How visable was Voldemort during the First War?

[M.Clifford]

No: HPFGUIDX 121667


--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Amanda" <ExSlytherin at a...> 
wrote:
> The question is this: 
> 
> Just how open and visible was Voldemort was during the first war?  
> 
I kept thinking about the analogy between Nazi Germany before the 
WWII (not much fun at 3am  ;-)) and how Hitler was an elected member 
if government before he declared himself dictator.  
> Although, I know HP is a different set of circumstances, and 
Voldemort was not a member of the Ministry.  Could he could have 
been something, a member of the Wizengamot perhaps, or a power 
player like Lucius Malfoy is in Harry Potter¡¦s time?  
> 
> I suppose my question is was Voldemort an underground terrorist 
working to subvert the Ministry of Magic?  And if he so, was the  
Ministry openly or secretly opposing him? (If secretly, was that 
what the Order was set up for?) Or was Voldemort a legitimate member 
of the WW, albeit one with extreme opinions, working to subvert the 
Ministry?  
> 
> Thanks and cheers, Mandy

Valky:
Ok, I don't claim to be any kind of authority on this, but if you 
ask my opinion, I'd say number two, with a twist on your take of it. 
LV wasn't a power player like Lucius, that's far too petty for him.

To explain throroughly, DD says at the end of COS Tom dissappeared 
for many years and when he re-emerged he was almost unrecognisable, 
hardly anyone connected him to the handsome clever head boy he was 
at Hogwarts. I glean two things from this: 

1. Voldemort was visible to the WW prior to the war but he had been 
gone a long time, hence I suspect that although he was at first 
legitimately a part of the society it probably wasn't a position of 
Ministerial or political distinction, a position like that would 
require he be a reputable member of the London Wizard community for 
many years.  He was not, so whatever he *did* do when he came back 
it was not likely to be that.

2. Tom had just spent a couple of decades contemplating and plotting 
his immortal reign of terror. He is not coming back to London to 
bribe St Mungos I should think. Chances are he walked in pretended 
to be nobody and started *killing* his enemies before they even knew 
he was there. Purpose purpose purpose is the key to imagining what 
LV did at the beginning of his first war. Remember he had about 20 
years to plan it, he wasn't going to fart around with small fry.

Just one more thing, about the organisation of the Order of the 
Phoenix. Dumbledore is described as the only one he ever feared. 
The way I read that, is that DD found LV out and undermined his war 
a fair few times all on his own. The Order of the Phoenix came 
later, and I am most comfortable with the presumption that it just 
formed all by itself, a bit like the DA. Dumbledores friends and 
admiring associates volunteered themselves to create an organised 
rebellion. They *nominated* DD their leader, remember how he blushed 
in the first chapter of PS.. he's modest, he inspired the OOtP he 
didn't demand it.

Hope that helps you in your RP, and perhaps even starts some 
conversation about this topic. Good Luck Mandy, and thanks for 
asking.