Above: A historical photo of the actual entrance gate to Auschwitz Concentration Camp. Look at Spiegelman's drawing at the end of Book I, when Vladek arrives at these same gates (bottom of Page 157). Notice how chillingly accurate his sketch is, even of the smallest details!
"Arbeit Macht Frei" (pronounced "are-bite mocked fry") -- The German words above the entrance gate to Auschwitz literally translate to "Work Makes Free." A more accurate translation would be “Work will set (make) you free.” This phrase, more than likely intended to be ironic or cynical, was built into the iron gates of many concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Dachau. Prisoners who walked by this slogan daily on their way to forced labor reportedly added “through the chimney,” meaning the only way one would truly be free is if he or she died or was killed and escaped through cremation -- thus, "the chimney."
MAUS II: Maus I was about the "noose tightening" or, as discussed in class, how the war slowly closed in on Vladek, his family and the other victims of the war. Maus II portrays life in Auschwitz, the liberation of the camps, the end and aftermath of the war, and Vladek's eventual life in America. The "frame story" also continues forward in time, giving more details of the lives of the characters we have come to know.
Extra Credit Post (not required): What items can you find that match in both the photo and Spiegelman's drawing? List ONE SPECIFIC DETAIL and describe where it is located in both the photo and drawing. By "specific detail," I mean you shouldn't just write "The gate," but rather some specific part of the gate, etc. PLEASE DO NOT BLOG MORE THAN ONE DETAIL so your classmates can also have a chance to participate.
Spiegelman made the gate in his book really look like the actual gate. He had the stripes on the pole and the X's on the gate doors and all the bars.`Even the same buildings are there.
ReplyDeleteThe photos both portrayed the slogan on the top of the gate " Arbeit Macht Frei." Each slogan is placed in the game on the same manner too. The word Arbeit is straight across, the world Macht is curved and the word Frei is straight across also.
ReplyDeleteBoth pictures have some of the same backround elements. Both have barren trees looming behind the gates and the sky in both is shaded in and dark.
ReplyDeleteBoth the photo and Spiegelman's drawing include the barracks on the left side as you enter the gate. They are wide buildings with many windows. Spiegelman's details of the barracks are very accurate, including the shape of the roof.
ReplyDeleteSpiegelman's drawing of the gate to Auschwitz is almost identical to the actual picture. He had every detail of the gate in his drawing, even the top of the fence where it meet with the sign "Arbeit Macht Frei". It is flat all along but then curves up near "Macht," where the two doors meet.
ReplyDeleteSpiegleman's detail on the gate is spot on. Not only does the gate look practically identical to the real one, but even the stripes on the poles next to the gate are the same.
ReplyDeleteThe drawing of the gate to Auschwitz from Art Spiegelman has many details from the original picture. One detail is the bars that open when someone is coming are the same. They are closed and have stripes in the picture above and in Spiegelman's drawing they are also striped bars that are opened as the truck is coming in. The same design of the poles on the sides of the fence are also the same.
ReplyDelete