 Art Spiegelman 's parents were Polish Jews Władysław ( 1906 – 1982 ) and <unk> ( 1912 – 1968 ) Spiegelman . His father was born Zeev Spiegelman , with the Hebrew name Zeev ben Avraham . Władysław was his Polish name , and <unk> ( or Vladek in Russified form ) was a diminutive of this name . He was also known as Wilhelm under the German occupation , and upon immigration to the United States he took the name William . His mother was born <unk> <unk> , with the Hebrew name Hannah . She took the name Anna upon her immigration to the US . In Spiegelman 's Maus , from which the couple are best known , Spiegelman used the spellings " Vladek " and " Anja " , which he believed would be easier for Americans to pronounce . The surname Spiegelman is German for " mirror man " . 
