Pianist and Maus
Both The Pianist and Maus offer different nuances about the roles of the Germans and the Jews in the Holocaust. Some may see only the Nazis as the killers in the Holocaust and not consider other circumstances. The Pianist and Maus offer different instances to show that collaborators, bystanders and rescuers provide a gray area between killers and victims.
Bystanders were a major role in The Pianist. Those who stood by and watched wrongdoings were very present in the film. Not only just those who watched out of fear of being killed by the Nazis, but also those who watched violence and crime amongst their fellow people and chose to do nothing. This being one of the factors that Goldhagen attributes to the survival of genocide, those who choose to do nothing. In particular I think back to “the snatcher,” who attempted to steal a woman’s food only to end up dropping it in the street. She screamed for help, but received none from anyone in the street. The more upsetting bystanders were featured later in the film, those who could not help even if they wanted to. When waiting to be transported to a concentration camp Wladyslaw encounters a woman begging for water for her dying son. No one can offer her help because they are all left with nothing. As illustrated in the next scene where the Szpillman family spends their last twenty zlotys on a caramel that they split amongst themselves. Bystanders are also illustrated in Maus. Artie is shocked when his father tells of his struggle to get out of the ghetto. Even when his cousin is in good condition, his own family turns the other cheek unless there is money to be made. The fact that family turns on family is shocking to Artie, but Vladek understands the loss of humanity and describes it as “everybody to take care of himself.”
Collaborators are also featured in both the film and the movie. Both The Pianist and Maus feature stories of men turning on their neighbors, family and friends in order to stay
Bystanders were a major role in The Pianist. Those who stood by and watched wrongdoings were very present in the film. Not only just those who watched out of fear of being killed by the Nazis, but also those who watched violence and crime amongst their fellow people and chose to do nothing. This being one of the factors that Goldhagen attributes to the survival of genocide, those who choose to do nothing. In particular I think back to “the snatcher,” who attempted to steal a woman’s food only to end up dropping it in the street. She screamed for help, but received none from anyone in the street. The more upsetting bystanders were featured later in the film, those who could not help even if they wanted to. When waiting to be transported to a concentration camp Wladyslaw encounters a woman begging for water for her dying son. No one can offer her help because they are all left with nothing. As illustrated in the next scene where the Szpillman family spends their last twenty zlotys on a caramel that they split amongst themselves. Bystanders are also illustrated in Maus. Artie is shocked when his father tells of his struggle to get out of the ghetto. Even when his cousin is in good condition, his own family turns the other cheek unless there is money to be made. The fact that family turns on family is shocking to Artie, but Vladek understands the loss of humanity and describes it as “everybody to take care of himself.”
Collaborators are also featured in both the film and the movie. Both The Pianist and Maus feature stories of men turning on their neighbors, family and friends in order to stay