Did Luke Skywalker fight the Nazis?

"Star Wars". A story that took place "long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away." Are you sure? There are many indications that the Empire is actually ... the Cosmic Third Reich.

Born in 1944 in California, George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, spent his youth away from the nightmares of armed conflict. The Cold War that he grew up in didn't turn into an open fight. Perhaps this is why Lucas sought inspiration for a stellar saga in an earlier conflict - the cruel and much more spectacular WWII.

In addition to the spectacular shootings and attacks of the American director, he was also interested in the political aspect of this conflict. Of course, none of the previous parts of "Star Wars" lacks spectacular battles, but the main storyline is the gradual transformation of the system in the galaxy . Alive reminiscent of the history of Germany.

From democracy to dictatorship

The Weimar Republic, established after World War I, was a democratic state - until the elections in 1933 were not won by the NSDAP party headed by Adolf Hitler. The National Socialist German Workers' Party had been growing in strength for several years, and as a result of the mounting economic and social crises it finally managed to win a parliamentary majority.

The Nazis are getting ready to take power ... like the Sith (Parteitag in Nuremberg, 1927, Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1969-054-53A, license CC-BY-SA 3.0 de).

However, this democratic choice quickly turned out to be revolutionary for the German system. Hitler began to act as president and chancellor simultaneously (as the Leader and Chancellor of the Reich), and the Act on Government Authorities, under which could issue laws contrary to the constitution , it actually gave him absolute power.

Just as the Weimar Republic turned into the Third Reich by the will of the majority, the Republic from the world of "Star Wars" turned into the Galactic Empire. Chancellor Palpatine, like Hitler, won unlimited power not as a result of a coup but a traditional parliamentary vote.

Of course, the hero played by Ian McDiarmid achieved his goal thanks to conspiracies and secretly getting rid of his opponents, but he cannot be considered to have seized the reins of government by force. As chancellor leading the Republic on the one hand and Lord of the Sith leading the Separatists on the other, he manipulated the Senate so much that it decided to entrust it with absolute power. So that's how freedom perishes. With a storm of applause - commented in "Revenge of the Sith" by Padmé Amidala.

Palpatine and Hitler

The process of transition from democracy to dictatorship is not the only thing that George Lucas drew from German history. It was on the aforementioned leader of the Third Reich that the creator of "Star Wars" modeled the figure of the Grand Chancellor Sheev Palpatine. The leader of the Empire and one of the main dark heroes of the space saga, , like Adolf Hitler, did not seem too dangerous.

Palpatine was calm and calculating, and his appearance - a well-groomed man but already tarnished by age - aroused no particular fear or respect. The Chancellor of the Republic earned respect for his charm and ability to plot. He always knew perfectly well who to smile at, who to ask for a favor and who to give good advice.

Hitler, although he was much younger than Palpatine when he came to power and spoke much more energetically, he also achieved his position through intelligence, cleverness and charisma rather than getting his hands dirty.

“So that's how freedom perishes. With a storm of applause. " Cosplayerka as Padmé Amidala at Expo 2012 in France (photo:Katunechan, license CC BY-SA 3.0, wikimedia commons).

The absolute power of Hitler and Palpatine was reinforced by two events:night of the long knives and order 66 . After the NSDAP won the elections and became the head of state, the Führer wanted to get rid of possible competition, so he ordered his political opponents to be captured or murdered.

The Grand Chancellor, in turn, using the unconditional obedience of the clone army, decided to liquidate the threatening Jedi Order. Both Hitler and Palpatine , explained their actions by the detection of coups planned against them .

Both did not become leaders overnight, and they were extremely patient in their quest for power, meticulously ticking off the next points of the plan to be implemented. Hitler first founded the party, then led it to victory in the elections, then headed the government to finally change the rules and declare himself chancellor and leader at the same time.

Hitler speaking to the Reichstag in December 1941. The German leader still pretended to be a democrat, although the assembly was jokingly called "the most expensive choir in the world" (Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1987-0703-507 / unknown author, license CC-BY-SA 3.0 de).

Palpatine also rose to power gradually. From becoming chancellor ("The Phantom Menace"), by increasing his prerogatives ("Attack of the Clones"), to declaring himself emperor ("Revenge of the Sith") and dissolving the Senate ("New Hope"). Both publicly supported democracy while quietly devising a plan to destroy it.

The Empire as the Third Reich

The goals of the Galactic Empire were analogous to those adopted by the Third Reich. Darth Vader, Chancellor Palpatine, and their henchmen sought to take control of the entire galaxy. Every planet was to submit to their leadership, just as the Nazis said every country would recognize German rule.

Though none of the films said it explicitly, the Empire has human supremacy . While - as we have seen in the prequels - the Jedi Council was made up of representatives of various races, the crews of the Imperial ships - as the original trilogy shows - are composed exclusively of representatives of the homo sapiens genre. .

Palpatine and Vader, on the other hand, do not perform racially motivated killings. Their actions are not as extreme in this regard as the Nazi genocide. However, they certainly cannot be called less ruthless. They do not do it for species or racial reasons, but in "A New Hope" the forces of the Empire destroy Alderaan without blinking an eye, thus killing many more lives than Hitler did during the Holocaust.

The military forces of the Empire, ready to destroy anything that stands in their way (photo from the exhibition at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, author mertxe iturrioz, license CC BY-SA 2.0, wikimedia commons).

Even looks correct

George Lucas also adapted the appropriate iconography to the plot, modeled on the history of Germany. It is no coincidence that the colors of the Empire are black, white and red, and its henchmen use a symbol that may be associated with a swastika.

The uniforms of the Empire's soldiers also resemble those worn by the Nazis - they are dark, single-colored and even in cut they do not differ too far from what the army of the Third Reich looked like. The inspiration from the army of this country was used in one more aspect - the characteristic white-clad stormtroopers owe their name to German soldiers fighting in World War I.

In "Space Eggs", a parody of "Star Wars" directed by Mel Brooks, officers wear uniforms even closer to those of the Nazis than those of the original. In one of the scenes we hear a soldier nodding to his superior with the words "Jawohl kommandant". George Lucas was a tad more subtle, though it's not hard to guess his source of inspiration anyway.

German stormtroopers breaking through the trenches near Sedan, May 1917. Any associations? (source:public domain).

Probably not many people are aware of this, but the saga's logo itself also refers to Germany and the Nazis . As Chris Taylor recalls in the book "Star Wars. How did they conquer the universe? ”Lucas's main tip for project lead Suzy Rice was to make the logotype“ very fascist ”.