STAR WARS, ADOLF HITLER and WORLD WAR TWO

DECODING THE HIDDEN ALLEGORIES OF GEORGE LUCAS

By Scott Warner

Most dedicated Star Wars fans already know that the first three films were based on the Mythic Hero Cycle, a literary code regulating the actions of great heroes. Many viewers however still do not realize just how extensively the films conformed to this formula. In fact, Episodes Four, Five and Six followed the steps of the Cycle nearly scene for scene. George Lucas continued the Hero Cycle allegory into the prequel episodes but the relationship was more tenuous because the viewer already knew that Anakin Skywalker didn't qualify as a true hero.

The Hero Cycle pattern was first proposed by Otto Rankin in 1909. He asserted that the human or demi-human heroes of mythology generally followed a common path during their lifetimes. Rankin listed twelve events that most mythic heroes underwent. While researching mythology for evidence of a historical basis for these heroes, Lord FitzRoy Raglan (Richard Somerset) realized that the hero pattern was more extensive. He listed 22 traits that proved common to great heroes. Raglan then ranked famous heroes according to the number of communal events they experienced. Oedipus ranked highest with 21 points; Theseus and Moses both scored 20 points; and Dionysos and King Arthur tied for third with 19 points. Other notable high scorers were Perseus, Romulus and Watu Gunung, a great hero in Javanese mythology. Raglan published these findings in The Hero: A Study In Tradition, Myth And Drama in 1936.

Famed anthropologist Joseph Campbell picked up Raglan's theme and refined his formula. Campbell showed that the steps of the Cycle formed a circular path with an ascending phase followed by a descending stage. He published his ideas in The Hero With A Thousand Faces in 1949. By accident, novelist John Barth stumbled upon the Cycle and added refinements of his own. Barth realized that the Hero's Journey was composed of four phases forming circular quadrants: ascendant; descendant; re-ascendant; and final decline. The boundaries between each quadrant represented a threshold the hero must cross by completing a difficult task. If this crossing was successful, the hero would enter a new realm of perception. A diagram of Barth's version appeared in his collection of novellas Chimera in 1972. Eight of the Steps in the Cycle have multiple parts for a total of 36 citations.

In adapting the Hero Cycle to science fiction, George Lucas displayed brilliant ingenuity (see Chart A: Episodes 1 - 9). The fact that A New Hope conformed to the steps of the first quadrant proves that Lucas relied upon the Cycle from the beginning. The plots of the two succeeding films followed suit. (The steps of the fourth quadrant were covered by a trilogy of novels by Timothy Zahn). The new space opera setting of the movie had a re-invigorating effect on the venerable ritualistic pattern and re-created the arousing thrall conjured up by ancient storytellers (recall the scene of C3PO narrating the heroes' adventures for the Ewoks). However, Lucas was always reticent about acknowledging his reliance on the Cycle. While admitting his use of mythological themes, he avoided detailed discussion of the Hero Cycle itself for thirty years (see note at end of essay section). Disney's scriptwriters for Episodes Seven, Eight and Nine wisely continued using the Hero Cycle as thematic basis for the film.

The second Star Wars allegory concerned Lucas's childhood fascination with science fiction, comic books and movies. All of the Star Wars films contained allusions to famous science fiction characters and places, both literary and cinematic. Lucas also made numerous references to famous characters and scenes in mainstream films (see Chart B; this list is not complete, only the most important references are included to give the reader some understanding of how Lucas encoded the second hidden allegory). These references allowed Lucas to pay homage to his source material while poking fun at it at the same time. Though this allegory was thematically less complex than the Hero Cycle, the inclusion of these references was further evidence that Lucas was encoding hidden messages into the Star Wars movies. (Disney has fortuitously continued these cinematic allusions in its productions.)

While the viewer can marvel at the way Lucas transposed fanciful myth to the high tech world of science fiction, his treatment of the prequel episodes was even more stunning. Though Lucas included references to the Hero Cycle in these movies, there was an entirely new analogy running through the films. This parable alluded to the political career of Adolf Hitler and the beginning of World War II (see Chart C: Episodes 1 - 3). The very opening act of Phantom Menace provided a substantial clue of what was to come: The Trade Federation "Viceroy" spoke with a Japanese accent while his subordinate spoke with a guttural Italian inflection (this subordinate was quickly dismissed by Darth Sidious due to incompetence, emulating Hitler's banishment of Benito Mussolini). While some of the entries in Chart C are simply speculative guesses, there is also a discernable pattern of distinctively ideogrammic characters based on famous people of the World War II era. Once a certain level of correspondence between the movies' characters and these historic figures is surpassed, this configuration becomes undeniable and virtually irrefutable. The statistical probability of that many striking similarities occurring by accident is negligible, it can only be by Lucasian design.

Reputed to be well-read on the subject of World War II, Lucas's motivation for adopting the Hitler analogy arose from two sources. After the release of A New Hope in 1977, it became publicly known that besides the Mythic Hero Cycle, Lucas had also used images from World War II as inspiration for the movie. The Imperial uniforms were patterned after German uniforms; the spaceship dogfights were staged from World War II air combat footage; the sound effects of the spaceships were recorded from a B-17 bomber; the Death Star trench run mimicked the WW II movie The Dam Busters; and above all, the fascist proclivities of the Empire were modeled after Nazi Germany. During the long hiatus after Return of the Jedi, the endless public debates among Star Wars fans about these World War II connections inspired Lucas to allegorically model the new episodes on the actual history of war. Since the Star Wars story line was loosely based on the tyranny of the Nazi empire, it's not surprising that Lucas would choose to expand the analogy to full-detail. The second reason for Lucas's employment of the analogy was because he wanted to prove that he didn't need to rely on the Mythic Hero formula, he wished to demonstrate that he was perfectly capable of inventing his own.

The pattern of events in Phantom Menace concerning Palpatine's insane quest for power broadly replicated Hitler's putsch of 1933 and recapitulated his reliance on deceitful trickery, demagoguery and unrestrained psychopathic viciousness during his reign of terror. The film also incorporated Hitler's skillful diplomatic man-ipulation of neighboring countries and the opening campaigns of his worldwide conquest. Attack of the Clones continued the analogy with Hitler's consolidation of tyrannical dictatorship and the major military events of the war up to the invasion of Russia. In Revenge of the Sith, Lucas's main concern shifted to the transformation of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader and the linking of the prequel episodes to the original movies. These objectives took precedence over the Hitler analogy. However, the movie extended the Hitler allegory by encompassing his descent into full blown psychosis and the high point of his empire during World War II.

The encrypting of character and place names in the prequel episodes was mainly accomplished by three methods: grammatical puns, anagrams and foreign language terms (the same methods used in the original films to suggest character traits). Lucas also used the movies' costumes, sets, locations, weapons and musical score to evoke the World War II motif. Many of the proper names in the films were derived from French, Japanese or Hindu (India). This was intended to reflect the roles these countries played in the conflict. Many of the minor characters' names were devised simply for the sake of mentioning some aspect of the war. As an example, Queen Amidala's starship was of Nabooan design but Watto pronounced it as "Nubian." The ancient kingdom of Nubia was located in southern Egypt which also happened to be the base of operations for England's counterattack against the Italian invaders in Ethiopia in 1940. Even the titles of the movies had implied but discernable connotations of Hitler's designs on Europe: Stealth Intimidation, Attack of the Nazis and Revenge of the Hun.

There were many other allegorical parallels that influenced the Star Wars story line like Caesar, Christ and King Arthur, to cite just three. However, it was the Hitler analogy that clearly dominated the the plot of the prequels. Unlike the rigorous relationship between the Hero Cycle and the first three Star Wars movies, the progression of the Hitler allegory did not conform closely with the chronological sequence of the war. It also had the added effect of negating the Cycle's quadrant structure for the prequel episodes. Since most viewers were not aware of the connections with Adolf Hitler, they mistakenly misjudged the prequel episodes to be lacking in creative spark. This effect was magnified by the fact that the viewers already knew the consequences of Anakin's surrender to the Dark Side.

However, if the viewer was aware of the Hitler analogy, it exerted just as much powerful attraction and stimulation as the Hero Cycle because it added another, even more poignant layer of metaphor to the Star Wars saga. The public's lukewarm response would have been much greater had this aspect of the films been more widely perceived. Many of the World War II references in the movies seem too superficially shallow to be pertinent. If Lucas had made them more blatantly evident, however, then the public might have been able to detect the analogy from the beginning. By concealing these references in oblique insignificance, Lucas has managed to pull the wool over most viewers' eyes. This is not without precedence for the Star Wars saga: it took many years for the majority of viewers to admit the influence of the Hero Cycle on the movies.

The "enciphering" of the Hitler parable into the films intentionally mirrored the anti-Nazi allegory hidden in Les Visiteurs Du Soir, the famous French movie filmed in 1942 under the very noses of the German occupiers. The difficult task of integrating references to the Hero Cycle into the prequel episodes while encoding the complex Hitler analogy at the same time augurs a level of directorial ability not usually attributed to George Lucas. As an example, the petulance displayed by Anakin in Attack of the Clones was heavily criticized for its inappropriateness. Yet Anakin's divergence from the true Jedi path was foreordained by the circumstances of the original episodes. So his impulsiveness and rebelliousness were entirely consonant with his antithetical transit of the Hero Cycle. However, the real genesis of Anakin's petulance derived from Hitler's famous temper tantrums upon learning disagreeable news. So Anakin's character traits were completely concordant with the Hitler allegory, even though Anankin wasn't specifically portraying the Hitler role. Lucas had already used this same transference technique in the original films (refer to Chart A, steps 6 and 15).

There is an obvious divergence between Lucas's World War II analogy and the historical record: Palpatine's secret identity within the Republic hierarchy. Chancellor Palpatine was privy to all of the Republic's intelligence, strategic planning and legislative administration, allowing him to manipulate events in his favor. Hitler enjoyed no such comparable advantage other than the knowledge provided by Germany's erratic intelligence services. The transposing of the Hitler analogue to the war councils of the "Allies" markedly complicates the decryption process of Lucas's allegorical code, particularly with the Battle of Geonosis.

While Palpatine's secret identity helped to mimic Hitler's deceitful obfuscations about his true intentions, the covert status of the story's chief antagonist also proved to be a very desirable blessing from a literary standpoint. The surreptitious nature of the Chancellor's masquerade parallels a long and hallowed line of clandestine villains such as Fantomas, an arch-criminal and master of disguise in early 20th century French novels; Dr. Mabuse, another criminal mastermind specializing in hypnotic suggestion; Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers; Uriah Heep in Oliver Twist; Steerpike in the Gormenghast novels; and even Bill Haydon in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarré. Without Palpatine's deception, the plot of the films would be more straightforward, less compelling. So regardless of Palpatine's anomalous position as leader of the "Republic", his Dark Side subterfuge greatly enhanced the themes, plot structure and character development in the movies.

Inevitably, the character of Count Dooku was just as conducive as Palpatine to the evolution of the Star Wars story and the World War II allegory. Dooku represented Josef Stalin and his "codename" was derived from the Georgian word for steel, dzhuga. The Russian word for steel is stal. Marshal Stalin's real name was Dzhugashvili and he was born in Soviet Georgia. The dual honorific titles are significant. On pages 47 through 49 of Matthew Stover's novelization of Revenge of the Sith, Dooku was characterized as the symbol of the Confederacy (U.S.S.R. and communism). He was obsessed with establishing a New Order throughout the galaxy and was the nemesis of the Republic's economic and societal corruption. While presenting a paternally affable facade in public, he was actually a venal, jealous, spiteful, possessive, intractable and arrogant man. He was also so paranoid of any threats, he routinely and ruthlessly eliminated them as a matter of course whether they were true threats or simply figments of his imagination.

Dooku's transformation from ethical Jedi to treacherous Sith Lord inversely reflected the complex conversion of Stalin from opportunistic cohort of Hitler to highly problematic Allied partner. Likewise, the staunch determination but highly erratic intuition of Winston Churchill was well represented in the character of Yoda, while Qui-Gon Jinn embodied the sincerity and devotion of Franklin Roosevelt and Obi-Wan Kenobi symbolized the straightforward, levelheaded dedication of Harry Truman. Thus Qui-Gon's and Obi-Wan's belief that they could deal with the enigma of Anakin equates with Roosevelt's and Truman's misjudgment of Stalin's treacherousness, another example of Lucas's penchant for transferring character traits. Since Anakin was not specifically portraying Hitler or Stalin, this was yet another example of Lucas's practice of transferring analogue roles from one character to another.

While most of the major historical figures of the years 1933 to 1943 were referred to in the movies in some manner, there were several important omissions such as Lord Halifax, Neville Chamberlain, Erwin Rommel, Bernard Montgomery, Dwight Eisenhower and Philippe Pétain. Most intriguing of all is Anakin's "future" role as Darth Vader, Palpatine's chief enforcer. This has a dual application to the Hitler analogy. It refers to the terror operations of Heinrich Himmler, commander of the Gestapo and the SS. However, it also refers to Hermann Göring's status as the chief protégé of Hitler. This is corroborated by Anakin's superior ability as an expert combat pilot. It is highly surprising that the Nazi book burnings played no role in the films, the omission of such an obvious allusion is uncharacteristic of Lucas. It's also ironic that the infamous Clone Wars were named for Jango, the Star Wars counterpart to Francisco Franco (grammatical rhyme). Both Jango and Franco were proxy mercenaries.

A subtle allusion to World War II occurred on Tatooine in Phantom Menace. While Qui-Gon, Jar Jar and Padmé were busy in Mos Espa, Obi-Wan received a radio broadcast from Naboo pleading for help. He warned the Queen and Captain Panaka not to reply to this message, never realizing that the Queen was an imposter. However, someone on the ship transmitted a reply, enabling Darth Maul to trace it. The person who actually sent the transmission was never shown. This is a direct reference to the highly elaborate and secretive radio interception and decryption services employed by both England and Germany during the war, including the North African campaign (Tunisia, where the scenes were actually filmed). It could also refer to the technological competition during the war to develop radar capabilities.

The political and military campaigns for the subjugation of Naboo in Phantom Menace were a vertitable Gordian knot of historical allusions. Once again, Lucas blithely switched the allegorical functions of the Trade Federation droids to signify different factions of World War II. They initially symbolized Hitler's goose-stepping SA brownshirts (note color and lockstep). However, due to the foreign accents involved, the Trade Federatiopn itself symbolized Hitler's surrogate partners Japan and Italy. By inference, the invasion of Naboo therefore represented the Japanese Army's conquest of China (note Amidala's costumes) and the Italian invasion of Ethiopia (see Chart C, Section 1). So the Trade Federation "franchise" symbolized Japan's creation of their Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, while the blockade of Naboo represented the embargo of stragetic materials against Japan. The fact that this embargo is imposed on the wrong "nation" is either another instance of Lucas's willingness to transpose allegorical roles or a dual reference intended to represent the U-boat interdiction of England at the same time. However, there is one other interpretation for the invasion. Naboo is Palpatine's home planet, so the investiture of Naboo also represented Hitler's Machiavellian annexation of Austria, his native country. Thus Palpatine's betrayal corresponded with the treachery of the Austrian puppet, Interior Minister Seyss-Inquart.

The final battle between the Gungans and the Trade Federation droids at the end of the movie was even more artfully metaphorical. This battle was symbolic of the German invasion of France in 1940. The Gungans' employment of mounted cavalry referred to the prevalence of horse-drawn transport in the German, French and British armies. The Gungans' use of an energy shield represented France's over-reliance on the Maginot Line. The halting of the droid tanks and the cannonading of the energy shield signified the famous halting of the German armored advance before Dunkirk and the ensuing artillery bombardment. The breakthrough by the droid infantry symbolized the Germans' blitzgrieg penetration of the Allied defenses at the opening of the campaign, while the chaotic withdrawal of the Gungans depicted the bewildered retreat of the French towards southern France and the hasty withdrawal of the British to Dunkirk. However, the miraculous deactivation of the droids alluded to the RAF's defeat of the Luftwaffe over the English Channel (another transposing). Thus the final Gungan victory was synonymous with the triumphant evacuation of the British army. Finally, the space battle with the Trade Federation control ship denoted the subsequent Battle of Britain. This was corroborated by the paraphrasing of Churchill's famous "Never have so many owed so much to so few" quote.

As brilliantly analogous as this scenario was, the climax of Attack of the Clones was even more shrewdly calculated and complex, simply a masterpiece of allegorical filmmaking. No less than four different major military campaigns were alluded to, all at the same time! The Geonosis leader, Archduke Poggle, spoke with a subtle Scandinavian accent while the name of his colony hive is Stalgasin, a transliteration of Stalingrad and Helsinki. Since Dooku directed the operations, the Geonosian battle consequently symbolized the Soviet conquest of Finland. However, since the battle involved military forces under the ultimate commands of Palaptine and Dooku, it was also a metaphor for the dual invasion of Poland by Germany and Russia. This inference was confirmed when the viewer learned that Palpatine and Dooku were in cahoots together, an undeniable reference to the 1939 German-Russian Non-Aggression Pact and the mutual division of Poland between Hitler and Stalin.

Since Poggle also represented Vidkun Quisling (see Chart C, Episode 2), Palpatine's clone army assault on Geonosis therefore signified the German invasion of Norway. However, since the clones were directly commanded by Yoda (Churchill), the Geonosian battle also symbolized the British attempts to thwart the Nazi landings in Norway at the same time! Finally, the destruction of Dooku's droid army denoted the utter decimation of the hapless Soviet forces during the Nazi invasion of Russia. This can be inferred from the fact that Palpatine's all-white clone army is analogous to the all-black SS. Dooku was no less surprised by this sudden turn of events than Stalin was and Dooku's hasty flight from the battlefield may be an allusion to the narrow escape of Stalin's motorcade from advanced German forces near Moscow. It's not apparent whether Lucas intentionally created all of these implications or if they are just a lucky coincidence. They are nonetheless an awe-inspiring example of allegorical symmetry, one of the finest in cinematic filmmaking.

As noted previously, the primary objectives of George Lucas in Episode Three were Anakin's metamorphosis into Darth Vader and the establishment of Chancellor Palpatine's galactic empire, thereby completing and unifying the entire Star Wars story arc. These concerns took precedence over all other considerations such as the integration of the World War II allegory into the movie. So Lucas virtually ignored the chronological order of World War II and haphazardly inserted diverse references to the war into Revenge of the Sith without regard to sequential order. The early exit of Count Dooku from the script signified the abrupt realignment of Stalin's military allegiance in June of 1941. General Grievous represented Reinhard Heydrich, assistant director of the Gestapo. Grievous's tall gaunt stature matched Heydrich's physique. On page three of Stover's novelization of Revenge of the Sith, Grievous was characterized as an inhuman abomination, a monster who slaughtered billions. Whole planets were "burned" at his command. He was the author and architect of the Confederacy's victories, a direct allusion to the Nazis' Final Solution. Grievous's elimination by Obi-Wan referred to Heydrich's assassination by Czech resistance fighters in 1942. The reason Grievou speaks with a raspy, couging voice is because Heydrich survived the car bombing for a few weeks but his lungs were too badly burned and he died from the injuries.

Kristallnacht was alluded to in the movie when large windows were shattered by both Grievous and Palpatine, however, no mass riots were included. Mace Windu advocated the use of force to oust Palpatine but no bomb plot against him ever materialized. The Nazi extermination operations were darkly hinted at several times in the movie, yet no "encrypted" mention of the Wannsee Conference occurred. However, in the post-Episode Two novel Approaching Storm, the Separatists are consumed by a hatred for all "alien" species. In several related Star Wars novels, entire planetary populations are subjected to genocidal bio-weapons, clearly a reference to the horrors of the Holocaust.

The fire at the Jedi Temple was an accurate analogue for the infamous burning of the Reichstag but the metaphorical significance of this event should have been made more visually apparent. While there was a veiled reference to Japan's kamikaze air raids, it was very surprising that there was no direct employment of this highly significant factor of World War II. Such an easily adapted and viscerally dramatic incident would have added artistic and allegorically appropriate impact to the story. In The Art of Star Wars: Episode III, there is a small pre-production drawing of the Jedi Temple after something has crashed into it. Lucas may have intended to use this for the purpose of analogizing the kamikaze air raids but was dissuaded by the tragedy of the World Trade Center. The novelization of Revenge of the Sith contained one final overarching allusion to the war which was not included in the film's script. When Yoda was battling Palpatine during the climax, he realized that while the Jedi had been faithfully training to re-fight the last war, the Sith were studying dark secrets and had invented a new method of warfare (italics are the novelist's). This is a nearly perfect thematic metaphor for the pre-war conditions of the armed forces of Germany, Britain and France in 1940. The occurrence of this reference at the ultimate climax of the prequel episodes is no accident and this can only be regarded as conclusive evidence for the existence of the Hitler - World War II analogy.

It must be noted that the infamous "Order 66" has not been mentioned. This essential plot element must have some relevance to the World War II analogy. Several historical parallels have been proposed for this act: the systematic murder of the Knights Templar in France by Philippe IV in 1307; Stalin's purges of the 1930's; and Hitler's cold-blooded elimination of his political competitors during the Night of the Long Knives. However, it is more than likely that the numeral "66" is an important clue. Thus any "double-digit" order issued by SS Headquarters pertaining to the Night of the Long Knives would be a strong possibility (unfortunately, the SS destroyed almost all of the evidential records of this event afterwards). Another possible reference could be some deportation and execution order stemming from the Wannsee Conference. After Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 authorizing the internment of Japanese, German and Italian Americans but this hardly equates with the Emperor's monstrous assassination campaign against the Jedi. To resolve these questions would require research at a dedicated military archive. Unfortunately, the author of this article lacks access to such archives.

The vital importance of Anakin's metamorphosis to the Star Wars saga required that the Hero Cycle allegory be promoted ahead of the Hitler analogy in Episode Three. So pointed references to the Cycle were made continuously throughout the film and the novelization. Anakin's mirror-inverse progression through the Mythic Hero Cycle pattern inexorably led to a much more iniquitous, less romanticized ending. However, the inherent malignancy of the Hitler analogy was also partly responsible for this effect. From this perspective, Revenge of the Sith should be considered more mature than all of the other films, the cinematic counterpart to Shakespearean tragedy and Wagnerian opera. From a purely technical viewpoint, the Hero Cycle references in Episodes Four, Five and Six were chiefly defined by the Cycle's quadrant boundaries and each movie effectively traversed one-quarter of a rotation. References to the Cycle in Episodes One and Two were not bound by any structural constraints and covered approximately one-half of the circuit each. Episode Three was the only movie with at least one citation for each and every step of the Cycle and thus made one full turn of the wheel, for a total of two and three-quarters rotations (three complete revolutions if the Zahn novels are included). Episodes Seven, Eight and Nine represent another full turn of the Cycle for a four complete revolutions.

If Phantom Menace had been the first episode to be filmed, then the Hero Cycle and Hitler metaphors could have been carried out to their natural conclusions through all six movies, perhaps producing very different results. Unlike J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter masterpiece, the multiple Hero Cycle rotations in Star Wars do not constitute a meta-Cycle. The three Star Wars trilogies do not complete a Cycle within the Cycle because they are divided between three different characters. Regardless of one's opinion about the literary and cinematic qualities of Star Wars, Lucas's successful completion of his Mythic Hero and Adolf Hitler allegories should be accorded the full acclaim it so richly deserves, especially when one considers the antithetical nature of Anakin Skywalker in the prequel episodes and the non-sequential production order of these movies. The accomplishment of such a monu-mental undertaking is literally and literarily unmatched in cinematic history.

ADDENDUM: On Memorial Day 2007, the telecast of the Star Wars Legacy TV special was delightfully illuminating. The show elucidated all the mythological and cinematic relationships between Star Wars, the Hero Cycle and classic films. Examples of each reference were nicely correlated with relevant Star Wars film footage. However there were two important (and very telling) omissions in the program. The actual Hero Cycle diagram was never displayed and George Lucas was never interviewed for the show (previously recorded interviews were included). This is evidence that he still cannot bring himself to personally and publicly admit his reliance on the Hero Cycle. The same is also true for the Hitler - World War II allegory. Although the program vaguely outlined the allegory's general implications for the prequel episodes, it purposefully and pointedly ignored detailed discussion of this subject even though the broadcast included brief shots of Mussolini, Stalin and the Japanese Army. George Lucas is still indulging in his favorite tricks! Considering his reticence to reveal Star Wars secrets, one would expect him to finally admit the full extent of the Hitler allegory on Memorial Day, 2029 (thirty years after the debut of Phantom Menace.

QUADRANT I: DEPARTURE (Steps 1-5) QUADRANT II: INITIATION (Steps 6-10) QUADRANT III: RETURN (Steps 11-15) QUADRANT IV: REIGN + DEATH (Steps 16-20)

ANAKIN SKYWALKER 1) Phantom Menace 2) Attack of the Clones 3) Revenge of the Sith LUKE SKYWALKER (+ repentant Anakin) 4) A New Hope 5) Empire Strikes Back 6) Return of the Jedi

SCIENCE FICTION and CINEMATIC REFERENCES in Star Wars
Darth Vader [Ger."dark father"]
Luke Skywalker [Luke S:Lucas; "bringer of light"]
Leia Organa ["flower wreath"]
C3PO = robot in Metropolis; robot butler in Sleeper
R2D2 = drones in Silent Running
C3PO + R2D2 = Laurel + Hardy; squabbling peasants in Hidden Fortress (Akira Kurosawa)
Blue milk = Clockwork Orange
Uncle Owen's burning moisture farm = burning homestead in The Searchers (John Ford)
Jawas = Munchkins in Wizard Of Oz (Victor Fleming)
Jawa sandcrawler = sandcrawler in Dune (Frank Herbert)
Jedi [Jap. Jidai Geki:samurai soap opera] = Lensman in Skylark of Space (E.E. Smith)
Sandworm skeleton (deluxe edition) = sandworm in Dune
Amputation of arm in cantina = amputation of arm in Yojimbo (Kurosawa)
Han Solo costume = Gary Cooper in High Noon
Death Star trench run = The Dam Busters
Adm. Ackbar [Arab. Ackbar:great leader]
Mon Calamari [Ital. Calamari:squid]
Sith = evil insects in John Carter of Mars (E.R. Burroughs)
Ephant Mon = Elephant Man (David Lynch)
Klaatu, Brada, Nicto (Jabba's henchmen) = The Day the Earth Stood Still (Robert Wise)
Rancor devours Gammorrean = King Kong bites native in half
Endor forest battle = Robin Hood
Logs rolling down hill = Swiss Family Robinson
Vader's funeral pyre = The Vikings
Midi-chlorians = Clorians (evil insects) in Lensman series + fusorians (restorative symbiotes) in Reefs of Space (Pohl + Williamson)
Trade Federation landing craft = heighliners in Dune (Lynch)
Amidala = Dale Arden in Flash Gordon + Princess Ardala in Buck Rogers
Amidala's costumes = The Last Emperor (Bernardo Bertolucci)
Naboo sea serpent = Stanley & Stella In Breaking the Ice
Jar Jar's clumsiness = Buster Keaton + Harold Lloyd
Figurine in Anakin's bedroom = Chucky in Child's Play
Darth Maul's flying cycle = Batcycle
Pod race driver introductions = Le Mans
Pod race, esp. entanglement of Anakin's + Sebulba's pods = chariot race in Ben Hur
Anakin's friends on pit row = bicycle race in Breaking Away
Odie Mandrel's famous record setting pit crew (droids) = 3 Stooges
Coruscant = Trantor in Foundation (Isaac Asimov)
E.T. senators = E.T.
Senate droid cams = *batteries not included
Gungan sunken head = Olmec head in Raiders of the Lost Ark + Statue of Liberty in Planet of the Apes
Amidala: "I will take back what is ours." = Cloud William in Star Trek: "What was once ours is ours again."
Anakin: "Big problemo." = Terminator 2
Jar Jar flees from energy sphere cascade = 3 Stooges beer keg shtick
Triumphant Gungan victory parade in Phantom Menace = victory march in Fall of the Roman Empire
Yoda: "Hate leads to fear...to anger...to suffering." = Litany Against Fear in Dune (Herbert)
Coruscant cityscapes in Attack of the Clones = Blade Runner + Dune
Padmé + Anakin discussion in Theed palace = Allenby + Dryden meeting in Lawrence of Arabia (both scenes filmed in the same Cairo hotel)
Padmé's seashell hairdo = Plavalaguna in Fifth Element
Poisonous kohuun centipedes = poisonous centipedes in Wu Gong Zhao
Robotic diner waitress = Jetsons
Mighty Bear Clan = Bad News Bears + Mighty Ducks
Kaminoan = tall skinny alien in Close Encounters + ET neck stretch
Kaminoan dragon rider = Dragonriders of Pern (McCaffrey)
Baby clones = THX 1138 (Lucas)
Cloning cells + levitating attendant machines = The Matrix
Tatooine speeder bike = Hell's Angels on Wheels + Easy Rider
Anakin amusing Padmé by standing on back of shaak beast on Naboo = bicycle in Butch Cassidy And the Sundance Kid
Geonosis hive (The Art of Star Wars, Episode 2) = Mt. Krumpet in How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Wat Tambor = First Stage Guild Navigator in Dune (Lynch)
Wat Tambor (sound effects) = HAL in 2001 (powered down mode) + Marvin the Robot in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Geonosians hidden on wall = Alien
Superdroid warriors = cyborg in Robocop 2
C3PO in welder maze = Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times + Popeye cartoon
C3PO: "I've fallen and can't get up." = Medilert commercial
C3PO: "I'm so confused." = Welcome Back Kotter
Geonosian "acklay" monster = crab monster in Angry Red Planet + alien queen in Aliens
Clone army transport ship = carryall in Dune (Lynch)
Clone army attack craft = Hueys in Apocalypse Now
Dooku's lightsail ship = Tron
Anakin's mechanical hand at wedding = Terminator + Terminator 2
Padmé: "Something wonderful is going to happen." = Keir Dullea in 2010
Anakin: "That's, that's wonderful!" = Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life
Coruscant cityscapes in Revenge of the Sith = Metropolis + Things To Come
Grievous posture + stride (note raptor claw feet) = velociraptor in Jurassic Park
Grievous accent = Bela Lugosi (Dracula)
Grievous cough = Gollum in Lord of the Rings
Anakin: "We're coming in too hot!" = Kevin Bacon in Apollo 13
Grievous's wheeled vehicle chase scene = chariot's spiked axle in Ben Hur + mine carts in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Grievous's internal organs on fire = ET's glowing heart
Shadows during Anakin's audience with Yoda = Nosferatu (1922); Cat People (1942); Casablanca (1942); Notorious (1946)
Anakin's vision of childbirth = Dune (Lynch)
Utapau lizard (sound effects) = Dragonheart
Clone Commander Cody = Commando Cody And the Lost Planet Airmen
Clone Cmdr. Oddball (novel) = Donald Sutherland in Kelly's Heroes
Clone troopers rappelling down cliff = Thunderball + Tobruk
Wheeled land vehicle on Kashyyyk = Damnation Alley
Wookiee charge = Paths of Glory
Wookiee yell = Tarzan
Cato Nemoidia bridges = Bridge on the River Kwai; Bridge At Remagen; A Bridge Too Far
Jedi child flinch = Barry in Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Murder of Jedi children = Schindler's List
Utapau aliens = aliens in Star Trek TOS: The Empath
Kit Fisto (Jedi) = Predator
Agen Kolar (Jedi) = Worf in Star Trek
(note: during Palpatine's metamorphic transformation and Anakin's duel with Kenobi, the actors not only utter quotes from classic movies but also intentionally mimic the actual voices of famous movie stars!)
Palpatine: "I told you it would come to this. I was right, the Jedi are taking over!" [Walter Brennan voice]
Palpatine: "NO NO NO! You will die!" [Linda Blair voice, The Exorcist]
Palpatine: "I... I... can't hold on any longer. I... I... I've become too weak." [Steve McQueen, Papillion: "I... I can't remember. I... I had it but now I... I can't remember."]
Palpatine: "Anakin, help me, help me!" [David Hedison voice, The Fly]
Anakin: "What have I done?" (sits down) [Alec Guinness, Bridge on the River Kwai: "What have I done?" (falls over)]
Palpatine: "Gooood!" [Raymond Massey voice, Arsenic and Old Lace (note make-up + lighting effects)]
Anakin (with cocked stance): "You WILL try." [John Wayne voice]
Yoda hangs from Senate dais = Saboteur + North By Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock) + Harrison Ford in Blade Runner
Yoda crawling through Senate air ducts = The Great Escape
Clone troopers ascending stairs at Jedi Temple = Odessa steps in Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein)
Clone troopers' boots during Ki-Adi Mundi assassination = click-click scene in The Longest Day
Mustafar mining droids = Bob + Maximillian in Black Hole
Anakin strangles Padmé = Othello
Volcanic eruption = atmospheric processor explosion in Aliens + Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings
Lava river + falls = Way Down East (D. W. Griffth, 1920)
Anakin's pacing during Kenobi duel = Darth Maul in Phantom Menace
Anakin's "hand-to-hand" Force combat with Kenobi = Matrix
Wounded Anakin crawling on shore = Terminator + Terminator 2
Anakin on fire = James Coburn in Hell Is For Heroes; James Arness in The Thing
Anakin on operating table = Stephen Boyd in Ben Hur
Emplacement of Vader's helmet = The Man in the Iron Mask
Vader comes to life + breaks free from restraints = Frankenstein + King Kong + Incredible Hulk
Amidala's funeral scene = death of Ophelia in Hamlet

RETURN TO STARWARSTIKA MENU

CHART C: [Translations of names appear in brackets; translations marked by asterisk are purely coincidental]
(references are listed in roughly chronological order of onscreen appearance; all dates are BBY: Before Battle of Yavin)

WORLD WAR II REFERENCES in PHANTOM MENACE (film + novelization; 32 BBY)

• The (future) Empire [Roman Empire] = Third Reich
• Senator Palpatine (author of the political treatise The Book of Anger) [Palatine Hill in Rome; the Palatinate (French Rhineland); palp: insect appendage] = Adolf Hitler (Mein Kampf; original title: Settling Accounts)
• Trade Federation (note accents of Viceroy + lieutenant) = Japan + Italy
  
• Viceroy Nute Gunray [*Knut the Great: Saxon hero + ray gun: heater] = Emperor Hirohito?
• Federation Capt. Daultay Dofine (dismissed subordinate) [Ital. duce: leader; Fren. dauphin: heir] = Mussolini (banished from power)
• Rune Haako (aide to Gunray) [King Haakon VII of Norway] [*Swed. rune: letter; haak: swastika; ko: cow; "lackey stamped with swastika"] = German occupation of Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania + Estonia)
• Trade Federation franchise = Japanese East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
  
• Trade Federation dispute + blockade = export embargo against Japan + freezing of international assets; U-boat interdiction of England
• Trade Federation droids (note color + lockstep) = SA brownshirts + Japanese army + German army during final battle
• Slitted goggles of Trade Federation pilot = epicanthic eye fold of Japanese
• Qui-Gon Jinn (killed in action) [Chin. gaijin: foreigner] [*Qui:quiet; Gon:giant; Arab. jinn:wizard; "sleeping giant wizard"] = Roosevelt (died in office; Yamamoto referred to the U.S. as "the sleeping giant")
• Obi-Wan Kenobi [*Jap. oji-san: uncle; ken: sword; obei: American; "Uncle Sama"] = Harry Truman; Dwight Eisenhower?
• Naboo (verdant planet with large ocean; note accent + Elizabethan dress of Queen; former ruler King Veruna voluntarily abdicated due to subterfuge by Palpatine) [Nabu: Babylonian god of wisdom] [*Gungan Naboo: unafraid?] = England (appeasement supporter Edward VIII voluntarily abdicated)
• Qui-Gon: "These Trade Federation types are cowards." = Japanese military's attacks on defenseless Chinese civilians
• Amidala: "I will not condone a course of action that leads to war." = Chamberlain's appeasement policies (possible verbatim quote from Chamberlain filmed newsreel interview, circa 1938)
• Trade Federation invasion of Naboo (Palpatine's native planet invaded by droids) = invasions of China (by Japan) + Ethiopia (by Italy; see below) + Austrian Anschluss (Hitler's native country) [Ger. anschluss: union]
• Theed (Naboo capital on major river)[Thebes (Greek home of Oedipus + Egyptian city on Nile River)] = Greek campaign + Suez Canal
• Titanic statues with "tridents" in Theed central plaza = traditional English sea power; Lord Nelson statue in Trafalgar Square
• Padmé Naberrie [Hindu padme: lotus] [*Gungan Naberrie: unburied?][*Span. Madre: mother; Fren. ne: not; barre: banded; "mother (to be) not yet married"] = England
• Amidala [Fren. ami: love; Hindu mandala: symbol]
• Queen Amidala's costumes = Chinese Imperial court dress (Last Emperor) + Victorian high society (Hitler worked as street sweeper in front of Vienna Opera House; despised wealthy aristocracy)
• Palpatine: "The Queen is young and naive, you will find controlling her will not be difficult." = Hitler's manipulation of European countries by lies, threats + fear
• Naboo Gov. Sio Bibble [Sio: Leo (zodiac sign)] = German anti-war politician August Bebel
• Ric Olié (Queen's pilot) [Richtoffen + Rickenbacker; Fren. oeil: eye] = foreign pilots serving in RAF
• Capt. Panaka (note Polynesian-Maori features) [*Tanaka Memorial: Japanese pre-war plan for conquest + Jap. panikku: panic] = Hawaii? Philippines? Australia?
• Sabé (handmaiden) [Fren. sabre: sword]
• Rabé (handmaiden) [Fren. râblé: strong]
• Eirtaé (handmaiden) [Fren. vérité: truth]
• Yané (handmaiden) [Fren. âme: soul]
• Saché (handmaiden) [Fren. sacre: holy; sachet: bouquet]
• Trade Federation droid army carriers crashing through jungle = Japanese assault columns advancing through SE Asia jungles; Japanese Type 97 tanks
• Gungans [Watu Gunung] = Hungary (tried to remain neutral during Austrian Anschluss) + France (remained neutral during invasion of Czechoslovakia)
• Jar Jar Binks (big ears + nose; refugee of recently conquered country; clumsily disrupts plans, esp. dropping monkey wrench in the works) [Haitian sl. jar jar: clumsy oaf] = Charles de Gaulle (big ears + nose; refugee of recently conquered country; intentionally disrupted Allied plans for personal gain esp. Moroccan landings)
• Otoh Gunga (underwater city) [Fren. oter: disrobe]
• Boss Nass neutrality (note subtle Slavic accent) = Hungarian P.M. Laszlo Bárdossy + Czech Pres. Eduard Beneš (attempted to resist involvement + German annexation) [B-oss neš]
• Qui-Gon: "There's always a bigger fish." = Hitler's manipulation of eastern European + Balkan warlord governments; eventual annexation
• Tatooine = Italian-Ethiopian war + North African campaign (desert enviroments)
• Eopie (Tatooine animal) = Ethiopia
• Nubian spaceship = Nubia (Ethiopia + southern Egypt, site of British counterattack)
• Mos Espa [España] = Spanish Morocco, site of Franco's revolt + beginning of Spanish Civil War
• Cockney accent of female street vendor in Mos Espa = accents of British + Australian soldiers in North Africa
• Tusken Raiders = Arab bedouins
• Hutts ("gangsters") = eastern European + Mideast warlord governments; black market profiteers
• Watto (junk dealer; note Arabic accent) [Watu Gunung] = incessant scavenging of bodies in North Africa by desert nomads
• Toydarian = German general Heinz Guderian? Japanese Navy commander Soemu Toyoda?
• Anakin Skywalker (Palpatine's chief henchman as Vader) [Anakim:Old Testament giants] = Heinrich Himmler (commander of the Gestapo + SS) + Herman Göring (ace pilot + Hitler's right hand man)
• Shmi [Hindu Lakshmi, goddess of beauty] = Burmese + Indian campaigns (linked campaigns)
• Sebulba = Serbia (site of Archduke Ferdinand assassination, 1914) + Bulgaria (allowed German troops to secretly mass on Greek border, 1941)? Tébourba (destructive battle 15 miles west of Tunis)?
• Sebulba's helmet = WW II aviator helmet + goggles
• Pod race = high speed desert attacks by Rommel, Montgomery + Eisenhower in North Africa (note doughboy-type helmets of pit crew droids)
• Darth Maul [maul: brutalize (main SA method of controlling political power)] = SA leader Ernst Röhm + Nazi Party leader Gregor Strasser (both sacrificed by Hitler during the Night of the Long Knives)
• Tracing Padmé's ship to Tatooine = radio interception + Enigma decryption; radar; German spies in Egypt?
• Qui-Gon: "We cannot use our powers to help her." (said of Amidala's efforts to enlist the Gungans) = American isolationism + Neutrality Act
• Qui-Gon (said about training Anakin): "I will do what I must." = Roosevelt's surreptitious evasion of American isolationist policies
• Qui-Gon's pod race betting scam (Watto: "It wasn't a fair bet!") = American Lend - Lease
• Anakin's come-from-behind victory = landing behind German lines in French Morocco + gradual gaining of air superiority in North Africa
• Bibble: "The death toll is catastrophic" + Gunray: "Your people are starving" = confiscation of food supplies in conquered countries; starving of civilians + military prisoners by Axis Powers
• Chancellor Finis Valorum [Fren. finis:end; Latin valorum:strength] = German Pres. Paul von Hindenburg (outmaneuvered by Hitler)
• Palpatine: "Enter the bureaucrats, the true rulers of the Republic" = protection of colonial empires at the Versailles Conference, 1919 (possible verbatim quote from Lloyd George or Georges Clemenceau)
• Republic Senate central dais = dais at the Tempelof arena (first Nazi design project of Albert Speer)
• Manufactured scandal + manipulation of voters (novelization) = Hitler's false allegations against political opponents (esp. trumped-up charges against Gens. Blomberg + Fritsch); brutal intimidation of voters by Nazi Party
• Amidala: "Our people are dying, Senator. We must do something quickly to stop the Federation." + Palpatine: "We're going to have to accept Federation control for the time being." = public pressure in England to sign peace accord with Germany after the fall of France
• Amidala: "The Republic no longer functions." = collapse of the Weimar Republic
• Vote of no confidence = vote of no confidence for Chancellor Franz Von Papen; adoption of repressive Enabling Laws (restricting employment + voting rights of Jews); death of Hindenburg
• Election of Palpatine as Chancellor = election of Hitler by default; Hitler's elimination of the offices of President + War Minister; assumption of dictatorial powers
• Speaker of the Senate Mas Amedda (Palpatine crony) [mass media] = Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels
• Trade Federation Senator Lott Dod = American Ambassador to Germany William Dodd + asst. Nuremburg prosecutor Thomas Dodd
• Yoda = Winston Churchill (see following references)
• Mace Windu [*bald Windu] = British P.M. Stanley Baldwin?
• Amidala: "Jar Jar Binks... I need your help." = emergence of de Gaulle as leader of Free French forces serving with Allies
• Amidala's appeal to Boss Nass = British appeals to eastern European governments-in-exile
• Panaka: "Almost everyone is in camps. A few hundred police and guards have formed an underground resistance movement" = resistance movements; Nazi reprisals; concentration camps
• Panaka: "The Federation army is much larger and much stronger" = superiority of German military
• Palpatine: "Wipe them out. All of them." = Hitler's xenophobia + Nazi extermination policies
• Diversionary Gungan - droid battle + attack on Gunray + main objective of destroying droid control ship = diversion of Luftwaffe attacks on British radar stations + airfields to cities
• Gungan - droid battle = invasion of France, May 10th 1940
• Palpatine: "Let them make the first move" = the Phony War; Germans' surprise attack though the Ardennes Forest; British advance into Belgium
• Trade Federation tanks = early models of German panzers
• Gungan energy shield + energy sphere catapults = Maginot Line + howitzer emplacements
• Mounted Gungan troops = prevalence of horse-drawn transport in German, French + British armies
• Federation tanks ordered to halt on hills + bombard = German panzers order to halt + bombard on heights around Dunkirk
• Penetration of energy shield by droid infantry = blitzgrieg penetration of French border by German Army; airborne landings inside Fort Eben Emael in Belgium; stealthy crossing of the Meuse River by German infantry
• Promotion of Jar Jar to general = successful counterattack by de Gaulle; promotion of Leclercq to general
• Headlong retreat by Gungans = chaotic retreat of French to southern France + retreat of British to Dunkirk
• Deactivation of droids = failure of Luftwaffe interdiction at Dunkirk
• Final Gungan victory = successful evacuation of British army
• Space battle with Federation control ship = Battle of Britain
• Naboo pilots (Panaka: There are too few of us") = RAF (Churchill: "Never have so many owed so much to so few")
• Gungan General Ceel = Operation Seelöwe [Ger. sea lion] (German invasion plan for England)
• Destruction of Federation control ship from inside = destruction of Luftwaffe attacks during Battle of Britain; scuttling of German battleship Graf Spee + sinking of the Bismarck?
• Gunray: "I thought the battle was going to take place far from here. This is too close." = Doolittle raid on Tokyo; RAF retaliatory air raid on Berlin after bombing of Coventry
• Capture of Gunray = death of Yamamoto? defection of Rudolf Hess?
  

• Amidala's transport ship (note sound effects) = Boeing 314 "Yankee Clipper" + Douglas DC-3 (C-47)
• Dormé (handmaiden) [Fren. dorme:sleep, dream] = French pre-war self-delusion + inactivity
• Cordé (Amidala's double) [Fren. corde:rope] [*Charlotte Corday (political assassination) + Cordova (Spanish Civil War)]
• Murder of Cordé = assassinations of Austrian Chancellor Dollfuss + French For. Minister Barthou; pre-war beer hall bomb plot against Hitler; Oster bomb plot, Sept 1938 (defective bomb placed aboard Hitler's aircraft); assassination of Japanese politicians by military
• Palpatine: "I will not let this Republic that has stood for a thousand years..." = Thousand Year Reich speech by Hitler
• Separatist Movement = German factionalism + expansionism (Lebensraum); Aryan racism
• Loyalist Committee = Loyalist faction in Spanish Civil War
• Jango (Palpatine's mercenary) [rhyme] = Francisco Franco (Hitler's hired gun)
• Military Creation Act (clone army) = German + Japanese abrogation of pre-war arms limitations treaties
• Sly Moore (aide to Palpatine; baleful stare) = Himmler (myopic) + Bormann (very sly political manipulator)
• Capt. Typho (note Polynesian race) [typhoon] = Pacific + Asian colonies of Britain, France + America
• Senate intrigues (novelization) = recovery or annexation of the Ruhr, Saarland, Rhineland + Czechoslovakian Sudentenland
• Amidala's costume on freighter = Slavic peasant dress + haloed headress (note veil)
• Refugees on freighter (note Slavic costumes) = displaced persons + political refugees
• Theed architecture (note cliffs + Islamic music) = Athens Parthenon + Hagia Sophia cathedral in Istanbul (German attack on Greece + British counteroffensive; negotiations with Turkey by Axis + Allies)
• Anakin to Amidala: "I heard they even tried to amend the Constitution so you could stay in office." = Roosevelt's four terms in office
• Naboo Queen Jamillia (note Hindu accent + appearance) = Indian independence movement
• Jamillia: "Do you see any way through negotiation to bring the Separatists back into the Republic?" = ineffectual British diplomatic overtures to Indian politicians; Indian Muslim separatist movement led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah [*J-amm-Ali-ah]
• Amidala: "My guess is they will turn to the Trade Federations and Commerce Guilds for help." = negotiations between leaders of Indian independence movement + Japanese; Indian Nationalist Army (fought alongside Japanese Army)
• Bibble: "There hasn't been a full scale war since the creation of the Republic...Nute Gunray is still the Viceroy of the Trade Federation. I fear the Senate is powerless to resolve this crisis." = determination of appeasers to avoid another world war at any cost + inability of League of Nations to curb Japanese + German incursions
• Lake Country = Lake District in England
• Jocasta Nu (librarian) [Jocasta, mother of Oedipus]
• Missing entry in Jedi library + missing star in galactic map = Neville Chamberlain's famous "blank paper" peace pronouncement
• Kamino (oceanic planet) = Sweden (Vikings + 17th century naval power)
• Kaminoan physiognomy = specifically designed from sea horse + seal
• Tipoca City on Kamino = specifically designed from north Sea oil platforms
• Stark white Tipocan interiors = Ikea (Sweden)
• Kamino cloners = collaboration of Sweden (sale of iron ore to Axis; allowed German troops in Norway to cross borders into Finland; Bofors Munitions sold AA guns to Axis + Allies; after destruction of Schweinfurt ball bearing plant, stocks were replenished by Swedish + Swiss manufacturers); "medical experiments" by Joseph Mengele?
• Kamino P.M. Lama Su = Malaya + Sumatra (both conquered by Japan)
• Taun We (aide to Lama Su) = Taiwan (formerly Formosa)
• Geneticist Ko Sai (novelization) = Okinawa + Saipan
• Sifo-Dyas [Sifo: Sith Span.Dios: Lord] = SD (Gestapo)?
• Lama Su: "We take great pride in our combat education and training programs...They are totally obedient, taking orders without question." = unequivocal devotion of German + Japanese military; Hitler Youth propaganda + Japanese regimentation
• Lama Su: "Fett demanded only one thing, an unaltered clone for himself." = Franco's coy refusals of Hitler's overtures + Spanish "neutrality"
• Geonosis droid factory [Greek geo: earth; gnosis: knowledge] = Norwegian iron mines + transport of Swedish ore by rail across Norway
• Death Star plans = Norwegian heavy water plant? V-1 + V-2?
• Kamino + Geonosis = secret German re-armament + testing programs conducted in foreign countries (esp. U.S.S.R. + Spain)
• Yoda: "Blind we are if creation of this clone army we could not see." = Churchill's inability to rouse serious pre-war opposition to Hitler; Churchill's propensity for ill-considered military operations (Gallipoli, Norway, Greece, Crete, Dieppe, Italy, etc.)
• Yoda: "If informed of our weakness the Senate is, multiply our enemies will." = Churchill's motivation for intervening in Norway + Greece
• Anakin's childish petulance = Hitler's temper tantrums when thwarted
• Watto helmet on Tatooine = British doughboy helmet (not pit crew helmet) (British occupation of North African + Mid-East countries)
• Zam Wesell helmet = French + Italian helmets
• Wesell rifle = German Mauser Karabiner 98 + Japanese Arisaka 97
• Jawa sandcrawler = exact replica of U.S. amphibious jeep prototype (never entered production)
• Tusken Raider massacre (note Mos Espa rickshaw + Chinese music) = Nanking massacre
• Anakin: "I killed them all...and not just the men but the women and children too. They're animals and I slaughtered them like animals. I hate them." = official exhortation to the Japanese army to "burn all, loot all, kill all"
• Seismic charges = depth charges; Battle of the Atlantic
• Homing missile = acoustically targeted torpedoes
• Obi-Wan (parked on asteroid) = "Well R4, I think we've waited long enough." = "silent running" submarine procedures
• Count Dooku (note honorific; very polite + refined; secretly operates network of subversive agitators) [Georgian dzhuga: steel; Gullah dzugu: evil] = Marshal Stalin (real name, Dzhughashvili [Russ. stal:steel]) (publicly affable + charming; Stalin's use of international Communist Parties as spies + agitators; Nazi provocateurs in foreign countries)
• Archduke Poggle (Geonosis leader where Clone Wars started; note subtle Scandivanian accent; formed junta to seize power + executed loyalists)[boggle: quizzical + puzzling] = Vidkun Quisling (Norway; formed National Unity Party; Nazi executions)
• Gilramos Libkath (aide to Gunray) = Wilhelm Liebknecht (Socialist partner of August Bebel) + Rosa Luxemburg (Socialist agitator murdered by German Free Corps, 1918) [WilRosa Liebknecht]
• Techno Union = Czechoslovakia + Soviet Union
• Techno Union Rep. Wat Tambor (from planet Skako) [Angkor Wat empire + Mt. Tambora in Indonesia; Skoda arms manufacturer in Czechoslovakia] = Japanese conquest of southeast Asia + Dutch East Indies; involuntary collaboration of Skoda
• InterGalactic Banking Clan = voluntary collaboration of Swiss banks + I.G. Farben Industries
• Banking Clan P.M. San Hill (from planet Muunilist) [Han-sel; Munich (Hitler's political base of operations) + nihilist] = Swiss collaboration
• Corporate Alliance Magistrate Passel Argente [30 pieces of silver] = war profiteers; Baron Alfred Krupp? Albert Speer?
• Commerce Guild Pres. Shu Mai (from planet Gossam; extorts heavy tribute from her own species; note Chinese female appearance + gold neck brace similar to Burmese) [Jap. sho bai: business; Gossam: gossamer (silk)] = Madame Chiang Kai-shek (embezzled millions in U.S. funds by inventing "phantom" soldiers + withholding supplies from existing troops)
• Commerce Guild, Corporate Alliance, Banking Clan + Techno Union = pre-war maelstrom of ever-changing diplomatic pacts + alliances; involuntary assimilation of eastern European countries into Axis Powers
• Dooku: "Signing this treaty will bring you profit beyond your wildest imagination" = systematic looting of conquered lands
• Confederacy of Independent Systems = Axis Powers + Confederate States of America
• "Grand Army of the Republic" = Napoleonic French army (La Grande Armée) + former title of the Army of the Potomac
• Senator Horoxx Rydor (Palpatine crony) [horse rider] = Col. Friedrich Hossbach (Hitler's adjutant + recorder of "Lebensraum" conference memorandum)
• Senator Ister Paddie [Mister Paddy?] = Ireland (officially neutral during the war)?
• Malastare Senator Ask Aak (political flack) = "ack ack" (flak)
• Emergency powers for the Supreme Chancellor (verbatim phrase used by Reichstag) = Hitler supercedes Reichstag + declares martial law
• Palpatine: "The power you give to me, I will lay down when this crisis is abated." = Hitler's empty promises to end repression + cease territorial predations
• Dooku's interrogation of Obi-Wan = Soviet bugging of Roosevelt at Yalta + bugging of Truman at Potsdam
• Dooku: "This had nothing to do with me" = Stalin's denials about deportation + execution of Poles (esp. Katyn Forest)
• Obi-Wan: "Qui-Gon Jinn would have never joined you." + Dooku: "Don't be too sure." = marriage of convenience between Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill + Truman
• Dooku: "What if I told you that the Republic is under the control of the Dark Lord of the Sith?" = anti-Semitic propaganda
• Geonosis arena = Roman Coliseum + Nuremburg Stadium
• Combat machines = panzer tanks + aircraft
• Giant wheeled rocket launcher = British "Panjandrum" (experimental giant wheel D-Day assault weapon) + German Nebelwerfer + Russian Katyusha rocket launcher
• Geonosian sonic weapons = German research on "Vortex cannon" + "sonic projector"
• Clone army (all white) = Schutzstaffel SS (all black); Aryan racial purity theories
• Stalgasin Colony (Poggle's hive) [Stalingrad + Helsinki]
• Dooku's Trade Federation droids = Russian army
• Geonosis battle =
  Russo-Finnish war (Helsinki + Stalin)
  Invasion of Poland (Palpatine's clones + Dooku's droids)
  Norwegian campaign ("clone" invasion of Quisling's country; "Yoda" counterattack)
  Invasion of Russia + battle of Stalingrad (Dooku's "Soviet" droid army vanquished)
• Clone army victory over droids = disbanding of the SA + subsuming into SS; destruction of Polish + Russian armies
• Explosive propensity of Trade Federation spaceships = explosive nature of Japanese ships + planes
• Destruction of Federation fleet on Geonosis surface = British attacks on French + Italian fleets? Pearl Harbor? Midway?
• Palpatine - Dooku alliance = 1939 German-Russian Non-Aggression Pact + Hitler's surprise attack against Russia
• Final shot of clones boarding Star Destroyers = specifically designed from footage of Nuremburg rallies (Triumph of the Will)
• Yoda: "The shroud of the Dark Side has fallen" = "The lamps are going out across Europe" (British For. Sec Grey, 1914) + "The lights are going out" (Churchill, 1938) + "An iron curtain has descended" (Churchill, 1946)
  

• Separatist Droid Army (during opening crawler) = NSDAP (Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei)
• Wagnerian musical score = Hitler's favorite composer
• Separatist raid on Coruscant (capital planet) = Japanese capture of Manilla, Hong Kong + Singapore; German capture of Warsaw, Oslo + Paris; near capture of Moscow
• Dreadnought fleet engagement above Coruscant (at 500 yds range) = London Blitz + "Sullivan brothers" naval engagement at Guadalcanal, Nov 13th 1942
• Buzz droids (outer shell halves painted like parachutes) [V-1 buzz bomb] = SD9 "butterfly" cluster bombs dropped on northern England by parachute (tripmines with pop-out wings)
• Execution of Dooku = Stalin's change of allegiance from Axis co-conspirator to Allied partner
• Overextension of Jedi (novelization) = Churchill's overextension of British forces + two-front war for the Allies; Hitler's overextension of German forces + two-front war for German Army; overextension of Japanese forces in the Pacific + Burma
• Separatist disinformation media campaign (novelization) = Axis propaganda + psychological warfare; Hollywood propaganda films about Russia produced at Stalin's urging
• Cossack uniform of Baron Papanoida (Lucas) = COSSAC (Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander) + Cossack partisans
• Anakin's fame as war hero = British + American PR campaigns; misleading internal propaganda about German + Japanese war efforts
• Anakin's secretive relationship with Padmé = Hitler's incestuous affair with his own cousin, Gelle Rabal
• Palpatine: "In order to ensure security and continued safety, the Republic will be reorganized." = Hitler's excuses about protecting the safety + security of public; Hitler divides power between Gestapo, Nazi Party + German military to guard against coup attempt
• Palpatine's office beneath Senate Rotunda = Hitler's "Wolf's Den" underground bunker in Berlin
• Yoda (novelization): "Too old I was... too rigid." = French political + military leadership in 1940; British military commanders, 1940 to 1942 (Gort, Wilson, O'Connor, Wavell, Cunningham, Ritchie, Auchinleck)
• Amidala: "What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists and the Republic is becoming the very evil we've been trying to destroy?" = realization by German population that their fear of anarchy has led to an even greater evil (recall Qui-Gon's dictum about "bigger fish" + Yoda's dictum about fear leading to suffering)
• Yoda's fear of erosion of democracy regardless of the outcome of the war (novelization) = Churchill's fear of communism
• Windu: "The Chancellor loves power. If he has any other passion, I have not seen it." = Hitler's addiction to power + victories
• Windu: "It's possible we may have to move against him." = German resistance groups + assassination plots
• Palpatine's refusal to negotiate peace settlement with Separatists = Allied insistence on + Axis rejection of unconditional surrender
• Palpatine feigns loss of faith in Jedi = Hitler's suspicion of German High Command
• Palpatine's allegations of Senate corruption = Hitler's use of false allegations against Weimar officials + military commanders (esp. Gens. Blomberg, Fritsch + Brauchitsch); Nazi executions of political "traitors"
• Sith quest for eternal life = Nazi fascination with Aryan mysticism (Thule Society); Himmler's Lebensborn organization [Ger. Spring of Life]?
• Windows shattered by Grievous + Palpatine; windows shattered by Anakin's speeder car (novelization) = Kristallnacht
• Jedi Temple fire = burning of the Reichstag
• Palpatine accuses Jedi of treason = Hitler blames Reichstag fire on communists
• Murder of Jedi children = execution of children in concentration camps
• Indoctrination of Jedi children (novelization) = Axis brainwashing of children
• Giant mosquitoes on Kashyyyk = RAF Mosquito bombers
• Topside location of Star Destroyer's hangar bay hatch = aircraft carrier landing deck + elevators
• Kenobi: "Silicamaya has fallen..." [silica: sand; Hin. maia: mirage] = Iwo Jima (black sand island honeycombed by bunkers)
• Separatist water-wheel assault vehicles = U.S. Navy Alligators + Buffalos (amphib-track landing craft)
• Wookiee demolition of water-wheel = beach demolition engineers + frogmen
• Anakin: "I will not betray the Republic. My loyalties are with the Chancellor" = rationalization by German officer corps about seduction by Hitler
• Jedi Council learns of Utapau base from interception of diplomatic pouch = Nazis decipher U.S. "Black" diplomatic code + U.S. deciphers Japanese "Purple" diplomatic code
• Attack on Utapau (Separatist base on very windy planet; note ring-shaped sinkholes) [*Ulithi Atoll (U.S. naval base) + Palau Islands (heavily fortified trap for U.S. invasion)] = Palau, Iwo Jima + Okinawa invasions; kamikaze air raids [Jap. kamikaze: Divine Wind]
• General Grievous (tall + gaunt; Confederacy's architect of genocide) [grievous: Churchill's favorite adjective for Axis terrorism + destruction] = Reinhard Heydrich (tall + gaunt; architect + perpetrator of Final Solution)
• Shape of Grievous' head = German WW I helmet with crown spike
• Grievous' corps of electro-guards = elite Waffen SS combat divisions
• Grievous' starfighter = Messerschmidt Bf. 109 + Italian Macci MC.202
• Obi-Wan's duel with Grievous = attempted assassination of Heydrich by bomb throwing Czech partisans but Heydrich survives for a few weeks; speaks with a raspy voice due to injuries; ambush of Yamamoto by P-38 squadron
• Grievous' death from blaster fire to internal organs ("so uncivilized") = subsequent death of Heydrich from bomb blast
• Utapau interceptor = specifically designed from P-38 Lightning
• Padmé's swept wing spaceship = Northrup "Flying Wing" bomber
• Windu's duel with Palpatine = several assassination plots against Hitler, esp. Col. Stauffenberg's July 20th attempt
• Palpatine's physical transformation during the duel = Hitler's injuries from the July 20th bombing + drug addiction
• Palpatine (impersonating Churchill's voice + delivery during Senate speech): "But I assure you, my resolve has never been stronger." (verbatim phrase used by both Churchill + Hitler)
• Clones' indoctrination to Order 66 from birth = pledge of allegiance to Hitler personally by all German military forces (note stylized "SS" embroidered on Palpatine's robe); Hitler Youth propaganda
• Mygeeto, Felucia + Saleucamia (known as the "Triad of Evil" in novelization) [Mygeeto: Meiji dynasty; Felucia: felluca (Italian boat); Saleucamia: S(ith) alchemy?] = Tripartite Pact (Axis Powers)
• Deactivation of Separatist droids = capitulation of Italian armed forces; Russia's change of allegiance; Soviet - Japanese Neutrality Pact, April 13th 1941
• Separatist redoubt on Mustafar = Wolf's Lair bunker in Prussia
• Deaths of Separatist Council leaders = Night of the Long Knives; execution of civilian authorities by Axis forces; arrest, trial + execution of Axis leaders + collaborators after the war
• Death of Gunray = resignation of Tojo as Prime Minister; attempted suicide; trial + execution
• Jedi "recall signal" trap = "fresh water distillery" intelligence ploy used at Midway
• Kenobi's denials about Anakin = inability of appeasers to foresee truth
• Shape of resussitated Vader's helmet = German WW II "coal scuttle" helmet
• Yoda's realization that Sith have invented "new" warfare while Jedi practice "old" tactics (novelization) = blitzgrieg warfare vs. World War I tactics of Allies in 1940
• Threat to banish all droids (novelization) = deportations to concentration camps; Nazi "Nacht und Nebel" Decree ("disappearance" order)
• False subservience of Bail Organa = German underground resistance movements
• Establishment of the First Galactic Empire = Third Reich; subjugation of Europe, western Russia + southeast Pacific
• Relatively quick reestablishment of Jedi Order from brink of extinction (approx 20 years) = quick recovery of British armed forces after Dunkirk disaster
  

• Haruun Kal (dense, deadly, disease-ridden jungle) [Rangoon + Kra peninsula] = Japanese conquest of Burma + Philippines (see below); MacArthur's ANZAC operations in New Guinea
• Balawai (offworlders) [wallaby] = Australia (ANZAC)
• Grandfather Mountain [Watu Gunung myth] = Krakatoa? Mt. Tambora?
• Jups (jungle prospectors) = Japs
• Korunnai (natives of Haruun Kal) = Kareni (Burmese tribe inhabiting the "Valley of Death"; resistance movement led by Hugh Seagrim)
• Kar Vastor (merciless leader of Korunnai)[carve + harvester] = brutality of Japanese troops
• Pelek Baw (capital city) = Battle of Balikpapan (Dutch East Indies naval engagement)? Ba Maw (Burmese puppet installed by Japanese)?
• Prisoners marched through jungle = Bataan Death March
• Korunnai base in cavern = Malinta Tunnel on Corregidor
• T-21 Merr-Sonn Thunderbolt (weapon) = T-34 Soviet tank + M-4 Sher-man tank + P-47 Thunderbolt aircraft
• Krupx MG-3 missile = Krupp Munitions + "Fritz-X" radio-controlled bomb

• Cestus (arid wasteland dominated by important mountain)[Lat. caestus: boxing gauntlet] = Operation Husky (Allied invasion of Sicily); Mt. Etna; Straits of Messina "gauntlet"
• ChikatLik (capital city) = Licata + Catania (important Sicilian objectives)
• Five Families (corrupt ruling syndicate) = Mafia (provided intelligence to Allies during invasion)
• Fake rescue operation (propaganda ruse) = Operation Mincemeat (famous intelligence operation to disguise Sicilian invasion by planting false documents on dead body floating in the Mediterranean Sea); evacuation of German troops across the Straits of Messina
• Asajj Ventress [Sasha? female avenger + ventilator?] = Beria (Stalin's executioner)?
• G'Mai Duris (leader of political opposition) = General Curtis LeMay
• Clone commandos = U.S. Ranger units + British commandos (played important roles in Operation Husky; note clone role change from German SS); Allied paratroop landings
• Sabotaging of production plants = strategic bombing offensive of industrial infrastructure begins, Feb 1943
• New battle droids = German research projects on exotic weapons systems?
• Negotiations with Five Families = Churchill's determination to eliminate Italy from the Axis Powers + negotiations with Italian opposition
• A-98 "Nate" (clone captain) = Nakajima Ki-27 airplane (Allied codename "Nate")?
• Deadly amphibious landing training course = disasterous Slapton Sands amphibious training exercise
• Adm. Arikakon Baraka [Arakan Coast + Baranga Island?] = British offensive on Arakan Coast of Malaya begins, Jan 1943

• Praesitlyn (arid, sandy, rocky enviroment with communications center on high mesa) = Wake Island (arid, sandy coral atoll with important comm installation) + Mt. Austen on Guadalcanal
• Operation Case White (Separatist battle plan) = Fall Weiss [Ger. Plan White] (invasion of Poland) + War Plan White (pre-war U.S. defense plan, superseded by War Plan Orange)
• Overly fastidious calculation by Separatist admiral = lack of careful planning by Japanese Army + Navy; lack of careful preparation by U.S. Navy + Air Corps at Guadalcanal + Tarawa
• Tactical education of Anakin = "90 Day Wonder" officer training programs
• Trade Federation droids = Japanese infantry
• Decimation of assault wave attacks = repulsion of Japanese landings on Wake with heavy casualities; banzai charges on Guadalcanal; decimation of U.S. landings on Tarawa
• Assault by clone troops = Guadalcanal invasion by 1st Marine Division; invasion of Tarawa by 2nd Marine Division (note clone role change from German SS)
• Heavy artillery barrages = sinking of Japanese landing craft + artillery duels with Japanese ships at Wake; Japanese naval bombardment of Guadalcanal, Oct 13th 1942
• Space armada battles = naval engagements around Guadalcanal (Savo Island, Cape Esperance, Santa Cruz, Guadalcanal, Tassafaronga)
• Erk H'Arman (pilot) = U.S. Marine Corps pilots Capt. Henry "Hank" Elrod (Congressional Medal of Honor) + Lt. Robert Hanna (Navy Cross); Gen. Millard Harmon, commander of South Pacific Area
• Sgt. Omin L'Loxx = PFC Wiley Sloman + PFC Artie Stocks on Wake
• Col. Gris Manks (artillery officer) = Cpl. Frank Gross, gun commander on Wake
• Battle prowess of Anakin = "doubtful" performances of Cmdr. Winfred Cunningham + Maj. James Devereaux
• Maj. Mess Boulanger (quartermaster) [mess: military meal; Fren. boulanger: baker] = logistical snafus at Wake, Guadalcanal + Tarawa; Sgt. Robert Bourquin + Lt. Clarence Barninger on Wake?
• Sgt. Makx Maganinny = Lt. John McAlister + Gunner Clarence McKinstry + Lt. John Kinney on Wake?
• Reinforcement demands = demands for + promises of reinforcement by U.S. + Japanese commanders
• Hostage taking = execution of military + civilian prisoners on Wake
• Gen. Khamar (slain Republic commander on Praesitlyn) = Adm. Kimmel, dismissed commander of Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor?
• Cpl. Ram Raders = Marine Raider Battalion on Guadalcanal
• Droid tanks = Japanese tank attack on Guadalcanal
• Slaughter on mesa = Bloody Ridge on Guadalcanal (Edson's Ridge)
• Destruction of Republic personnel carriers = destruction of landing craft during Tarawa invasion
• Tunnel mines = demolition of Tarawa bunkers
• Ranger (Republic flagship) = U.S.S. Ranger (first U.S. purpose-built aircraft carrier)
• "We're nothing but blood, guts and sweat" (Republic Capt. Slayke) = "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat" (Churchill)

• Conquered planets = occupation of conquered countries
• Dooku - Yoda negotiations = Churchill reveals secret German attack plans to Stalin in May 1941; secret peace negotiations in 1943 between Molotov + Ribbentrop; Teheran Conference between Stalin, Churchill + Roosevelt in Dec 1943; Stalin's practice of sabotaging joint Allied operations while demanding their aid at the same time
• Castle Malreaux (Dooku's headquarters) = André Malraux (Spanish Civil War pilot, French Resistance fighter + author of many novels regarding political class struggle)
• Assassination attempt against Yoda's decoy double = Nazi plans for assassination of Churchill
• Creme D'Infame (liqueur) = "A day which will live in infamy" (Roosevelt)
• Vjun (rainy, verdant planet) ["Vee" land?] = England?
• Jedi extermination pogrom = execution of civilian authorities by Hitler + Stalin (the Great Terror + Soviet Army purges)
• Enver Hoxha (Jedi apprentice) = Enver Hoxha [note lack of anagrammatic coding] (leader of Communist resistance movement in Albania + Stalin puppet)
• Lena Missa (vanquished Jedi apprentice) = Mussolini (deposed but rescued by Nazis)

• Separatist retreat from Inner Rim planets = Allied victories over outlying bases of the Japanese Co-prosperity Sphere + German retreat from Russia
• Divisiveness of Republic Senate = indecision of Allied strategic planners after North African campaign
• Sector Governance Decree (Palpatine-sponsored bill to appoint + control regional puppet dictators) = secret informal agreement between Tripartite Powers dividing unconquered territories; Yalta Conference communiqué concerning spheres of influence for Russia, Great Britain + U.S.
• Diversion of clone troopers to Outer Rim sieges = Churchill's desire to attack peripheral targets; diversion of North African troops to Greece; diversion of troops for Sicilian + Italian campaigns
• Breaking of Palpatine's communication code = decryption of German Enigma codes + Japanese Magic codes
• Republic Capt. Dyne (cryptanalyst) = cryptanalysts Alan Turing + Lt. Cmdr. Joe Rochefort?
• Separatist fleet forced to retreat after firing on refugee ships = Battle of the Coral Sea (Japanese invasion of Port Moresby cancelled despite tactical victory) + Battle of the Bismarck Sea (Allies sink eight troop transports bound for New Guinea)
• Naos (muddy, icy, volcanic planet) [Namsos, Norway + Naples] = British landings at Namsos + Allied landings near Naples (cold, wet conditions of Italian campaign; eruption of Vesuvius, March 18th 1944)
• Raid on Tythe asteroid [tithe:one-tenth] = British destroyer attack on Narvik Harbor, Norway (April 10th 1940) + Doolittle air raid on Tokyo
• Military security on Coruscant = police states in Germany (Gestapo) + Japan (Kampeitai) + Russia (NKVD)
• Expendibility of Separatist droids = pitiless sacrifice of German, Japanese + Russian lives by their own leaders
• Separatist raid on Coruscant = London Blitz + Luftwaffe bombings of Warsaw, Rotterdam + Belgrade; Japanese bombings of Chinese coastal cities
• Separatist attack on maglev train = use of London Underground as air raid shelters; Allied bomber offensive against European transportation network
• Random attacks against civilians = Axis terror attacks on civilians (esp. London Blitz + V-1 launches) + vicious Japanese reprisals against Chinese civilians after Doolittle raid; heavy civilian casualties caused by Allied bombardments
• Yoda: "Beginning, the final act was" = "This is not the beginning of the end..." (Churchill, El Alamein victory speech)
• Kenobi (sober, diplomatic management) + Anakin (aggressive, egotistical desire for battle) = Eisenhower + Patton?
• General Grievous (from resource-poor planet Kalee, involved in war with resource-rich planet Huk) [Hindu Kali, goddess of death; Huk: Philippine natives] = Japanese conquest of the Philippines, Indonesia + Burma; Japan's intended invasion of India
• Palpatine's art collection = systematic theft of artwork by Nazis
• "Red-eyed" droid starfighters = Japanese "meatball" insignia
• Superiority of new Separatist tri-fighter = Messerschmidt 262 jet fighter + World War I Fokker triplane
• Thal K'sar (electronics expert) {Ger. Thal: valley + K'sar: Kaiser] = Ruhr industrial basin?
• Venator-class starship = Grumman TBF Avenger + Douglas TBD-1 Devastator aircraft
• FA-4 pilot droid = Grumman F4F Wildcat aircraft

• Amphibious assault on Murkhana [murky Caen?] = Operation Overlord
• Beach seawall backed by high cliffs = Omaha Beach + Pointe du Hoc
• Heavy fortifications, artillery + anti-aircraft weapons = Atlantic Wall defenses
• Shield generator tower on cliffs = Pointe du Hoc coast artillery bunkers
• Bridges to spaceport landing platform = tactical importance of geographic draws through Omaha Beach bluffs; piers + docks of artificial Mulberry harbors
• Republic POWs poorly fed, beaten + executed by Separatists = German + Japanese prison camps
• Vader's execution of clones + Jedi = ruthless executions by Axis powers to suppress all resistance groups
• Disagreement among surviving Jedi about course of action = retrenching by Allied leaders after fall of Norway, France, Philippines + invasion of Russia; disagreement about proper course of counteraction
• Capture of thousands of Wookiees for forced labor = Axis slave labor policies
• Bactoid Armor Workshop = Bavarian Motor Works (important industrial contractor for German military)
• Internal Security Bureau provocateurs = German agents fomenting rebellion + staging incidents in Rhineland, Austria, Danzig + Sudentenland; Marco Polo Bridge incident in Manchuria
• Palpatine: "The Jedi Order is a lesson to us that we cannot permit any agency to become powerful enough to pose a threat to our designs or to the freedoms we enjoy" = Hitler divides power between military, Gestapo + Nazi Party to guard against coup attempt
• "The Jedi had been conspirators in their own downfall, complicit in the re-emerge of the dark side, and as important to its victory as Sidious had been" (Luceno) = lack of pre-war resistance by British + French leaders due to protection of colonial empires + privileged class status
  (94 entries; 329 grand total)