The Shoah, Czech comics and Drda/Mazal’s “The Enormous Disc of the Sun”

Abstract

ABSTRACTAppearing fitfully in a handful of works, the theme of the Holocaust remains rare in Czech comics. This essay examines the Czech and Slovak historical responses to the Shoah in the post-war era, through the communist takeover of the country and after 1989 for an understanding of the reluctance of Czech comics artists to explore the topic. Works covered include Jaroslav Rudiš/Jaromir 99’s Alois Nebel (largely considered to have launched the Czech comics boom in 2003) and Adam Drda/Miloš Mazal’s short biographical story “The Enormous Disc of the Sun” (Ohromný Kotouč Slunce), part of a large-scale project from Post Bellum, a Czech non-profit organization committed to preserving oral histories through its “Stories of the twentieth Century” Project.