentration camp during World War II in Auschwitz. His son, Art Spiegelman, tells two stories at once in his book Maus: one of his father's experiences during the Holocaust and another of his current adversities with his father. Spiegelman's book is different from many in this genre. Written as a graphic novel, Maus allows readers to visualize Spiegelman's feelings while giving new meaning to the famous maxim "a picture is worth a thousand words." Spiegelman isn't just writing another historical account of the Holocaust. Instead, he writes about his father's experience during the Holocaust as an attempt to not only portray the life of a Jew during that time, but to better understand the relationship he has with his father. By writing two separate stories within one, Spiegelman is able to depict the lives of his father and other Jews during the Holocaust. Spiegelman struggles to provide an accurate depiction of life during the Holocaust because he never experienced it himself. He is able to give a more honest approach to the horrific story by replacing humans with animals. The facts of the Holocaust may be easier to accept if there is no human face attached to the terror. It portrays Jews as mice and Nazis as cats. The relationship between cats and mice is known as constant chasing and hunting, which symbolizes the relationship between Jews and... middle of paper... survivors often felt indebted to their parents and sought ways to honor those who are survivors and remember those who died. Children of survivors will forever be unable to understand the full extent of what their parents went through. While talking to his father about a stolen box, Spiegelman has a revelation. «Did you leave the box in the shack? How could he not be caught?" "I hadn't thought of that..." "But they were all starving! Sigh, I guess I just don't understand" "Yes... about Auschwitz, no one can understand."' (Spiegelman, 224). It's hard , perhaps even impossible, to fully understand the scope of the Holocaust and its impact not only on one generation, but on multiple subsequent generations. Questions will always remain. art. The complete Maus. New York: Pantheon, 1997. Print.