I mean, I can't even make any sense out of my relationship with my father...how am I supposed to make any sense out of Auschwitz?

I want to tell my father's story... and I want to tell my own story as well.

I've thought about this for a long time, and I've come to the conclusion that maybe every generation needs its own catastrophe.

We didn't experience the best humanity had to offer, but we survived, and that's the important thing.

There's so much you don't know, you never will. I accepted that, long ago.

No matter what I accomplish, it doesn't seem like much compared to surviving Auschwitz.

I'm not a survivor, I'm the son of a survivor. There's a difference.

Live long enough and you'll see that every victory turns into a defeat.

I do feel guilty about being born American, with all the privileges that entails. But I had nothing to do with that, and I can't take on all the suffering of the world.

We can't understand it, and we never will.

Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began