Hatfield explores in his chapter "Irony and Self-Reflexivity in Autobiographical Comics" how effective Spiegelman is at pointing out the problems with memory. The best representation of this is shaped by the metaphor of Anja's papers. We learn at the end of the first book that Vladek destroyed all of her pictures and diaries when he was having a particularly difficult day. "Did you ever READ any of them?... Can you remember what she wrote?" asks Art. "No, I looked in, but I don't remember... only I know that she said, 'I wish my son, when he grows up, he will be interested by this.'" Vladek replies, his honesty about Anja's wishes and his actions doing nothing to assuage Art's rage--"God DAMN you! You-you murderer! How the hell could you do such a thing!!" (159.3-4).
The silence created by the absence of these papers causes Art clear distress. This feeling remains an undercurrent to the text as Vladek's health worsens and Art fights to get the rest of his story recorded. We can see simultaneously the desperation to capture memory--and with it, the stories of our loved ones--and the realization that it is ultimately impossible. Vladek seems to have accepted this, and in turn dismissed Anja's papers (and with them, their metaphorical value). He attempts to put Art's mind at ease in one scene, saying "But, before I forget-I put here a box what you'll be happy to see. I thought I lost it, but you see how I saved!" Art, the bold-faced text in his speech bubble showing his excitement, replies, "Mom's diaries?!" "No, no!" Vladek says. "On those it's no more to speak. Those it's gone, finished!" (113.5-7). Vladek is willing to share his own story with Art despite some misgivings, but now that Anja is gone, he seems to be saying, her memories are too.
Even his own memories are qualified, not only through Art's continual self-examination, but in several scenes where they go against "documented" stories. "You heard about the gas. But I'm telling not rumors, but only what really I saw" (69.8), he tells Art at one point. At another, when Art asks him about the orchestras at the gate of Auschwitz, Vladek replies, "No, I remember only marching, not any orchestras..." "It's very well documented," Art says, almost defensively. "No. At the gate I heard only guards shouting" (54.3-4). It is scenes like these and images such as the destroyed diaries that make "Maus" such an excellent representation of nonfiction comics, and that capture so vividly the bittersweet and temporary nature of memory.
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"As survivors are increasingly dying out it is much easier to hijack history for whatever cause or purpose."
I found your idea that the absence of the papers was a sort of impenetrable silence throughout. I agree. This lead me to think back to our first class on Maus and why this story is important. The ugly reality of it is that many of the survivors of the Holocaust and WWII in general are dying. We have to ask ourselves when the last person is gone who will tell these stories? Although "Maus" may have its failings (in some people's eyes) it is ultimately an important story. It is a story that has lived on long after Vladek's death, and will continue to do so. So if Spiegelman did not share this with us it would have been lost in that impenetrable silence like Anja's diaries.
I found a really interesting article on this and thought I would share it with the class:
"The Fight Against Holocaust Denial" by Raffi Berg.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4436275.stm
quote taken from article
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