Throughout her chapter “Was Voldemort a Nazi?,” Nancy Reagin makes stark comparisons to the reign of the wizarding world’s dark lord to our world’s closest equivalent. The two both had an insatiable thirst for power and if anyone got in their way of achieving that power, they very quickly and conveniently disappeared.  Additionally, the ways that their respective parties ruled and governed were similar as well; operating primarily through questionable means and oppressive policies. As such, the two could be considered almost cut/paste copies of one another that have nearly the same motivations, goals, friends, and personal backgrounds.

Of all Hitler’s nefarious wrongdoings, the most well-known is the institutionalization of anti-Semitism. This is similar to both Voldemort and Grindlewald’s view on muggles and muggle-born witches and wizards. Although how they came to power varied, once at the height of their power, they used it to systematically oppress those that they deemed inferior to themselves. As Reagin puts it, “While some extremists in the magical community campaigned to persuade the Ministry to classify mugggles as beasts rather than as human beings…[others] considered wizards to be an entirely separate race from humans.” As Voldemort was seizing power in the Ministry of Magic, he went so far as to replace the statue depicting wizards living peacefully with other races with one showcasing wizard superiority.  As far as I am aware of, Hitler did not go as far as to erect statues blatantly highlighting his views of jewish inferiority, however, he instead systematically committed genocide against non-aryans.

The primary difference between Hitler and Voldemort rests in how they governed their empires. Although they both retained absolute power and control, Hitler sat at the helm of his ship and was the energetic and charismatic leader. Conversely, Voldemort worked almost exclusively from the shadows typically allowing his higher ranking officers to lead while he attended to personal missions. Reagin addresses it herself, “…he [Voldemort] was certainly willing to let his followers pursue their vision of pureblood superiority while he was abroad.” The Death Eaters seem much more adept at acting on their own, without their leader, than the various branches of Hitler’s empire. Furthermore, Voldemort also seemed much more willing to allow his high-ranking officers to use their empire to pursue their own agendas as long as it did not act against Voldemort’s goals: absolute power and immortality.

Regardless of how they personally ruled, their respective parties maintained power in remarkable similar ways: rulings, edicts, and laws. Few people recognize that Hitler came to power through free and democratic elections. It was only after that when he re-shaped the system to ensure he remained in power indefinitely. And it was in that very way that made him so brilliantly manipulative: he used the system and played by the system’s own rules to change the system in his favor. it was only after he was at that point when the oppression of his enemies began. But even still, the oppression that he instituted was legal; he changed the law so that he was allowed to make laws that prevented Jews from succeeding in society. Voldemort work in the same way. After mobilizing his followers and seizing control of the ministry (although in a way rather different from Hitler), Voldemort began issues slews of new restrictions and false reports to suit his agenda. Reagin supports this claim by referring to the Deathly Hallows when Lupin tells Harry, “unless you can prove that you have at least one Wizarding relative, you are now deemed to have obtained your power illegally and must suffer the punishment.” When the level of government autocracy has been reached when they are permitted to freely publish oppressive decrees, such as Voldemort’s against muggle-borns or Hitler’s against Jews, a revolution and revolt is surely in order.

Although the two had vastly different personalities and styles of leadership, their main goals proved to be markedly similar: reshaping the world as they saw fit and achieving total authority. Even though Voldemort prized his own personal power and longevity before anything else compared to Hitler’s determination of establishing Aryans as the leading power of the world, they were both ruthless in their resolve to achieve their goals and commanded the unquestioned loyalty of their subordinates. Ultimately, they both succumbed to the powers of the greater good but their actions scarred their respective worlds and their inhabitants. In any case, comparing the two comes easy for their outlook on the world and their opponents was scarily similar.