In the comic, Spiegelman draws Jews as mice, Nazis as cats and Polish people as pigs. While the metaphor for the mice and cats seems clear, I wondered why he choose pigs for the Polish; seeing that “pig” is often used as an insult. I searched a little bit around and found this article by Lawrence Weschler, an American writer. In it, Weschler initially writes about another topic, before talking a little about an interview he did with Spiegelman about this exact question: why pigs? (I can’t find the original interview anywhere (the magazine that published the interview declared bankruptcy in 2002) but the snippet Weschler quoted seems authentic)

I do recommend for others to check out the article, but long story short: Spiegelman basically says that he didn’t intend to insult all Polish people. He wanted to portray that the Polish weren’t part of the “food chain” between cats and mice and set them visually apart. He chose “Pigs” for numerous reasons: it was (apparently, I didn’t look for verification) an insult that Nazis called Polish people, while Jews were often called “Ungeziefer” (which means pests/vermin). So while the mice ‘had to be exterminated’, the pigs ‘were to be put to use and worked for their meat. Neither status was enviable, but it’s a distinction worth noting nevertheless.’ (quote from the article).

It’s of course debatable if he really didn’t want to insult anyone, so we kinda have to take his word for it. In my opinion, I didn’t interpret the portrayal as pigs as offensive, but I’m also not Polish. I can see why it could be understood as being actively degrading at first glance -- but I do think that Spiegelman shows in a very nuanced way that both pigs and mice were able to do good and bad: His parents were protected by pigs and betrayed by mice, and vice versa.

I’m very interested in discussion, so if anyone has additional info or other interpretations, please share!

well… that was unexpected wtf 😭

ahhh what a refreshing read!! it took me the whole month to finish it after dilly dallying but honestly what a way to end the month with some apocalyptic humor :’)

i adored the style of this book and vonnegut’s humor!! that’s my GOAT !! will possibly read/reread 1 or 2 more of his books this year 😚

What subject is your roman empire? I was browsing the history book section in the bookstore and I took a bunch of pictures of books and topics that interest me.

Victorian England Women in Early Academia History of the Book Ancient Egypt History of the Dictionary History of Cod Rocks and minerals Pompeii and pyroclastic flow Deep ocean creatures The London underground

So, apparently I have many Roman empires? What's yours?

I'm curious about what some of the favorite books you all have found due to Pagebound have been! I just think it’s so fun and lovely that our feed works by showing what people we follow are posting and also commenting on; it’s such a refreshing and organic way of replacing a traditional algorithm, and i adore how the experience of it all centers the friends and connections you have (plus how it encourages new ones to be made!)

Mine are Don't Let the Forest In by CG Drews (fall 2025 readalong) and Mad Sisters of Esi by Tashan Mehta (@crybabybea advertising, and numerous glowing reviews from other people)

The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes is my most-anticipated read in terms of all the Pagebound finds I have saved; I found it by randomly clicking around on the site one night at like 3 AM, and then @bbyoozi happened to be reading it at the time and their posts/our chats convinced me to TBR it. Real excited to get to it soon!