H.P.B.E. Caitlin Mason/Cassie Madison

Harry Potter Based Essay 3/12/08

How Harry Potter is Like World War Two

It is easy to see that Harry Potter is partially about a war, especially in the last book. But not everyone knows that the Harry Potter series is somewhat based on a real war that actually happened approximately sixty-nine years ago. Yes, Harry Potter is based on World War Two. There is so much evidence of it, with slightly changed things to help the storyline. Although in World War Two, there wasn't a prophecy or a "Chosen One", they are extremely similar.

Firstly, in Harry Potter we know it was the second war against Voldemort. In real life, World War Two was obviously the second World War. Even though the book didn't take place in the 1940's, they both took place in Europe.

The most obvious piece of evidence we found, however, was how similar Voldemort and Hitler were. Both of them had obsessions with power and blood purity. Both Voldemort and Hitler had horrible childhoods. As we know, Voldemort's parents died and he grew up in an orphanage. When Voldemort finished school, he asked to teach as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but was told to come back when he was older, which he did. But Dumbledore denied his job request. Likewise, Hitler's parents died when he was young, too. Hitler had a talent with art, so he applied for an art school in Paris, but they turned him down. Both Voldemort and Hitler suffered severe disappointment. In addition to that, both Voldemort and Hitler were halfbloods. Voldemort had a Muggle father and a witch as a mother, making him a halfblood, while Hitler was actually partially Jewish. Also, Voldemort and Hitler both wanted everyone to be "pureblood". To Hitler this meant blonde-haired, blue-eyed, pale-skinned Germans. To Voldemort this meant wizards without a single trace of Muggle blood in their veins. Another example of Hitler and Voldemort being alike is that no one was allowed to use their name! Hitler told everyone to call him the Fuhrer which means 'the leader'. Voldemort made everyone call him You-Know-Who, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the Dark Lord, etc. It seems like Hitler and Voldemort cold have gotten along very nicely together.

Another thing we found is that Hitler and Voldemort both had followers which they created themselves. In Hitler's case, they were the Nazis. For Voldy, they were the Death Eaters.

Very obviously, they were both evil dictators of a country for a short period of time until they lost the war and died. They tried to commit mass genocide, for Hitler the Jews, for Voldemort the Mudbloods. They killed at lot of people with "non-pure blood", but never actually succeeded in wiping out an entire race.

In addition to that, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire we read that Cornelius (Corny) Fudge, the former Minister of Magic, did not want to believe Harry or Dumbledore that Voldemort was back. Correspondingly, in World War Two, before the USA was involved in it, there were multiple signs that the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor. However, when someone realized it, a government official did not want to believe it. So, all in all, similar things happened in the Harry Potter series as in the World War Two era.

Many other things were akin about the Death Eaters and the Nazis besides following a dictator. First of all, the motto "For the Greater Good" came up. Yes, we know that was about Grindlewald, but it still signified the racism between, well, races. We think that the Death Eaters had the same thoughts about this as the Nazis did, for that was the motto of the Nazis in the first place. To the Death Eaters this meant eliminating Muggle and Muggleborns to keep the Wizard race "pure". To the Nazis it meant exterminating all the Jews to keep from "polluting" the German race. Also, Voldemort and Hitler both had their followers kill all who opposed them. Another fact is how the treated the prisoners. The Death Eaters threatened them with the Dementor's Kiss, a fate worse than death. The Nazis threatened them with torture, then death.

They also had trials for those involved in the war that were suspected for doing bad things to the prisoners. After World War Two, they had the Nuremberg Trials. After the war with Voldemort, they had Wizengamot trials for suspected Death Eaters.

And finally, one last reason why Harry Potter is like World War Two is that the people who officially ended the wars were both named Harry (Harry S. Truman and Harry J. Potter).

In conclusion, there are many reasons why World War Two is like the Harry Potter series. We hope you've enjoyed this essay.