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Human history has served as fodder for great works of art, be it literature, TV serials, or movies. Similarly, the world of anime has drawn significant inspiration from reality, such as Steins;Gate’s MC, Rintarou Okabe, who has been rumored to be based on John Titor, a self-proclaimed time traveler. Another popular anime to have utilized this trope is Vinland Saga, which largely detailed the events following the invasion of England by the Vikings in the 11th century.
Hajime Isayama’s Attack on Titan is a classic example of an anime series that drew heavily from true historical events. Much like the anime series mentioned above, it did so in a subtle manner, i.e., through implications. As such, this article will take a look at some of these references to true events within the story.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Attack on Titan series and contains historical mentions of sensitive topics such as the Holocaust and Anti-Semitism.
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The Tybur family, the concept of honorary Marleyans, and other events in Attack on Titan that are based on historical events
10. Armbands for discrimination
All Eldians within the Marleyan society had to mandatorily wear specific armbands that symbolized their Eldian heritage. Moreover, they served as a means of identifying the population within the ghettos, which is why it was completely illegal to take these off.
During the events of World War II, the Nazis had the Jews don similar headbands to differentiate and recognize those of Jewish origin. Attack on Titan took it a step further in that there were no physical differences between Eldian and Marleyan heritage. As such, blood tests were conducted to distinguish between the two.
9. The Marleyan society was a proponent of anti-miscegenation
Another instance within Attack on Titan that germinated from true events is that the Marleyan society followed anti-miscegenation laws. In other words, to preserve the purity of the Marleyan bloodline, Eldians and Marleyans were forbidden from procreating or engaging in any such activities with each other.
This was especially observed when Reiner’s father got angry and informed him that he could get into serious trouble or even be hanged by the Marleyan authorities if it was ever discovered that he had an intimate relationship with Reiner’s Eldian mother.
Shortly after, Reiner’s mother told her son that if only she had been born a Marleyan, he would have been treated much like everyone else rather than as a social outcast. Despite their lingering feelings for each other, Reiner’s parents lived separately. Had they lived together, perhaps things would have been different for Attack on Titan's Armored Titan.
8. Eldians were shuffled into ghettos
While these were not necessarily as harsh as World War II’s concentration camps, the entire population of Eldians was segmented into ghettos.
Another fact that remained was the Eldians did not possess the same level of economic liberty that the Marleyans enjoy, meaning they could easily be subject to the harshest forms of treatment by the Marleyan society.
7. Heavy propaganda
One thing that Attack on Titan’s Marleyan society had successfully instilled within the minds of everyone was that all Eldians residing outside the city are impure and evil. Thus, they need to be exterminated.
This demonization of an entire race of people was similar to the Nazis brainwashing most of Germany and turning them against Jews in general. Instead of viewing the history of Marley as an objective power struggle, they revised the history to make it appear as if they were nothing but evil demons. By doing so, Marley effectively destroyed the Eldian reputation. This propaganda was so deeply entrenched within the Eldians that several of them, including Reiner and Gabi, took extreme steps to show their loyalty to the Marleyan cause.
Thus, this propaganda succeeded in causing a divide between the Eldians in a way Jews would sell out other people of their race to stay in the Nazi’s favour.
6. Honorary Marleyans
In the Marleyan society, an Eldian was capable of moving up the ranks and acquiring more rights in the process. Moreover, they could pretty much become members of the Marley society.
Much like Attack on Titan, in Nazi Germany, it was possible to attain the status of an Honorary Aryan. This was particularly applicable to the Japanese and Finnish people owing to being allies of Germany. One could, in rare cases, even attain high ranks within the system.
5. Aggressive foreign policies
As time passed, Eldians came to be utilized as tools of war by turning ordinary citizens into Titans and dropping them upon civilian populations. In doing so, Marley effectively decimated the Eldian society’s reputation. This was one of the reasons why the other nations despised the Eldians and wanted them exterminated.
Similarly, in Nazi Germany, there were instances of subjugation, overdiscriminating and extreme abuses, but none of these were comparable to those witnessed after the war actually began.
4. Eldian Marleyans felt entirely Marleyan
In the Attack on Titan universe, the Eldians within the Marleyan society loathed the notion of them living on Paradis Island, which is why the Marleyan Eldians wanted nothing to do with them. The propaganda hit them hard, which became evident when Reiner’s family sat down for dinner and Reiner narrated stories of the "evil Eldians" without any substance. Moreover, Zeke Yeager sold out his own parents to Marley.
Suffice to say, the Marleyan Eldians wished to ensure their own safety before anything else. The same could be said of German Jews. They were far more integrated than non-German Jews and were even married to non-Jews, granting them privileges that did not extend to other Jews. When the Nazis took over, there was no special treatment allotted to Jews, regardless of their status as German Jews.
3. The Tyburs
Richer Jews were often exempted from the ill-treatment affecting their poor counterparts. Similarly, in Attack on Titan, it was confirmed in a conversation between Willy Tybur and Magath, the general of the military forces at Marley, the Tyburs were the ones who were in control of all events and were completely exempted from all policies.
While there weren’t Jews of similar status in Nazi Germany, there were Jews who were completely exempted from the ill-treatment of the Nazis. This was because they were the fortunate ones in the bunch who possessed the influence and resources to escape these atrocities.
2. Anti-Semitism in Attack on Titan
This is perhaps one of the most accurate aspects of commonality between real-life history and events in Attack on Titan. Zeke hosted an international conference involving the Tybur family. Later on, Willy confirmed everyone’s doubts that almost everyone feared the Eldians as they were capable of transforming into Titans and wreaking havoc, a perception which was fuelled somewhat illogically.
On the other hand, it is ironic that the first couple of Black people who were on board with Eldian extermination groups also shared the same racial abuse as the Eldians.
1. Unusually disproportionate punishments
Within the Marleyan society, one could be hanged or executed for sharing their bed with another race. Harsh punishments like these were a common occurrence and were highly disproportionate to the crimes in question.
Similarly, within Nazi Germany, even a silly joke that passed off against the Nazis had serious repercussions, including heavy fines or death. The freedom of expression was severely curtailed, and any disrespect towards the ruling party was dealt with harshness.
In Conclusion
Attack on Titan did a remarkable job of drawing parallels between Nazi Germany and the Marleyan society. While the series alluded to other cultures, it would be ignorant of someone not to notice these evident analogies.
As a matter of fact, many fans have accused Isayama of being a Nazi sympathizer. However, the truth is that he did an excellent job in drawing from historical events and weaving them into the storyline.
