Napoleon & Hitler comparison (Juawan)

In the book Animal Farm the character Napoleon could be compared to Adolf Hitler, because they both had a thing for eliminating their enemies and reinforcing their status as supreme leader of their domain. Both shared characteristics of being cruel, brutal, selfish, devious and extremely hungry for power. They both used propaganda to gain and persuade people to join/support their cause and if they didn’t they would be punished and maybe put to death. According to the holocaust explained “The Nazis used propaganda to increase their support and appeal. They spent huge sums of money on newspapers, leaflets and poster campaigns with simple slogans encouraging people to support the party” (The Holocaust Explained).

They both used and twisted laws to gain and maintain more power and take advantage over everyone else. They also strongly relied on their military personnel’s to enforce their laws or ways of thinking to control the population and make them believe what their leader is doing is for the better. I think Europeans at the time were most likely aware, but was to afraid to stand up and say something because they didn’t want to face Hitler’s brutal army or they just didn’t want anything to do with Hitler and his devious ways. And according to lewrockwell “Some might argue that Germans, unlike people in other nations, should not have trusted and supported their government officials during the war because it was obvious that Hitler and his henchmen were evil. The problem with that argument, however, is that throughout the 1930s many Germans and many foreigners did not automatically come to the conclusion that Hitler was evil. On the contrary, as we saw in part one of this article, many of them saw Hitler as exercising the same kind of strong leadership that Franklin Roosevelt was exercising to bring the United States out of the Great Depression and, in fact, as implementing many of the same kinds of programs that Roosevelt was implementing in the United States” (Lewrockwell).

I think this will also happen later in the book as Napoleon starts to acquire more power and control over the farm animals, and they won’t recognize until its too late. I believe the only reason the animals haven’t seen the signs are because they have been heavily pulled into Napoleon’s propaganda, believing everything he was doing was for them and he was going to make things better by doing what he thought was right. And for the ones who did see the signs they didn’t speak indifferently, because it would cost them their lives.

Hornberger, Jacob G.. "Why Germans Supported Hitler by Jacob G. Hornberger." LewRockwell.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. http://www.lewrockwell.com/hornber.

100, 1928 the Nazis were a well-organised political party with over. "Nazi Propaganda and promises - Key Stage 3 - The Holocaust Explained." The Holocaust Explained - Homework & Online Education Tool for Students. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2012. http://www.theholocaustexplained.org/ks3/the-nazi-rise-to-power/how-did-nazis-gain-power/propaganda-and-promises/.