My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another great World War II-related material that narrates about the crimes of the Nazi German. The story is about the Spanish photographer, Francisco Boix, who is a prisoner of war by the Germans in Mauthausen. He was first assigned in the quarry as a way to exterminate him just like the others. Luckily, he was later moved to the identification department of the camp.
Being a photographer for the German Army means developing photos of the soldiers and their families, which will be sent back home to their loved ones. Another task for them is to photograph and identify the prisoners when they arrived. Some photos also capture fake condition of the prisoners such as that they are healthy, well fed, and happy. These photos were used as a propaganda to deceive people that the camps were safe and that the prisoners lived well. The pictures were also used in the brochures to be sent to factories and quarries because the prisoners were offered as slave laborers.
When a prisoner died, a photo was taken and preserved in the Nazi Archives. As for illegal executions, another photo was taken in the art form to elevate death and that was what Francisco found out while being in the aforementioned department in the camp.
All the atrocities that the Nazi German's did such as throwing prisoners off the cliff; escape attempts when in reality they were pushed or forced themselves into the electrified fences; prisoners beaten to death, shot in the back of the head, hanging themselves; and experimentation by the doctors pushed Francisco that he wants the whole world to know what's is really happening.
After reading this graphic novel, I searched for Francisco Boix's photographs and looking at them are remarkably shocking and terrifying, most particularly the photo of the man that was hanged using a belt. Reading the cruel acts performed during the WWII was already horrifying, what more if people could see the photos that captured them.
The Photographer of Mauthausen is a must-read for those who are into reading anything about the WWII. The story of Francisco Boix and his perseverance and bravery is truly admirable and that should be set as an example to all.
