hitler vs voldemort

Voldemort, Hitler, and the End of a Species Harry Potter is a New York Times bestselling children’s book series, as well as a film franchise created by J.K. Rowling. The world she creates allows the readers to leave the “real” world and dive into another universe. Although the books were written primarily for children, many adults have read the books and watched the movies, joining the Harry Potter phenomenon. Many adults read her series because the stories are a response to actual real world issues we face every day. Political problems that are prominent in the wizarding world are the same problems we face today; including totalitarian governments and the need for diversity. Lord Voldemort is the villain of her books and he encompasses all these problems, just as Adolf Hitler did during World War II. Adolf Hitler, perhaps the most famous dictator in history, gave inspiration to Rowling’s Voldemort character. Like Hitler, Voldemort wished to bring about the pure race and rid the world of the inferior ones. While it is morally and ethically callous, the attitudes these two dictators have would have caused devastating effects to the human populations. Essentially, the human population would have been endanger of extinction, due to reduced genetic diversity, had these men succeeded in their plans. In order to restore her world, J.K. Rowling battled bloodshed with humanity and the will to live, thus unintentionally strengthening genetic diversity. Rowling’s Voldemort and Adolf Hitler are of the same mind; their background, political ambitions, and ideals are the basis of their reigns, but it is the projection of the ultimate end of humanity that encouraged legions of resistant forces to stop Voldemort and Hitler. Although Adolf Hitler was a real man and Lord Voldemort was a fictional character, they are essentially the same man, they have the same background, the same political ambitions, and they both believe in the same ideals, that there is one superior race. Hitler’s idea of a superior race was the Aryans, blonde hair and blue eyed; this is ironic because Hitler himself had brown hair and brown eyes. Through the use of political propaganda, Hitler enforced the idea of this Aryan race on the world. The Nazis used the swastika, a symbol of good for centuries, to make people believe that their concepts of an Aryan race is good and justified the killing of millions of people. The swastika is now largely branded with hatred and violence due to the changed connotations of the symbol and the genocide committed during the use of the swastika in World War II. Lord Voldemort’s idea of a superior race of pure blood witches and wizards stems from the hatred of his own father, who was incidentally human. Voldemort, the name he chose to distance himself from his human father, actually means “flight of death” which Rowling stated, “She [Rowling] needed a name that evokes both power and exoticism” (Rowling). Thus, Rowling created a character where the mere mention of Voldemort’s name evoked fear in the characters of her books. Voldemort’s political propaganda became evident in the seventh book and movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows . The black statue, “Magic is Might,” depicts a witch and a wizard sitting atop a mountain of humans. This statue is a symbol of dominance and is disturbingly similar to the photos depicting the Holocaust during World War II. Nonetheless, both men were able to get away with this genocide because they were very successful at convincing people of their good intentions through manipulation, regardless of their inferior backgrounds, but where did Hitler and Voldemort get the idea of a superior race. Hitler’s idea of a superior race is concluded from a scientific stand point rooted in Charles Darwin’s Origins of Species, where he simply strives to speed up the evolutionary process; however he does this without realizing the long term effects of limiting genetic diversity. According to Jerry Bergman, a professor of biology, “Darwin’s notion that evolutionary progress occurs mainly as a result of the elimination of the weak in the struggle for survival…Darwinism justified and encouraged the Nazi views on both race and war” (Bergman). By this we can conclude that Hitler was merely acting according to science by encouraging a species that is stronger. However by removing the weak, he is limiting genetic diversity and the ability to introduce different genes needed to prolong survival of the species. Genetic diversity is important in the survival of any species. It is through reproduction of a specific trait that helps a species survive. A prime example of genetic diversity encouraging survival is the plague that hit Europe in 1348-50 which killed over 100 million people (Sommerville); the people who survived however, survived because of a genetic anomaly that helped them resist infection. It is the trait of resistance that was inherited through reproduction that finally helped increase the population resulting in a species immune to the plague. From this example it is obvious to conclude that if Hitler succeeded in eliminating all races, but one, global population would decline dramatically, and with the lack of genetic diversity the species would not be able to evolve and become stronger. Voldemort’s ideas reflect Hitler’s interpretations of The Origins of Species, to eliminate the weak and preserve the strong, but are dismissed with evidence through the introduction of characters that counteract the theory. Argus Filch, referred to as a squib in the series, is someone with both magic parents but cannot perform any magic. In the movies Argus Filch is showed as the caretaker of Hogwarts, the magic school, where he is filthy and unmarried he performs an undesirable job. This character supports Voldemort’s notion that non-magical people are less than people with magical abilities. Meanwhile, there are characters that possess greater magical ability and have no magical blood like Hermione Granger. Hermione is a mudblood, someone who has none magic parents. However, Hermione is “the brightest witch of her age” (Rowling). When Hermione is introduced she is eager to learn, which is continuous throughout the series by her ability to quickly learn spells, retain knowledge, and often being the one to get the main characters out of trouble. Characters like Hermione counteract the theories that the strong, pureblood, will overcome the weak, mudblood and humans. Had Voldemort succeeded in eliminating everyone but the pure blood, the wizarding community would have declined dramatically, and the species may have resulted in more squibs being born and the loss of magical abilities all together. New blood and genetic diversity is needed to prolong the survival of a species, whether it is real or fictional. The projection of the ultimate end of humanity encouraged many people to rise up in resistance to Hitler and Voldemort. Hitler had the world against him to stop the genocide of millions of innocent people, while Voldemort had a wizarding race against him. The resistance to Voldemort stands behind the notion of the want to live. The wizards and witches need to take back their humanity from the likes of Voldemort because their numbers were going in decline. Every day people were dying simply because of who they were, Potter watch is a radio broadcast that provided the public with the names of all those who died as a result of this war against Voldemort (Rowling). The people had a pension to survive and while they wanted to stop the unnecessary killings, they realized that in order for life to continue, the species had to endure with a diversity of people, human and wizard alike. It is a fact of life that it is the survival of the fittest, and according to Darwin’s theory Hitler and Voldemort were not the fittest. Hitler took the coward’s way out, and Voldemort died as a result of his own arrogance and it is sweet justice that Harry Potter is the one to defeat Voldemort, a half blood who meets his end through another half blood. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is about young boy’s trials to overcome evil and to bring about a better life for wizards and humans alike. Through the movie franchise the story unveils the parallels to the real world and issues we face today, most prominently World War II and the reign of Hitler on Europe. Like Hitler, Voldemort wanted to bring about a superior race of wizards and eliminate the inferior races that will contaminate the pure blood. Through the elimination of those inferior races, Voldemort and Hitler failed to realize that their actions were in fact going to bring about the downfall of the human species, through reduced genetic diversity. Genetic diversity is the key to the survival of the species. Whereas, the want to live and the will of humanity gave way to the resistant forces that rose up against these men in order to preserve the species, thus creating the stronger species. J.K Rowling’s Voldemort is Hitler, but it is the direct correlation that he could have ended the species as a result of trying to build a superior race is why diversity is important in the world today.
Work Cited
Sommerville, J. P. Black Death. Black Death. Wisconsin University, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Bergman, Jerry. "Darwinism and the Nazi Race Holocaust." - Darwinism and the Nazi Race

Holocaust -. Creation ex Nihilo Technical Journal, 1999. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York. Arthur A. Levine books

(Scholastics).1999
Columbus, C. (Director). (2002). Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets [Motion Picture].
Yates, D. (Director). (2010). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [Motion Picture].

Rowling, J. K. "Rowling ‘sorry’ for Voldemort’s name." Metro. Metro, 4 Feb. 2009. Web. 04
Nov. 2013.

Cited: Sommerville, J. P. Black Death. Black Death. Wisconsin University, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. Bergman, Jerry. "Darwinism and the Nazi Race Holocaust." - Darwinism and the Nazi Race Holocaust -. Creation ex Nihilo Technical Journal, 1999. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York. Arthur A. Levine books (Scholastics).1999 Columbus, C. (Director). (2002). Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets [Motion Picture]. Yates, D. (Director). (2010). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows [Motion Picture]. Rowling, J. K. "Rowling ‘sorry’ for Voldemort’s name." Metro. Metro, 4 Feb. 2009. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.