In her chapter, “Was Voldemort a Nazi?: Death Eater Ideology and National Socialism”, by Nancy R. Reagin, we see the comparisons between Voldemort and Hitler and the ideas that they shared and differed. The two men both took the idea of a “pure race” and felt that any person who was not of their “pure race” needed to be wiped off the face of the Earth. Adolf Hitler felt that the Aryan race was the one true race, while Voldemort felt that only pure-blooded witches and wizards were fit to practice magic.

However, both of these men did not have man things in common other than their want to rid the world of any “impure” races and the fact that they were both hypocritical. In the “Harry Potter” series, Lord Voldemort was a “half-blood”. A “half-blood” is a person who is the child of a witch or wizard and a non-magic person which is also known as a muggle. When the article was written, there were speculations that Adolf Hitler was half Jewish, though, again, at the time the article was written the fact had yet to be proven or disproven. The main comparison between Lord Voldemort and Adolf Hitler is this quote from Reagin: “What is distinctive about Hitler and the Nazis among fascist movements-what made them such a useful comparison for Rowling-was their racial policies (Reagin, 129).”

Many people tried to conceal their heritage during World War II and J.K. Rowling used this method in the Harry Potter Series as well. “Those who tried to conceal Muggle ancestry were vulnerable to being found out and turned in, because in such a small population, those who had “unusual” (not traditional wizarding) names must have stuck out (Reagin, 139).” Though it would not work for many, the idea of trying to save a family from either death or torture would be a reason to risk the chance. Just like in Nazi Germany, the people would fake a pureblood line to try and avoid being found out. “The National Socialist regime made proof of “Aryan” ancestry a requirement for many government benefits and positions; those who wanted higher-ranking positions in the Party or the government (for example, SS officers) might even have to produce proof of “pure” ethnic German ancestry going back to 1750 (Reagin, 139).” In order to survive happily and move up in ranks, you needed to be able to produce this ancestry, if you didn’t have it, you needed to fake it.

However, unlike Hitler who was constantly seen in the public eye, Voldemort preferred to safeguard his own power and keep his immortality as well as searching for the Elder Wand. Hitler gave speeches that made many who heard them feel so moved, and feel like what he was saying was exactly how life was supposed to be. Voldemort, really did not give public speeches. He told his followers what they needed to hear and as long as his wants and needs were met, he allowed them to do what they wanted as well. “Although Voldemort seems to have focused primarily on the Elder Wand during Deathly Hallows, he was certainly willing to let his followers pursue their vision of pureblood superiority while he was abroad (Reagin, 132).” Voldemort, though he believed in the pureblood cause, was more concerned with having and maintaining power and being immortal, rather than making sure that there would only be purebloods left in the world, rather than letting muggleborns learn magic or marry into pureblood or even halfblood families.

In conclusion, though Voldemort and Adolf Hitler were very similar in their racial policies, they went about maintaining their power and expanding their presence in different ways.