GoFundMe campaign to provide students with free copies of Maus shatters targeted goal

The campaign was launched in response to the revelation that the Mcminn County School board in Tennessee unanimously voted to remove the graphic novel used in Holocaust education curriculum around the world from the 8th grade curriculum of their schools.

Nirvana Comics, a comic book store located in Knoxville, Tennessee, launched the GoFundMe campaign on January 28 to provide as many students as possible with copies of Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel.

Maus depicts the horrors of the Holocaust by portraying Jews as mice and Nazis as cats in an illustrated biography/memoir of Spiegelman’s parents, both Holocaust survivors.

According to the minutes of the school board meeting, without a substitute book, the module on the Holocaust will be skipped until a new book can be found. The vote was unanimous. During the previous school year, the Holocaust education module was skipped entirely due to time constraints from COVID.

The store wrote in the campaign, "We are proud to carry Maus at Nirvana Comics Knoxville! Art Spiegelman's masterpiece is one of the most important, impactful and influential graphic novels of all time. We believe it is a must read for everyone. All funds will be used to purchase Maus for students local and across the US!"

As of publishing, Nirvana Comics' campaign has raised $77,509 from over 2,400 donations, surpassing their original goal of $20,000.

Students from anywhere in the United States can reach out to Nirvana Comics to reserve a copy using Facebook or Instagram.

Nirvana Comics said that 10 percent of the funds will be set aside to "satisfy any tax liabilities," and that any extra funds will be used to "...donate other books to school libraries."

After reaching their original goal, Nirvana Comics posted, "We thought this would be a local support to help a magnificent piece of literature stay in the hands of students in the McMinn county. But… this has become a global priority!"

Ryan Higgins, owner of Comics Conspiracy in Sunnyvale, California also pledged to donate 100 copies of Maus to McMinn students.

Spiegelman, 73, who learned of the ban following a viral tweet the day before international Holocaust Remembrance Day told CNBC, "I’m kind of baffled by this. It’s leaving me with my jaw open, like, 'What?'"

He also called the school board "Orwellian" for banning the book and added, "I’ve met so many young people who … have learned things from my book."

Spiegelman told the outlet he suspected that board members were more motivated to ban the book because of the subject, his Jewish parents’ suffering in Nazi concentration camps and the mass murder of other Jews by Nazis.

The US Holocaust Museum tweeted in response to the board's actions, "Maus has played a vital role in educating about the Holocaust through sharing detailed and personal experiences of victims and survivors. On the eve of International #HolocaustRemembranceDay, it is more important than ever for students to learn this history."

"Teaching about the Holocaust using books like Maus can inspire students to think critically about the past and their own roles and responsibilities today." The museum also shared a link to Holocaust lesson plans and resources.

Despite the international backlash, the McMinn County Board of Education stood by their decision to remove the book. In a statement they doubled down on their actions and said, "Taken as a whole, the Board felt this work was simply too adult-oriented for use in our schools."