Dehumanization: "Attack on Titan" & the Holocaust

What is Anime?

To inform those who do not know what anime is, it is a form of Japanese media involving animated film or television. On this page, one of the most popular anime’s out right now, “Attack on Titan” will be explored on how it illustrates the consequences of dehumanization. This page will also delve into the relationship between AOT and one of the most known historical atrocities, the Holocaust.

Brief Summary

The anime, “Attack on Titan” is set in a world where the Eldian race lives on an island called Paradis. This civilization resides within three large walls that protect them from huge monsters, known as titans. Within the first two seasons of the anime, the main conflict is between the Eldians within the walls and the titans that terrorize them. However, in season three it is revealed that there are other nations outside the island. One of these nations is known as Marley. Centuries ago, the Eldians acquired titan power abilities and with this power they oppressed and committed atrocities towards the Marleyans for many years. During the Great Titan War, the Marleyans were able to overthrow the Eldians. The Eldians grew tired of war and sought refuge on the island Paradis. However, many Eldians were unfortunate and could not escape to the island and remained on the nation of Marley [1].

The oppressed, instead of striving for liberation, tend themselves to become oppressors

Paulo Freire

What was life like for Eldians?

Decades after the war, the Eldians that remained in the nation of Marley were allowed to live with the Marleyans, however, the Marleyans harbored extreme hatred and hostility towards the Eldians due to the actions of their ancestors. As shown in the clip below, Eldians were not seen as human by the Marleyan society and were commonly referred as “the devil race” with “devil blood” in their veins. It was because of this hatred and dehumanization that resulted in Eldians living very unprivileged lives. They were segregated from the Marleyans and put into internment zones where conditions were very poor. In contrast, the Marleyans were apart of the upper class and lived in way better conditions than the Eldians. The clip below follows one of the characters of the show, Grisha Yeager, and depicts the many hardships Eldians experienced under Marleyan rule.[1]

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In this clip Grisha Yeager and his sister Faye leave their internment zone, and enter the part of the city where the Marleyans reside.

The connection between the Holocaust and AOT.

The connection between “Attack on Titan” and the Holocaust is very evident in the scene and image above. The way Eldians were treated is very similar to the way Jews were treated by the Nazis in Word War II. Both groups were dehumanized, and this dehumanization paved the way for cruel treatment for both groups. For example, Jews were also forced into ghettos and were considered vermin by the Nazis [2]. Not only that but Jews were also forced to wear armbands to distinguish them from society [2]. In the image above you can see that the apparel worn by the Eldians is almost identical to the Jews in WWII. Attack on Titan purposely utilizes the Holocaust to portray the possible repercussions that can occur when societies dehumanize a certain group of people.

Sources:

[1]“Eldia.” Attack on Titan Wiki, https://attackontitan.fandom.com/wiki/Eldia.

[2]United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/german-jews-during-the-holocaust.