Herman Character Analysis in Maus

Anja’s brother. Herman is married to Helen, and is the father of Lolek and Lonia. Herman and Helen are in New York, visiting the World’s Fair, when the war breaks out. They spend the war in the United States, safe from Nazi persecution. Herman is the only member of Anja’s immediate family who survives the war. She is extremely attached to him, and is devastated by his unexpected death in 1964.

Herman Character Timeline in Maus

The timeline below shows where the character Herman appears in Maus. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Family, Identity, and Jewishness Theme Icon

...husband, Wolfe; their daughter, Bibi; and Anja’s niece and nephew, Lonia and Lolek, whose parents, Herman and Helen, were in New York visiting the World’s Fair when the war broke out.... (full context)

...the photographs, Vladek describing the fate of each person pictured. They look at photographs of Herman, Anja’s oldest brother, who survived the war but was killed in a hit-and-run car accident... (full context)

...imposed quotas for refugees, and it was impossible to immigrate directly to the United States. Herman – Anja’s only surviving sibling, who had been visiting New York with his wife when... (full context)