11 Days of Remembrance: Maus

Back in the summer, I took a Genre Fiction course for my degree where we studied biographies and memoirs in the form of comic books and graphic novels. I was never really a person who read comics, but by the end of the class, I had a new appreciation for them. One of the graphic novels we read was Maus by Art Spiegelman. It blew my mind.

Maus is a biography in two parts, the first being "My Father Bleeds History," and the second, "And Here My Troubles Began." Using the comic book form, Spiegelman tells the story of his father Vladek, a Polish Jew who tried to escape the Holocaust, and ended up spending the last year or so of the war in Auschwitz. Why I say year or so is because Vladek never knew how much time he actually spent in the camp. Spiegelman also learns about a brother who died as a child, tries to find answers about his mother- a survivor who later committed suicide, and makes the reader ponder the idea of Art Spiegelman also being a survivor- how to survive in a family that has lived a nightmare, micromanages, and feel like he'll never live up to who his deceased brother could have been.

There could be concerns that using the comic book form as a means to share such a story is inappropriate, but in this instance, it works. The characters are all depicted as animals, and the animals of choice are highly appropriate. The Jews are portrayed as mice, Nazis are cats, and you can really get a sense of symbolism, and what each animal truly portrays. We had discussed the use of animals in place of people in class. What we concluded is that if Spiegelman had drawn people, the readers would have a harder time connecting, because there's no way he could have drawn expressions to properly capture the agony and torture. But, with animals, you can insert yourself into the story more, and use your mind to enhance the images -and expressions- on the page.

If you've never been of the comic book ilk, at least read  Maus I and II. Not only will you change your mind about the genre, but you'll see the Holocaust, and its effects on the survivors, in a new way.

11 Days of Remembrance: Overwhelmed With Lessons

It's no secret that I'm working on an English degree. What might not be known is that I'm working on a minor in history, with a particular fascination for military history. This last year, I've learned so much on that subject that I truly want to share many of the lessons, but I simply do not know where to start. So, to try to combat the overflow of knowledge, I've decided to give a list of the Top Five things I've learned so far. No thing is more important than the other, they just happen to be the bits and pieces that have stuck out to me the most.

1) Neville Chamberlain didn't understand Hitler. He thought that appeasement would keep the Nazi leader at bay and prevent a war, but unfortunately, the former British Prime Minister learned the hard way that some people will never be satisfied until they obtain absolute power and control over a nation, continent, and (hopefully) the world.

2) Had the Allies lost the Battle of the Atlantic, WWII would have had a very different outcome. This battle was arguably the most important of the Second World War because everything from lives to trade routes were on the line.

3) Operation Barbarossa (July 10, 1941) took Stalin and the Soviets completely by surprise. Stalin had signed a pact with Hitler, as a means of keeping him at bay, but it sadly meant nothing. Stalin had anticipated a war with Germany, but he thought that it would have come in 1943, not 1941.

4) ENIGMA. This piece of code-making genius has received a lot of attention lately. However, while the Allies were celebrating breaking the ENIGMA codes, the Nazis managed to get its hands on British Naval Codes, and made to use them to the same advantage.

5) WWII in the west is what we always remember, but it was the war in the East that brought the Allies to victory. Germany kept trying to use the Soviet as Liebensraum (living space for the Aryans), and the Russians were too damn stubborn to let the Nazis get their way. Sure, the Red Army suffered greater losses (in the millions) than the Germans (lesser millions), but they had more reinforcements handy at all times. Actually, the total number of deaths that occurred with the fighting between Germany and the Soviet can rival, and arguably surpass, the number of Jews who were killed.

11 Days of Remembrance: Priorities in Order

Anyone who knows me is well aware that around this time every year, I pitch a fit over Christmas consumerism taking priority over Remembrance Day. That's about to change. For once, one sect within the wonderful world of retail got its priorities in order, and is holding off on the candy canes and carols until November 12. The link to an article is below. I'd just like to say thank you to that retailer for doing the right thing, and putting poppies first. So for the first time in 28 years, I'll put a smile on my face regarding consumerism.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2315824/lest-we-forget-manitoba-store-holds-holds-back-on-christmas-retail-until-after-remembrance-day/

11 Days of Remembrance: The Real Wonder Women

Like I do every year, I made my way to a Legion table, and added more pins to my collection. However, of the five pins I bought today, the one that was pointed out to me by the lovely ladies behind the table was the Canada's Military Women: Celebrating 70 Years of Service pin.

The pin led to a conversation and the story of my great-gram, and the other farm wives who went on to form the Binbrook Willing Workers group (I wrote about them in a previous 11DR miniseries), a reminder that many women were still active contributors to the effort while holding down the fort on the home front.

The pin gave me pause. I found myself thinking about wartime women. Do I know any personally? How many fearless females could I think of? I'm certain I don't know of enough! I don't know of enough Florence Nightingales -nurses extraordinaire- by name. There simply has to be more Kristine Swires in the world, a former padre to my old cadet squadron and the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. The world needs more ladies of leadership, like Nichola Goddard, only this time, please don't come home draped in the maple leaf.

And then there are the young girls. Everyone is well aware of the story of Anne Frank. But there's also Esther Hautzig, a Polish Jew whose family was exiled to Siberia as war was breaking out -and the exile saved her life, along with the lives of her parents. Ever hear of Sophie Scholl? She and her brother founded the White Rose group, a resistance group to counteract the Hitler Youth and the Nazis. Sophie was tried and executed for treason at the age of 21, fighting on behalf of those who couldn't.

When you think about it, the Wonder Woman we should look up to don't wear bulletproof bracelets and a lasso of truth. Real Wonder Women wear camouflage.

11 Days of Remembrance: Genres and Generals

That time of year has come again where I write on a subject that has long been dear to me- the importance of Remembrance Day. This year, to start off the 2015 edition, I thought I'd bring your attention to a few pieces of literature with a twist: I have yet to read them.

I'm majoring in English, but my minor is in history, with a particular flair towards classes pertaining to the military. As such, I have become privy to some interesting-sounding recommendations, some of which come compliments of my professors.

Enemy at the Gates is well known for being a film from 2001 with Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, and Joseph Fiennes. However, it started out as a book by William Craig. I've seen the film, and it is quite good. It takes place in Russia, and pertains to the Battle of Stalingrad. I don't want to give too much away if you haven't seen the movie. If the old adage of books being better than movies holds true, I can only imagine just how good the novel itself will be!

After much searching, today I finally found the book All Quiet on the Western Front, which was originally a book by German author Erich Maria Remarque, but was also made into a film in the late 1970s. I have yet to see the movie, along with read the book, but I have high hopes and expectations as the film itself has long been highly regarded.

Many people have likely heard of the film Valkyrie. I've never seen it, and I don't plan to as it didn't appear to be acted out well (but that was just my opinion of the trailers... I could be wrong). Once again, at the bookstore today, I came across a wonderful find that I promptly purchased and brought home. It's called Valkyrie: The Plot to Kill Hitler. The book was written by Philipp von Boeselager, who was the last survivor in the plot to assassinate Hitler, and as such is his memoir of the event. I've studied the subject in a few history classes, so I'm fascinated to gain the perspective of a person who was there.

The last book on the list has me quite intrigued as I found it on the floor of the bookstore that is dedicated to sci-fi, fantasy, and comic books. I picked it up because the title caught my name: Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. I read the synopsis that came with the book, and it sounds like it involves ENIGMA, which was the German code machine, and links it up with modern-day computer/ hacker warfare (if that description may be used). If ENIGMA sounds familiar, it was brought to attention and fame in the movie The Imitation Game, which, sadly, I have yet to see.

I'm hoping these novel finds will give me a new genre to appreciate. After all, I already appreciate their histories.