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Galactic Empire, a Space-age Third Reich
Born in May of 1944, in Modesto,
California, George Lucas lived a world away from
the horrors of Fascist Germany. Yet its imprint
is more than evident in Lucas’ life’s work and
creative brainchild, the Star Wars Saga. Admitting
that the Galactic Empire was based on Germany’s
Third Reich, Lucas drew from history the characters
and imagery needed to paint his evil regime. While
some parallels are obvious—such as the robotic
white soldiers Lucas named “storm troopers,” the
same name Hitler gave his personal bodyguards
during World War II, other comparisons require
a little digging. These comparisons make for a
fascinating study.
Senator Palpatine and Adolf Hitler:
The story of Senator Palpatine as fleshed out
in Episodes I, II, and III bears remarkable resemblance
to Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. Both men rose
from obscurity to power, outwardly embracing democracy
and the republic, while behind the scenes they
worked for its ruin. In Episode II Senator Palpatine
faces the dissolution of the senate with, “I love
democracy…I love the republic,” while reluctantly
accepting supreme power. It is unknown that he
is also the Sith Lord, orchestrating the downfall
of democracy. This echoes the history of Hitler,
who also outwardly supported democracy, promising
to play by its rules, all along forming a shadow
government and an army among the ranks of his
Nazi party. The similarity is most striking in
the burning of the Jedi temple and the 1933 burning
of the Reichstag which effectively dissolved the
German senate. These spectacles were both masterminded
to bring Palpatine and Hitler into power. Afterwards,
Palpatine installs himself as Emperor, while Hitler
declared himself “Fuhrer,” or supreme leader.
The leadership style of Palpatine
continues to be modeled after Hitler, who then
withdrew from the public eye and surrounded himself
with only those whom he knew to be his loyal followers.
While Hitler formed the SS—a black-coated protection
squad which protected him day and night and publicly
carried out his orders, Palpatine as emperor created
Darth Vader—his black robed crony whose obedience
to the Emperor extended to destroying whole planets.
Hitler is remembered as evil embodied, and as
such, Lucas could not have chosen a better figure
to model Palpatine after.
Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker
Parallels:
In German, vater means “father.” Thus, Vader is
a most interesting and deliberate choice for a
character who is the father of the spiritual Star
Wars hero. This father-son relationship finds
its parallel in the relationship between the German
poet and political rebel Albrecht Haushofer and
his father, Karl. Karl’s frequent travels to Japan
greatly influenced his life and thinking. He was
particularly entranced by the samurai--the Japanese
military aristocracy which Lucas drew on heavily
for inspiration for the Jedi. In the 1920s Karl
became involved with Hitler through his close
student, Rudolf Hess (who later was considered
Hitler's #3 man after Goring). Karl became instrumental
in forming the alliance between Germany and Japan.
An additional interesting side note is that a
geopolitical contemporary named Maull existed
at this time. Maul was a contemporary sith of
Anakin Skywalker.
Young Albrecht, in a poem entitled
Der Vater, alludes to an evil that shows itself
once every thousand years. When Star Wars begins
the sith had not been seen for that long. The
poem continues by saying that Albrecht's father
had power to stop this evil but instead he unleashed
it, a power and choice that Anakin Skywalker made
before becoming Darth Vader. While Albrecht worked
alongside his father at first, attempting to bring
peace to Europe through a treaty with England
and France, he later saw the futility of his actions
and joined the Bomb plot to assassinate Hitler
and restore balance and peace in Germany. Here
George Lucas departs from history; for while Luke
succeeds in overcoming the evil that his father
embraced, Albrecht was not as fortunate. He was
arrested for his treasonous involvement and shot
by an SS commando as Russian troops entered Berlin.
Karl was also imprisoned after the war. Perhaps
the remembrance of his son prompted his death
in 1946. Before his death, Darth Vader redeemed
himself by throwing off the Emperor’s influence
and restoring balance to the universe. He is last
seen taking his place among Obi-Wan Kenobi and
Yoda, thus becoming the Jedi he once was. Karl’s
last act in life also resembled the Jedi when
he committed suicide by seppuku, the traditional
Samurai method.
Nazi Echoes
The discerning eye recognizes the overt Nazi overtones
apparent in the Galactic Empire. This is no accident.
George Lucas reportedly told costume designer
and military historian John Mollo that he wanted
the “baddies” to look Fascist. The atmosphere
of rigid control and dehumanization was the ideal
of Hitler, whose armies marched in stiff procession,
going beyond the description of disciplined to
robotic. The uniforms and caps worn by imperial
officers in Star Wars were modernized versions
of 1915 Bavarian Chevaulgers. The throne room
scene in Episode IV is reminiscent of a Nazi propaganda
film, further painting the image that history
repeats itself. In this way watchers of Star Wars
gain a lesson in history.
About the Author
Francesca Black has always enjoyed Science Fiction
and she manages the content at: Science Fiction
Corner http://www.science-fiction-corner.com
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