Gellert Grindelwald Went About His Plan All Wrong

The Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald is an evil character in JK Rowling 's Harry Potter book series. He is deliberately written to be a Hitler like character, as he was similarly defeated in 1945, and his name is German sounding. His plan was ultimately to have wizards and witches dominate the muggles.

To help complete his mission he wished to possess all Deathly Hallows, three highly powerful magical objects supposedly created by Death himself, that if possessed together, make someone become the Master of Death which involved some form of immortality. Although, the ‘true’ Master of Death accepts the fact that death was inevitable and that there were other things far worse.

Grindlewald believed in magical eugenics, a set of beliefs and practices that aimed to improve the genetic quality the magical population - he was a pureblood supremacist.

Side story about wizard racism - a pureblood is someone who was born into a wizarding family that claims to have no Muggles or Muggle-borns in their family tree (although traced back far enough nearly every wizard linage has some non-magical ancestor).  

A muggle is a non-magic person. Pureblood supremacists think themselves superior to wizards and witches whose families had married any Muggles or Muggle-borns. A muggle born is a witch or wizard who was born to two non-magical parents. A half-blood is a wizards or witches who had Muggle or Muggle-born parents or grandparents. A mudblood is a derogatory term for a Muggle, a muggle-born wizard, or a half-blood wizard, used by pureblood supremacists who think of them to be of ‘lower breeding’ or worth, and undeserving of magic.

This wizard racism, like regular racism, is non-logical for many reasons. There appears to be no difference in the magical power of Muggle-borns and half-bloods compared to purebloods. Furthermore, muggle-born witches and wizards are possible, showing one does not need either parent to be a wizard, let alone both purebloods, to create a magical person. Wizard blood does not even definitely bestow magical abilities on to the child. Argus Filch, the caretaker of Hogwarts, was a ‘Squib’, AKA a wizard-born, a non-magical person born to at least one magical parent; he was a wizard-born Muggle. It was believed that muggle-born witches and wizards were descended from Squibs who married Muggles, have dormant magical abilities in the bloodline. Back to Gellert.

Grindlewald wanted to start a war with the muggles because he was a pureblood supremacist and thought of muggles as lesser. The muggles are a majority on the planet and wizards and witches have always had to hide from them.

"Each wizarding governing body will be responsible for the concealment, care and control of all magical beasts, beings, and spirits dwelling within its territory's borders. Should any such creature cause harm to, or draw the notice of, the Muggle community, that nation's wizarding governing body will be subject to discipline by the International Confederation of Wizards." — Clause 73 of International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy

The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was enacted in 1692 and put fully into effect in 1692 in order to hide the existence of witches and wizards from the Muggles who persecuted them. Muggle-Repelling Charms active to erase the memories of a Muggle if they witness a magical event or saw a magical creature. Not always though, Vernon Dursley was a muggle who was aware his sister-in-law was a witch but choose to remain intentionally ignorant of magic. Violations of the Statute of Secrecy were prosecuted by the Improper Use of Magic Office.

"As the witch-hunts grew ever fiercer, wizarding families began to live double lives, using charms of concealment to protect themselves and their families. By the seventeenth century, any witch or wizard who chose to fraternise with Muggles became suspect, even an outcast in his or her own community." — Albus Dumbledore's notes

Therefore, wizards largely live outside the laws of their respective nations, having a separate currency system and governmental bodies. They live in secret, which has been stated to be stressful and unfair in many wizards’ minds.

I agree - it is unfair. Wizards should not have to hide. There is an underlying narrative that because wizards are the minority they would be outcast and hunted down if they were to go out of hiding. I do not believe this would not be the case anymore if they went about exposure correctly.

Let me cut to the point, wizards should not be hiding, they should be running the world, but you do not need a war to have this happen. Ease the statutes in a constructive and democratic manner and help the muggles out with magic!

Wizards are, in this fictional universe, demi-gods; their magical abilities allow them to manipulate the universe by their will, provided practice and particular object possession. They could solve global warming in an afternoon if they were to work together. If they ran the world, they would not need to burn foil fuels or use electricity as the energy and power for travel and food growth is as simple as a wave of the wrist. They could solve world hunger in one day in the same way as they manifest a feast at Hogwarts.

Had Grindlewald been less arrogant he could have gone about his plan to have wizards take over the world without there being any need for bloodshed.

“Your anger, your desire for revenge, is natural." - “I'll burn down their world.” - “Our war with the Muggles begins today!”

But he was obviously angry and hateful, as those quotes above show. Grindlewald wanted to break the Statute of Secrecy to show the superior power of wizards over muggles. Although he was said to be the most powerful dark wizard out there, second only to you know who, had he studied more history he would know that all evil, hateful, and dark wizards ALWAYS fail in the Wizarding World.

He should have read the 'The Tale of the Three Brothers' - the story of the Deathly Hallows - on a deeper level. The first and second brother were described as "combative" and "arrogant" and died soon after possessing one of the Hallows. The third brother was described as the “humblest and also the wisest of the brothers” and Death ‘was never able to find him’ until he decided at which point he 'greatest death like an old friend'. Only in Grindlewald's last moments, long after his defeat (by then maybe he had learned), did he say ‘Kill me…I welcome death!”

That third brother, the true Master of Death, turned out to be Harry in the end, having possessed all three Hallows, accepted the inevitability of his death, ‘greeted death like an old friend’, and understood there were other things far much worse than death (losing friends, family, and love).

Love is what saved Harry Potter in the end and allowed him to win, his mother’s love, family, and friends. This is how Grindlewald should have gone about his plan to rule over the muggles, not by starting a war with them, not by being a murderer or an assassin - but by showing them how magic could benefit everyone, magical and non-magical alike.

I could imagine a world where they shall rise to greet the dawning of a new era in which lion and hyena come together, in a great and glorious future! Wait, sorry, wrong movie. Where wizards and muggles live together in harmonious tandem, curing diseases, perfecting industrial water purification, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, growing the forests, controlling the weather, extending lifetimes, ending corruption.

Wizards have ways to do this on a whim, with a twirl of a wrist, a single thought, imagine if they had the support of the muggle world. They could globalize these human centric efforts. I would vote for a wizard in a democracy if I could. They are magical they would actually follow through on campaign promises in a heartbeat with no sweat off their brow. What a terrible universe where they are unable to help rid the world of such ailments. Muggles can travel through portkeys – I think they could get international muggle support for instant global travel. The only repair people could be wizards, so there is an economic incentive to support magical people.

What a terrible plan too, Grindlewald, to go to war with the muggles. The muggles would fight back as long as they could leading to wizards and witches dying. Because magical people are rare/the minority, this would make it harder for one to repopulate the earth with magical people. If wizards and witches were able to marry freely and reproduce there would probably be MORE magical people born, thus increasing the wizarding world further! Jacob Kowalski and Queenie Goldstein are definitely going to have a bunch of kids.

Wizard and muggles are not even different in terms of moral and ethical superiority. Muggles cause World Wars with tanks as was shown in the second Fantastic Beast film, while wizards have things like "The Death Cell" - a pure white room filled with Death potion used to carry out executions.

To summarize, Grindlewald failed because he was arrogant and his plan was not thought through. Had he decided to help the muggle world, or hell even do an Imperius Curse on the president and have him tell the world wizards are real and LOOK they can cure world hungry ~*swish and flick* ~proof! Food! - that would have been a better plan then being combative and stoking anger. There is even an argument to be made that wizards SHOULD run the world because they could solve global humanitarian issues. In the end the bad guy didn’t win because of his hateful plan, and now his (and my) dream of having wizards take over will always be compared to genocidal and xenophobic intent because he want about it the wrong way. Doing so a more peaceful way would be a net positive for both worlds.

"Gellert—Your point about Wizard dominance being FOR THE MUGGLE'S OWN GOOD -- this, I think, is the crucial point. Yes, we have been given power and yes, that power gives us the right to rule, but it also gives us responsibilities over the ruled. We must stress this point, it will be the foundation stone upon which we build. Where we are opposed, as we surely will be, this must be the basis of all our counterarguments. We seize control FOR THE GREATER GOOD. And from this it follows that where we meet resistance, we must use only the force that is necessary and no more. (This was your mistake at Durmstrang! But I do not complain, because if you had not been expelled, we would never have met.) -Albus" — One of Albus Dumbledore's letters to Gellert Grindelwald in their school years as they plotted Muggle domination.

See, Dumbledore knew it.

Thank you all for reading!