Generations of the Holocaust

One of the many things that surprised me about Maus is the huge focus on the relationship between Vladek and Art. At first I thought it would serve as a backdrop for the story of the Holocaust, but in Maus II the emphasis is almost evenly split between the two story lines. This is what brings the work to a whole new level - instead of solely focusing on memories of past horrors of Nazi Germany, the painful relationship and damaged family ties make the whole thing so much more "real."
Maus is so notable because it shows us how the Holocaust didn't end in 1945, but instead spanned generations. Art has to live in the shadow of his dead brother his entire life, and sometimes seems frustrated and angry at the unspoken attention his memory gets, as if he has to "compete" with him.
Most importantly is the mental state Art's father, Vladek, is left in. Much of the graphic novel is spent with characters complaining about his irrational behavior, his relentless penny-pinching to the point of absurdity, and his guilt-tripping. Much of this can be tied to his trauma in the camps - he says things like "After Hitler, I always save!" when talking about a box of old cereal - but some of it can't, like his unexpected and upfront racism against black people.  This makes living with him difficult - you can't live with him if you don't understand him, you can hardly live with him if you do understand, and to understand him you need to understand the Holocaust and his experience. Therefore Art is, in a way, forced to experience effects of the Holocaust.
The format of the graphic novel is helpful in many ways. For simplicity's sake, it makes keeping track of characters very easy, which makes immersion a quicker experience. It also makes keeping track of various story lines easy, as no words are needed to explain the scene has changed - you can see it. The visual contrast between the stories is also striking and powerful. Seeing Vladek starving for scraps of bread on one page and then him driving to the grocery store in the next is surreal. Like Vonnegut, the ability of authors to "time travel" is used for contrast and to bring home certain themes.