The title, the German word for “mouse,” is a reference to the Jewish characters, who are all depicted as mice. By using German (or the language of the cats as the novel likes to call it), Maus plays on the anti-Semitic stereotyping of Jews as pests.

What is the meaning of Maus?

The German word Maus is cognate to the English word “mouse”, and also reminiscent of the German verb mauscheln, which means “to speak like a Jew” and refers to the way Jews from Eastern Europe spoke German—a word not etymologically related to Maus, but distantly to Moses.

What was the Maus called?

Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus (English: “Mouse”) was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in late 1944. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armored fighting vehicle ever built.