MAUS In what sense do Vladek’s troubles begin only after he has been sent to Auschwitz? Why might Spiegelman use this quotation as the title for this chapter? I. “Here My Troubles Began

After Vladek was separated from Anja for the last time before their reunion at the end of the war, all his instincts focused on one thing: survival. It was now truly every man for himself, as he was marched through freezing woods and packed into a boxcar with two hundred other prisoners. Vladek was able to eat the snow from the roof of the car, but he did not give any to the other prisoners unless they had something to trade in return. Likewise, later on when Vladek was sick with typhus and needed to walk to a train so that he could be released as a prisoner of war, he had to bribe someone to help him; they would not help for free. The frantic struggle to survive had largely broken the common bonds of humanity, religion, and friendship that previously held the Jewish community together.

What is even more striking about this breakdown is the fact that during the final days of Auschwitz and subsequent tribulations in the train cars and at Dachau, Vladek did not once mention Anja. He never once appeared to worry about her survival, nor did he attempt to include her in his escape plans from Auschwitz. Part of the reason for this is likely the fact that including his wife in his own plans was simply not possible. Anja was in Birkenau, while Vladek was in Auschwitz, and the bribes that would have been required to bring Anja to Auschwitz would have been too much even for Vladek to save. But it would also appear (at least from Art's re-telling of Vladek's story) that during his most difficult times, even his thoughts for his wife were supplanted by the struggle for his own survival.