Continuing and Evolving Narratives: The Development of Holocaust Graphic Novels Post-Maus

All four graphic novels analysed in this thesis show a dedication to historical accuracy, although presented differently in each case. In Spiegelman’s Maus, this is done through the representation of Vladek’s personal memories, and the inclusion of external research by Spiegelman in the form of detailed maps and schematics, as well as the use of real photographs throughout the narrative. In Croci’s Auschwitz this is achieved through the redrawing of historical photographs, and the interview in the back of the graphic novel in which Croci shows the narrative is based on interviews with, and testimonies of, survivors. In The Search, Heuvel achieves this through the redrawing of historical photographs as well, but the information for this graphic novel was additionally researched by the Anne Frank House, to create accurate depictions. For Yelin and Arbel’s But I Live, accurate representations are created through a combination of these things. Yelin has used redrawings of photographs, external research, archival materials, and Arbel’s personal memories to create the graphic novel. Additionally, this thesis analyses recurring themes in these four graphic novels, showing that even though these graphic novels all include the same themes in their narrative, they all deal with these differently. Where Spiegelman’s representation of Germans and the perpetrators as cats while the Jews are mice, for example, highlights Nazi ideology’s dehumanization, Heuvel’s The Search explicitly tries to introduce different levels of complicity with the Nazi regime and German occupiers throughout the graphic novel. Although all four graphic novels at a certain point show signs of the portrayal of survivors’ guilt, this is most prominent in the graphic novels that are based on personal memories of survivors, such as Maus and But I Live. Additionally, the sociological context of these graphic novels is analysed.