Historical aspects

Based upon reading the graphic novel "We Are on Our Own" Miriam Katin portrays the events that occurred in WWII. Miriam emphasizes on her perception of war and tragedy which can be greatly understood from a younger age groups point of view. The tragedies of the world wars are contextualized through her illustrations and writing within this novel.  We are On Our Own visualizes Miriam’s life after war and the changes she goes through in her daily life. The book starts of with Esther Levy, who is Miriam’s mother who takes care of two-year-old Miriam alone in Nazi-occupied Budapest while her husband fights in the Hungarian army In 1944 there were Over 184,000 Jewish people in Budapest.. This graphic novel can be seen as part of history and the war. This novel shows what Miriams family has gone through while her father was at war and her mother was striving to keep both herself and Miriam away from the Nazi Hunters. Esther stays out of the way of being found by living on a farm.  When Trouble comes around when the local Nazi Commandant spies her. Suspecting she is a Jew, instead of turning her in, he forces her to become his mistress. Soon this horror gives way to another as the Nazis retreat from the advancing Russian troops. The Russian's vodka-fueled barbarism sends Esther fleeing into a snowstorm, pulling Miriam behind her. This shows that many victims had to live in hiding for years before the war was over. Because the perspective is that of a very young child, the readers are spared some of the horrifying details that can often be found in Holocaust stories.

Based upon Miriam growing up in budapest i thought that this video would give us more insight and a visual view of what was going on in Budapest at the time of the war in 1944.

http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675032365_peace-meeting_marchers_banners_posters_torch