Comic book depiction of Holocaust upsets Jews

[emad]

June 21, 2005

From Roger Boyes in Berlin



JEWISH leaders in Germany are deeply upset by attempts to use comic strips to depict the horrors of Auschwitz.

Two new comic books confront young Germans with the most graphic accounts ever of their country’s Nazi past. “You think it’s just going to be another story,” said Andreas Munch, 11, “and then, pow!” German officers are shown screaming at prisoners as they pile up corpses retrieved from the gas chambers. “All this has to be converted into cinders and ashes by the evening!” says the speech bubble in the story Auschwitz by the French artist Pascal Croci.

A second comic book, Yossel, by the American artist Joe Kubert, shows a boy being electrocuted as he tries to escape beneath the wires of a concentration camp fence. No concession is made to the sensibilities of the young readers; the dead bodies are portrayed as graphically as if they were the fictional victims of Batman or some other superhero.

The cartoon versions of the Holocaust, published this week, are intended to introduce younger Germans to the tragic fate of Jews. The Holocaust is taught at all German schools and visits to a concentration camp are compulsory for older children, but pupils complain that the subject is too drily and too cautiously presented.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1662391,00.html

[Kraklen]

1. I wonder what they think about Art Spiegelman.

:shrug:

[sakabatou]

3. Yeah, Maus really captures it

[lenidog]

6. They had a problem with him too

When "Maus" first came out. Me I think every possible form of media should be used to tell about the horrors of Nazi Germany to reach as many people as possible. AS long as it is doen with a certain respect then there should have no problem what so ever. Besides comics are not what they used to be. Hell even one of the greatest intellectual elitists of all time Umberto Ecco has written a comic.

[Kraklen]

9. The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loanna?

Not really a comic book.

Anyway, if they're not going to show respect for Maus, fuck 'em.

[lenidog]

10. I haven't read it

I have just heard about it and the article described it as a graphic novel. So I went with what I know.

[Kraklen]

11. Yeah, I'm looking forward to reading it.

I'll have to finish Baudolino first.

It's hardly a graphic novel. It has maybe one small illustration of Dick Tracy or Flash Gordon every dozen pages or so.

[Ian David]

12. I was just thinking the same thing. And also Chicken Run.

Art Spiegelman's MAUS: A Different Type of Holocaust Literature

The Jewish Holocaust, as is the case with events in which the human spirit has been engaged in a fight for survival, produced great works of literature. Elie Wiesel's Night and Primo Levi's Survival in Auschwitz are perhaps the best known examples of this literary tradition. Art Spiegelman's MAUS, published in the 1980s, represents a new kind of literary oeuvre inspired and/or based on the Holocaust. Written by a second generation Holocaust survivor, MAUS fuses the story of the terrible historical occurrence with a Jewish American's struggle to forge his own understanding of the brutal extermination of his people by the Nazi regime in the Second World War.

This electronic essay will cover three topics found in the novel: the methods in which second (and third) generations of Holocaust survivors struggle to come to terms with the events of the Holocaust, the unusual form of the book, and the brutal nature of humanity, ever-threatening to obliterate the human race. Links to the different sections can be accessed below.

* Techniques of Remembering the Holocaust by Second Generation Jews
* The Unusual Structure of MAUS
* The Holocaust as a Demonstration of Man's Brutal Nature
* Conclusion
* A Step Further

More:
http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/bassr/218/projects/oliver/MausbyAO.htm



Also:

Chicken Run Movie Review
Movie Review by Anthony Leong © Copyright 2000

<snip>

As such, the tone of "Chicken Run" becomes weighty at times, as the pathos fully conveys the sense of impending dread facing the hens-- enough to possibly convince some moviegoers to become vegans. One key scene has one non-productive chicken being taken to the slaughterhouse, and instead of a daring last-minute escape or stroke of good luck, the axe comes down and there is no mistake about what has just happened-- the effect on the remaining chickens is just as devastating. Those familiar with critically-acclaimed Art Spiegelman's graphic novel "Maus: A Survivor's Tale" (which recontextualizes the Holocaust into a literal cat-and-mouse game) will probably have a sense of déja vu when watching "Chicken Run".

However, proceedings are not entirely grim. In addition to some snappy dialogue that incorporates a number of chicken jokes and references (they even unsuccessfully tried to work in a 'chicken crossed the road' gag into the script), the farm is populated by some terrific stock characters. There's Fowler (Benjamin Withrow of "The Saint"), the only other rooster on the farm, an old coot who believes in discipline and can't stop babbling on about his days in the Royal Air Force. Then there's Mac, the brainy Scottish hen (glasses and all), who helps Ginger engineer and work out the bugs of the elaborate escape plans, as well as Nick and Fetcher, a couple of shrewd rats who offer a 'black market' for the internees. Finally, there's Babs (Jane Horrocks), who may not be the smartest chicken in the hen house, but at least she has her heart in the right place.

While "Chicken Run" may not boast the most amazing special effects (though a number of complex scenes involving hundreds of characters and complex action are impressive), it certainly makes up for it in the storytelling. Despite its claymation trappings, which would probably cause a number of moviegoers to immediately dismiss it as kid's fare, there's a lot of heart and humanity in the story, and like "Babe", it works on two levels. While adult audiences will probably find much of the material both familiar and emotionally sincere, kids will enjoy it simply for the action and the humor. Run, don't walk to see this film!

More:
http://www.mediacircus.net/chickenrun.html

[Kraklen]

13. Thought Chicken Run...

was much more of a "The Great Escape."

There's a big difference between, say, "Stalag 17" and "Sophie's Choice." Even though they both involve German prison camps.

[Ian David]

17. True, it was more like The Great Escape or Von Ryan's Express

But it also dealt with the dealing of death (in this case, to make chicken pies) on an industrial scale (as was done during The Holocaust).

The chickens were going to be "sent to the ovens" and cooked into pies.

[Kelvin Mace]

2. Huh?

Have they ever read Maus?



Also, I have a problem with this passage:

A second comic book, Yossel, by the American artist Joe Kubert, shows a boy being electrocuted as he tries to escape beneath the wires of a concentration camp fence. No concession is made to the sensibilities of the young readers; the dead bodies are portrayed as graphically as if they were the fictional victims of Batman or some other superhero.

"Victims of Batman or some other superhero/ Which superheros electrocute, shoot, hang and gas their "victims"?

[Kraklen]

5. That reads too me...

like it's an attack on the art form of comic books themselves. Maybe they should have some kind of show to demonstrate these degenerate comic books.

[lenidog]

8. None that I recall except for the Shadow and Punisher and they only shot

the criminals.

[Kelvin Mace]

16. I wouldn't call them "superheros"

I would call them "vigilantes".

[lenidog]

18. But then again so is Batman

But of course the Punisher is over the top with the Shadow filling the middle of the spectrum with Batman on the other end.

[seemunkee]

4. They have used Maus at my kids high school for several years

This is probably a case of older people not understanding the state of comics/graphic novels today.

[bicentennial_baby]

7. Joe Kubert does good work

I think he did Fax From Sarajevo too...

[Ian David]

15. Yes, he did. Here's some links

Yossel: April 14, 1943
by Joe Kubert



http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=62-1416507906-0


Fax from Sarajevo
by Joe Kubert
http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=2-1569711437-3



Auschwitz
by Pascal Croci

Publisher Comments:
In this gripping graphic novel, artist Pascal Croci tells the horrifying story of the World War II concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Using the fictional story of a couple-Kazik and Cessia-who lose a daughter at the camp and barely survive themselves, Croci depicts the horror and brutality of the Holocaust in grim, searing, black-and-white illustrations. Based on extensive interviews Croci conducted with concentration-camp survivors, this book tells its story with the immediacy and disturbing reality of actual historical events.

Synopsis:
In this gripping graphic novel, artist Pascal Croci tells the horrifying story of the World War II concentration camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Based on extensive interviews with concentration camp survivors, the fictional story of a couple who lose a daughter at the camp and barely survive themselves is told with the immediacy and reality of actual historical events.



http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=2-0810948311-1

[drbtg1]

14. I found Yossel to be more powerful than Maus

While Maus took a break in it's narrative to explore the father-son relationship, Yossel was non-stop and just smacks you upside the head at the end. Logically, you knew the ending, but you're still not ready for it. It'll be a while before I can pick up that book again.

Make sure to read the dust jacket intros so that you know the mindset of Mr. Kubert when he made this. It's important.

[Vladimir]

19. I don't think any subject is too serious for comic book

form - some of the most powerful anti-racist and anti-colonial art I have seen has been in this form. I think often its a case of people having their own preconceptions about the triviality of the genre, maybe coupled with snobbery at times.