The second volume of Maus continues right after the events of Volume I, with Vladek and Anja getting transported to Auschwitz. They are given prison uniforms, all of their hair is shaved off and their forearms get tattooed with identification numbers. The prisoners are given crappy bedding, terrible food and they get almost zero sleep. Their days consist of grueling hours of labor and exercises and some of the prisoners die of exhaustion. Vladek gets special treatment from the guards because he knows English and can teach one of the head guards English. In return, he is given good food and better clothing. In the second chapter we find out that Artie is trying to deal with the pressure of writing the book and he thinks that whatever he does, it is nothing compared to what the people at Auschwitz faced. He eventually gets over it and continues to write the story, using recordings and notes that he made while talking with his father. Vladek tells Artie that Anja was taken to another camp, Birkenau, which was used to hold prisoners that were waiting to be killed. Vladek finds his way over to Birkenau and tries to talk to Anja, however he is beaten by guards and put in the hospital. Vladek describes how he was inspected by Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death, but nothing further happened. After this, the prisoners are taken from Auschwitz to Dachau, but Vladek gets sick and is taken to Switzerland to be traded as a prisoner of war. He gets rescued by American soldiers, who take him to Poland where he is reunited with his wife. The last time that we see Artie and Vladek, Vladek is very sick and mistakes Artie for someone else.