Maus is a two-part graphic account of survival of the Holocaust. Written and illustrated by the survivor's son, the characters are identified by nationality as mice, cats, frogs and dogs. Art Spiegelman describes in detail the early life of his parents, their torture as the Nazis took control, and finally their freedom. Along with the loss of friends and family, the horrors of the Holocaust left their marks on Spiegelman's father for the rest of his life.