The wizarding world and the world wars

[jastrangfeld]

No: HPFGUIDX 46066

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "c_voth312" <divaclv at a...> wrote:

> 
> And somehow, I doubt it's coincidence.  Also, I'm not very good 
with 
> name origins but "Grindewald" sounds like it might be German in 
> origin.  Could it be there was a "Wizard World War" paralleling the 
> conflict in the Muggle world?  Was Hitler's rise to power due, in 
> part, to having a dark wizard on his payroll?  Some things to 
> consider.
> 
> ~Christi


Hmm.  Well you peeked my interest, so I did some research.  I hope 
I'm not doing something wrong by posting the quotes I found:

http://www.wizardwords.net/
"Grindelwald is the name of a ski resort in Switzerland. Grendel is 
the monster defeated by Beowulf in the Old English epic poem. Wald is 
German for forest."

http://hpprogs.blogspot.com/2002_09_01_hpprogs_archive.html
""Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard 
Grindelwald in 1945."
  How is this important? A quick check of the Harry Potter timeline 
puts 1945 about the time when Tom Riddle was at Hogwarts, or was to 
have graduated. Dumbledore at the time was teaching at the school, 
under the able administration of Professor Dippet. This means that, 
while still a young wizard, Dumbledore defeated a presumably powerful 
evil wizard. No wonder Dumbledore is the only wizard that Voldemort 
is afraid of! But my point is this: Dumbledore has had his time, 
fought his battles and won his wars. He is now older, and it is time 
to pass on to the next generation the burden of protecting the world 
from evil. Dumbledore's (like Gandalf's after the destruction of the 
Ring) time has passed. It is time for a new hero to emerge, or for 
all to be lost.
  Of course, just because he is dead, doesnt mean he wont help out at 
all. I think that we will see some posthumous pointers from a spirit 
version of Dumbledore, a la Obi-Wan Kenobi.
  Another hint: Hagrid, at the end of Book 4 says, "Great man, 
Dumbledore. `S long as we've got him, I'm not too worried." Could it 
be any clearer than that? You can kiss your Dumbledore goodbye. 
  So say the signs! We shall see!
  Prognosticated Tuesday, September 03, 2002 by Greg Gershman"

 
As for helping Hitler, well we do know that Hitler was Austrian, and 
therefore by German law of the time should never have been allowed to 
be elected to the status he was elected to.  They had the law changed 
to allow him to become what he became.

Previous messages which discussed this:  1148, 1771, 5008, 5021.

Julie