There are many ways the Holocaust affected Vladek’s personality traits and behavior. A huge catastrophic event like the Holocaust can cause one to have emotional damage that could cause them to act a certain way after being mistreated for so long. Trauma is a result of going through a terrible experience at a certain point in your life. It is almost inevitable that there will be some type of mental issue after experiencing such a horrible event. There is no doubt that some of Vladek’s personality traits were gained from experiencing the horrible things that took place during the Holocaust and also being treated very unfairly. There is evidence that show that it can be very difficult in trying to keep a clear mind and trying to stay calm at times. Vladek seems to have some very negative personality traits.
While Vladek is telling his story about his experience in the Holocaust there can also be a great emotional effect on him as well. By Vladek telling his story it can also make his mental state worse than it already is by not recognizing what really happened during the Holocaust. If Vladek were to actually realize what happened and how he got through it is mental health could actually start to recover from most of the trauma it has gained. It is true that Vladek could possibly heal himself and hurt himself at the same time by sharing his stories from the Holocaust. It is also very true that by Vladek being traumatized it can cause him to be very depressed and denial and
In conclusion, the Holocaust had detrimental effects on all that survived. This was because prisoners were treated as less than human and not given enough food. They also lost many of their loved ones, many of whom were executed. And to top it all off, they were abused by their captors on a regular basis. With these things happening, it’s no surprise that survivors of the Holocaust suffered terrible
The obliterate event of the holocaust in 1933. The Jewish population of Europe stood at over nine million. Most of the Jews lived in the countries that Nazi Germany would occupy or influence in World War 2. By 1945, Germans and their collaborators killed nearly two out of every three European Jews as the ‘Final Solution’ the Nazi policy to murder the Jews of Europe (Introduction to the Holocaust). The cause and effect of the holocaust was due to racism, prejudice and stereotyping since, Jews were isolated in their communities that caused distrusted and discrimination against the Jews in Europe.(Cause and Effect of Holocaust ). In the boy in the striped book, when Gretel and her brother Bruno looked out the window to figure out what the hut were in the distance at the time Gretel said ‘’ it’s a countryside. This is our holiday home’’. Then Bruno said’’ i don’t think so’’. After this Gretel discriminates against Bruno saying’’ your only nine years old, how would you know ( The Boy in the Striped Pajamas pg.34 John Boyne). Adolf Hitler and the Nazi operation on the anti-semitic racist beliefs that germans are superior people with the ideology, using World War 2 as their primary to achieve their goal. The Nazis targeted the Jews as main enemy, killing six million Jewish men,
Vladek is depicted as a hero who shows countless acts of selflessness and generosity and a villain who is, “opinionated, tight-fisted, and self-involved”. (Brown 6) Art Spiegelman’s book Maus, tells the story of how Vladek and Anja Spiegelman survived the Holocaust. Spiegelman illustrates Vladek as a man who single-handily saved his family from starvation and Auschwitz in World War I. During Spiegelman’s interviews, we get an idea of Vladek’s darker side since the war ended. Mala to speak of her astonishment and disgust in Vladek’s character. Which leaves us to question how truthfully these stories are being told. In the end, Vladek’s unsuccessful heroism is a constant reminder of his failure; survival with Anja was always easier, after her death, Vladek pushes everyone away with his “guilt and manipulation” (Brown 7)
The Holocaust which was one of many of the controversial events that have happened in the history of our world demonstrated a significant amount of cruelty and dehumanization. Because of such a controversial event, many have suffered through physical and unfortunately psychological upheaval and distress. With previous knowledge and novels’ read on the Holocaust, it came to be known that the event was triggered through obedience and conformity due to the not specifically the Germans’ beliefs of anti-Semitic and propaganda, but more of leader Adolf Hitler. The time of the Holocaust was used to dehumanize which enhanced the understanding of mental health and human psychology. During the Holocaust, many psychological principles affected individuals forever. The principles include groupthink and of course knowing the outcome of the event. Such principles sooner explain the reality of life because it stresses how individuals react due to their past experiences like the Holocaust and most importantly how traumatic events build them as who they are today. Innocent Jews went through starvation, terrible working conditions, and the elimination of race through torture such as gas chambers. Furthermore, the history of this controversial event is now being used to be alert of the health and wellness of those who have gone through such events that sooner change their behavior and mentality for the better or even worse.
Power, could there be too much of it? Or not enough? In the wrong hands, too much power lead to millions of innocent lives being taken away. One of the world’s most famous dictators takes power and has control on whether you live or die. He may not like the color of your hair, skin or what you believe in and for that, the price you pay is your life.
The Nazis killed over six million Jews and millions of other Polish and Soviet civilians in the Holocaust. They also killed gypsies, physically and mentally disabled people and homosexuals. The number of survivors today are quickly dwindling down. Clinical psychologist Natan Kellermann defines a Holocaust survivor as any Jew who lived under Nazi occupation and was threatened by the “final solution” (Kellermann 199). This definition can be applied to not only Jews, but to anyone in general whose life was threatened by the Nazis. When these survivors were liberated, they believed the suffering was over, but for many, this wasn’t the case. The trauma of the horrors they faced is still evident in their life. By analyzing the effects of post traumatic stress disorder after the Holocaust, readers can see that the aftermath of the Holocaust is still prevalent in the survivor’s everyday life; This is important to show that while the trauma may not be overcome, the survivor can be more at peace with the events.
The Holocaust The Holocaust was a very important time in history for not only people who were affected but for people who weren?t directly affected. Adolf Hitler was a powerful man at the time and created the Holocaust which was a way for him to kill off the Jewish population. First and most important was how did Hitler get all the Jews to follow his rules and comply? Well to start off with he sent his army to the Jewish homes and captured them and at that point in time the Jewish were compliant.
Even when Vladek had to fight in World War II and was put in a prisoner camp with the most terrible
The holocaust had a major effect on Judaism as a whole. This conflict between tragedy and faith is not new. Jewish history shows us that the jewish people have undergone the most terrible persecutions and genocide at the hands of many oppressors. Whether it be about the pogroms, crusades, destruction of the Temples, the jewish people have been at the brunt of the most terrible atrocities, and yet this does not shake their faith,Anti-Semitism was nothing new. This became even more evident with the unmasking of the holocaust.The philosophical question of “Shall the Judge of the earth not do justice?” applies just as much to the seemingly useless suffering of an individual as to that of six million individuals. If it could be dealt with on an individual basis before the Holocaust, why couldn 't it be dealt with in the same way afterwards? The difference is one of quantity, but the quality of the question remains the same.
However, he highlights the fact that this behavior had very little to do with the holocaust and the Jewish people as a whole, and more to do with his father’s natural inclination, in a discussion he has with Mala. Mala says that while she went through the camps, as well as her friends, no one acts like Vladek. However, I disagree and side with Pavel, Artie’s therapist, who contends that Vladek’s behavior is a manifestation of the traumas he faced during the Holocaust. So, the argument can be made that in
We can read Maus from a historical standpoint. The Holocaust is a deeply etched fallacy that took the lives of millions of innocent people. By reading Maus we can explore the historical downfall of mankind and the side effects that such a traumatic event. Throughout both books, Vladek is portrayed as a cynical and angered individual, which can only mean that whatever happened inside the concentration camps changed the way he saw the world. It’s unfortunate that this event had to happen, but like the saying goes what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Since Vladek survived the Holocaust it’s understandable the way in which thinks and acts. The way in which Vladek acts allows for us to explore history through the eyes of someone who was actually there during this time and not by an author who wasn’t there. Because we have this opportunity to explore history through someone’s eyes, we are able to see the devastation and the torment that these individuals went
Throughout the endless history, there were lots of important and influential event. For example the Dark Age, Enlightenment, Civil War, World War I and II and the Cold War. Over all of these event, there was one event that deeply influence the world and the Jews today, it was the Holocaust. Holocaust, a term that people use to describe the horrible event that happened during World War II which kill millions of innocent citizens. The Holocaust started at January 13, 1933, when Hitler became the leader of Germany. It continued until the V - E Day, which happened on May 8, 1945. 6 million Jews, and 5 million non-Jews were killed during the Holocaust. The causes and effect of the Holocaust was Hitler’s racism, poor economic conditions, and the death of 6 million Jews which led to the creation of the nation of Israel.
Vladek was in the army for a long time and became strict in a father figure because of his past. His father had been in the army and he didn’t want his kids to go through the same thing either, so he was strict with him on a starvation diet. Still, he went to the army and went through starvation and hard labor for months. Now, being a father after the army and war, it was a difficult to understand Artie's small problems. As Vladek told his story about cleaning a stable, he got mad at Artie for dropping his cigarettes ashes. Vladek compares everything to the war, he can’t let anything go, it has to be perfect. Later, Vladek again got mad at Artie for smoking because in the war he traded cigarettes for food. Moreover, Vladek was blaming Artie
When one cannot deal with guilt within oneself, the feeling of guilt can be transferred to affect another. Art struggles throughout his life to understand why he never had a great relationship with his father. After trying to write with no luck, Art heads to his regular appointment with Pavel, another Holocaust survivor. Pavel suggests that maybe “(Vladek) took his guilt out on YOU, where it was safe… on the REAL survivor.” (7, p 44) Vladek felt guilty about surviving the Holocaust, but instead of accepting it,
Vladek too appears to feel guilty about having survived the Holocaust. As Spiegelman’s guilt continues he visits a man named Pavel and the two discuss the guilt and what it means to be a Holocaust "survivor." Pavel suggests that Vladek himself actually felt a sense of guilt for having survived the Holocaust whilst so many of his friends and family did not. And maybe Vladek took this guilt out on Art the "real survivor" as Pavel calls him.