This is something I’ve thought for a while. Here are the biggest similarities I’ve noticed:
This is something I’ve thought for a while. Here are the biggest similarities I’ve noticed:
- Voldemort wants to eradicate “half-bloods” in favor of pureblood wizards, when he is, himself, a half-blood. Hitler wanted to eliminated non-Aryans when he, himself, was not fully Aryan.
- Voldemort calls the giants his “natural allies.” These are the exact same words that Hitler used to describe the British and Italians.
Similarities I’ve noticed:
Swastika and the Death Mark
Tactics used by the Death Eaters at the Tri-Wizard camp like that of KKK…
And one could say that the Minister of Magic is a wizard Neville Chamberlain, playing down the dangers of the growing menace until it’s too late and war is inevitable.
I’m thinking Snape will wind up being Erwin Rommel.
And one could say that the Minister of Magic is a wizard Neville Chamberlain, playing down the dangers of the growing menace until it’s too late and war is inevitable.
And Dumbledore could be Churchill…
And then that would add further support for the allegory itself and Lord Voldemort would again be, as Moose had pointed out, Hitler.
LV’s death, or rather his possible (much anticipated) death in Book 7, may also then be along the same lines as that of Hitler’s death. Jo, I mean, J. K. Rowlings has already said that not only is Book 7 her favorite of the series, but that the forums are not just going to stop discussion or shut down once it’s published. I’m thinking that maybe, if we are going with the allegory here, that LV’s possible death may be somewhat open, in the way or in the same way that Hitler’s death was to some who speculated that is was caused by something other than suicide, and so forth.
Voldemort’s greatest fear is “ignominious death”. Let’s say if he is somehow powerless in a particular situation, I would think that given his greatest fear, he might take his own life, instead of others taking it…just a thought… And didn’t that happen with Hitler, too? Forgive me, I am not too familiar with history…
I want to add a little more to what I had said earlier about an observation:
Tactics used by the Death Eaters at the Tri-Wizard camp like that of KKK…
More: The way that the Nazis singled out the Jews, can be similiar to the approach that the Death Eaters take in trying to do the same, in a way, with the pure-blooded wizards.
Moose, did Voldemort actually say what you said (or even something like it) in your first point in the topic starter about eradicating “half’s” in favor of “pure’s”. I don’t remember him saying things like that, only the Death Eaters and their student supporters, and so forth. I could definately be wrong, that is why I want to make sure, so that’s why I’m asking. 
Moose, did Voldemort actually say what you said (or even something like it) in your first point in the topic starter about eradicating “half’s” in favor of “pure’s”. I don’t remember him saying things like that, only the Death Eaters and their student supporters, and so forth. I could definately be wrong, that is why I want to make sure, so that’s why I’m asking.
I don’t know that Voldemort, himself, explicitly says it, but it seems to be pretty much a given that that’s what’s happening.
And Dumbledore could be Churchill…
I think Dumbledore would have to be FDR, since he dies before the end.
I don’t know that Voldemort, himself, explicitly says it, but it seems to be pretty much a given that that’s what’s happening.
That’s why I wanted actual sources. Well…read what non-contradictor says HERE.
I said this earlier and I want a chance to clean it up a bit:
LV’s death, or rather his possible (much anticipated) death in Book 7, may also then be along the same lines as that of Hitler’s death. Jo, I mean, J. K. Rowlings has already said that not only is Book 7 her favorite of the series, but that the forums are not just going to stop discussion or shut down once it’s published. I’m thinking that maybe, if we are going with the allegory here, that LV’s possible death may be somewhat open, in the way or in the same way that Hitler’s death was to some who speculated that is was caused by something other than suicide, and so forth.
I actually think that something happened like this already. LV rose to power, as Hitler did…Hitler had his Third Reich, LV had the Death Eaters…and just like I was mentioning with Hitler’s death, people weren’t sure what exactly happened with LV either, after his power fell after trying to kill HP. And now, with what happens after that scene and onward in the novels…it’s like history is repeating itself, in a way…??
This brings up an interesting historical question. Did Hitler actually believe all the anti-semetic rubbish, or was he just exploiting a long-standing prejudice to get control of Germany?
This brings up an interesting historical question. Did Hitler actually believe all the anti-semetic rubbish, or was he just exploiting a long-standing prejudice to get control of Germany?
I would guess so. He was heavily into Schopenhauer, and always carried around a copy of his book “The World as Will and Representation” (I think that was the one). This would indicate he was really dedicated to his ideas. Also, his actions were not those of a mere power luster. His actions were those of a committed ideologue. If you ever read Peikoff’s book “The Ominious Parallels” you’ll find a fascinating analysis of concentration camps in Nazi Germany. The whole idea behind them was to make the world seem senseless to those held in them. They were given bizarre tasks to perform, and only innocent people were placed in them, because criminals would have had a sense that they deserved to be there as a form of punishment, while innocent people would have no earthly idea why they were there. A mind crushing experience it had to be.
Hitler’s level of evil can’t be understated.
This brings up an interesting historical question. Did Hitler actually believe all the anti-semetic rubbish, or was he just exploiting a long-standing prejudice to get control of Germany?
When Germany was losing, Hitler kept the camps operational, even though they were using up desperately needed fuel. That’s pretty compelling evidence that Hitler was rabidly anti-Semitic, and that it was not just used to get power.
Thanks for the information. Knowing this, I really don’t agree with the Hitler/Voldemort analogy. I do wish we knew more about Voldemort’s predecessor, Grindelwald, who was defeated by Dumbldore in 1945. JKR won’t talk much about him, so perhaps he will come into play later. She does say we’ll get more of Dumbledore’s history in Deathly Hallows.
Thanks for the information. Knowing this, I really don’t agree with the Hitler/Voldemort analogy. I do wish we knew more about Voldemort’s predecessor, Grindelwald, who was defeated by Dumbldore in 1945. JKR won’t talk much about him, so perhaps he will come into play later. She does say we’ll get more of Dumbledore’s history in Deathly Hallows.
In which book(s) does she mention Grindelwald? I don’t remember him at all. I’d like to read about him.
Here is what the HP Lexicon has:
Grindelwald (? - 1945?) Dark magic.
The dark wizard that Dumbledore defeated in 1945 (PS6, PS13).
Because of the year of Grindelwald’s defeat, which is stated on the Chocolate Frog card about Dumbledore, some have speculated that Grindelwald and Hitler were the same person or that Grindelwald was somehow related to the events of World War II. Rowling has confirmed that Grindelwald is deceased (TLC).
‘Grindelwald’ is a small village in Switzerland; JK pronounces Grindelwald’s name “GRIN dell vald” (TLC). The name could also refer to Grendel, the troll-like monster of the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf.
source:http://www.hp-lexicon.org/wizards/a-z/g.html#Grindelwald
Grindelwald is mentioned in PS in chapters 6 and 13.
Here’s an interesting tidbit from the interview JKR did with Mugglenet after the last book release:
It’s the one about Grindelwald, which I’m sure you’ve been gearing up for us to ask.
JKR: Uh-huh.
ES: Clearly -
JKR: Come on then, remind me. Is he dead?
ES: Yeah, is he dead?
JKR: Yeah, he is.
ES: Is he important?
JKR: [regretful] Ohhh…
ES: You don’t have to answer but can you give us some backstory on him?
JKR: I’m going to tell you as much as I told someone earlier who asked me. You know Owen who won the [uK television] competition to interview me? He asked about Grindelwald [pronounced “Grindelvald” HMM…]. He said, “Is it coincidence that he died in 1945,” and I said no. It amuses me to make allusions to things that were happening in the Muggle world, so my feeling would be that while there’s a global Muggle war going on, there’s also a global wizarding war going on.
ES: Does he have any connection to -
JKR: I have no comment to make on that subject.
[Laughter]
MA: Do they feed each other, the Muggle and wizarding wars?
JKR: Yeah, I think so. Yeah. Mmm.
MA: You’ve gone very quiet.
[All laugh; JKR maniacally]
MA: We like when you get very quiet, it means -
ES: You’re clearly hiding something.
source: http://www.mugglenet.com/jkrinterview3.shtml
Edited to add quotations
Amazing how this thread was totally ignored for 6 weeks, then all of a sudden erupts into conversation.
*shrug* The HP fandom has woken up a bit since the book 7 date was released.
Another parallel I discovered while rereading them. Hermione has a book called The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts.
Another: After Fudge refuses to recognize Voldemort’s return, here’s what Dumbledore says:
Fail to act–and history will remember you as the man who stepped aside and allowed Voldemort a second chance to destroy the world we have tried to rebuild!
Replace “Voldemort” with “Germany,” and that could easily have been advice that someone gave to Neville Chamberlain.
Interesting to note, that J.K.Rowling in her Q and A at Carnegie Hall last Friday night has *apparently* mentioned this about Voldemort and Hitler:
Were there intentional similarities between Voldemort and Hitler? Yes, there were. The books, she said, were “a plea for an end to hatred, to bigotry” as well as a lesson for kids “to question authority… You should not assume the establishment tells you the truth.”
The article is here Note: I said “*apparently*” because I have found no other sources of that, besides that article, and they don’t have her as being directly quoted…
Anyone have more info on what she said that night about that?
Here you go:
Q: Many of us older readers have noticed over the years similarities between the Death Eaters tactics and the Nazis from the 30s and 40s. Did you use that historical era as a model for Voldemort’s reign and what were the lessons that you hope to impart to the next generation?
It was conscious. I think that if you’re, I think most of us if you were asked to name a very evil regime we would think Nazi Germany. There were parallels in the ideology. I wanted Harry to leave our world and find exactly the same problems in the wizarding world. So you have the intent to impose a hierarchy, you have bigotry, and this notion of purity, which is this great fallacy, but it crops up all over the world. People like to think themselves superior and that if they can pride themselves in nothing else they can pride themselves on perceived purity. So yeah that follows a parallel. It wasn’t really exclusively that. I think you can see in the Ministry even before it’s taken over, there are parallels to regimes we all know and love. [Laughter and applause.] So you ask what lessons, I suppose. The Potter books in general are a prolonged argument for tolerance, a prolonged plea for an end to bigotry, and I think ti’s one of the reasons that some people don’t like the books, but I think that’s it’s a very healthy message to pass on to younger people that you should question authority and you should not assume that the establishment or the press tells you all of the truth.
source: http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/10/…and-scores-more
Here you go:
source: http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/2007/10/…and-scores-more
Thank you ever so much! That’s what I was looking for! Now we have something to really back up our speculated parallel in this thread!