Lord Voldemort Totalitarian Leaders

Lord Voldemort & Totalitarian leaders Voldemort wanted to be the greatest and most feared wizard in history, “I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I became the greatest sorcerer in the world!” (Rowling 231). In order to progress further in his goal he acquired followers known as Death Eaters, who were in support of his cause. Because of such loyalty exhibited by Voldemort’s followers, one cannot deny that Voldemort had excellent leadership skills. That together with his maniacal wish of absolute power and authority which should primarily be based on fear unites him with such leaders as Mussolini, Hitler or Stalin. J. K. Rowling in one of her interviews states that clearly there

For instance the Death Eaters who dared not to join after Voldemort was back “One too cowardly to return,... he will pay. One who I believe has left me for ever… he will be killed of course.” (Rowling GoF565) or the ones who tried to hide were hunted and killed. For example Igor Karkaroff, despite managing to hide for approximately a year, he was eventually found and killed by Death Eaters.( Rowling 103 HBP) Even though as well as Joseph Stalin for instance, Voldemort has a very strategic mind and uses the final solution only when he thinks it’s needed absolutely. He also knows the value to the people as long as he can use them with benefits to himself. We clearly see that he didn’t want to kill Snape if it was not so needed he wouldn’t do it since he believed that Snape served him well.(Deathly Hallows). After Voldemort’s fall, the wizards who were under his command, claimed that they were cursed and that was the only reason they did what they did. Very few were willing to admit that they actually shared the opinion of the person in command when they were doing the orders, it seemed way safer and more acceptable to just say that reason was fear or in case of the wizarding world- a spell of control. Similar things happened after the WWII, when Nazi soldiers and officers claimed that they were only following

Dark Mark and the swastika are definitely similar in the message they convey- the symbols of fear, terror, unrest and death. That’s how Arthur Weasley speaks of the Dark Mark. “The terror it inspired... you have no idea, you’re too young. Just picture coming home and finding the Dark Mark hovering over your house, and knowing what you’re about to find inside... Everyone’s worst fear... the very worst." (Rowling GoF) As Nazi in the Germany that time wore swastika as a sign of belonging to the ideology and the party, the Dark Mark was physically put by Voldemort himself on the Death Eaters, marking them as followers. It was worn as medals of war by soldiers, with honor.” Only Voldemort's inner circle were branded with the Dark Mark: Greyback had not been granted this highest honor." (Rowling DH) Even though, there are differences between two symbols, like that the Dark Mark was created by Voldemort himself, the swastika is an old sign in one of multiple theories, a sign of sun, just reversed to a certain angle, the two still have a lot in common and both work as a sign of belonging to particular group, and for a long time the symbols became an embodiment of dark times, horrors, war and