In 1984, George Orwell describes a world that is similar to the microcosm of Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.  Orwell’s prophesy is a world in which the entire country is controlled by a political party that rewrites history to support the party, restricts all individual thought and expression, and ensures that everyone living in the country is a supporter of the party by vaporizing any possible opposition.  In Oceania, William’s home country, the lives of the people are controlled by propaganda, brainwashing, and a complete invasion of privacy through the use of technology such as the telescreen.  The pivotal character in this world is Big Brother, a god-like icon and a leader that his Party members are supposed to follow and obey.  Likewise, during the Holocaust of 1939-1945, in which 6 million minorities were slaughtered in Nazi Germany, the people of Germany faced a similar invasion of privacy.   They also faced the oppression of a strong political party and exposure to a great deal of propaganda, resulting in brainwashing even from a young age.  The presence of war was pivotal in both 1984 and in the reality of the Holocaust.  Similarly to the Holocaust, where citizens would turn in their Jewish neighbours, children and lovers turn on each other in Orwell’s 1984.  In 1984, characters face the same issues of propaganda, dehumanization, oppression, war, a lack of individual power and invasions of privacy as individuals living in Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.

In Orwell’s 1984, and during the horrific period of history called the Holocaust, society became inundated with images of propaganda and immersed in surroundings filled with party slogans and doublethink, resulting in dehumanization and brainwashing.  The inside of William’s apartment building, the Victory Mansions, is engulfed with propaganda posters with slogans such as “Big Brother is watching you” (5) and “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength” (7).  Through constant exposure to outright lies, doublethink, and propaganda posters in support of the Party, nearly everyone in Oceania, with the exception of the proletariats, become brainwashed into believing anything and everything they are told by Big Brother. Comparatively, during the Holocaust, propaganda techniques were widely used to dehumanise minority groups and gain support for the Nazi Party.  The propaganda that was spread across Germany encouraged intolerance and anti-Semitism, creating a society that was completely brainwashed into accepting the Nazi ideology and rule.  Through dehumanization tactics, the Jewish people became viewed as subhuman, or even as a disease. In 1984, the proletariats and war enemies are dehumanised, including children from opposing countries. Smythe carelessly remarks to William, “The proles are not human beings” (47).  It also becomes a recreational activity to watch the hanging of individual accused of being disloyal to the party and to view footage of violent deaths of proletariats and citizens from other countries.  Even children thrive on watching acts of violence, and they are desensitized to the things that they are viewing.  One of the Parson children is so upset that he screams at his mother, “Why can't we go and see the hanging?” (23).  In both incidences, the society no longer identifies their victims as human beings or even as individuals- they became viewed simply as an enemy to be despised. An intense hatred of the enemy fuelled both the Nazi Party and the party led by Big Brother.   This dehumanization ensures that the perpetrators and observers do not feel guilty for their actions. This, in combination with extensive propaganda, strengthens the power of each country’s authoritative political party.   As well, each political party eventually becomes a dictatorship led by Hitler and the image of Big Brother.  The Two Minute Hate in 1984 can be compared to the large chants, riots and parades led by the Nazi Party; both assemblies were based upon strong displays of emotions and hatred which fed of the strong emotions of the party leaders.  There is no concept of empathy in the world of 1984, and “the songs, the processions, the banners, the hiking, the drilling with dummy rifles, the yelling of slogans, the worship of Big Brother was all a sort of glorious game to them”.  Through oppression by political powers, the people of Nazi Germany and the residents of Oceania became brainwashed into dehumanizing their enemies through consistent exposure to propaganda in the forms of slogans, posters, and displays of emotion.

In both 1984 and during the Holocaust, regular citizens were transformed into malicious traitors, turning on their friends and family members in attempt to please the party and as a result of intimidation.  During the Holocaust, there were 6 million Jews, 500 000 gypsies, 50 000 homosexuals and 200 000 handicapped killed, and surprisingly, the supporters of this killing spree were not callous murderers; they were mainly ordinary German citizens with no previous record of violence.  However, under tyrannical political control, excessive propaganda techniques and intimidation tactics, usually complacent citizens would turn on their Jewish neighbours and friends and refrain from making any attempts to end the vicious cycle of harassment, inequality and murder.  The situation in 1984 is very similar.  Even if they don’t become actively involved in the persecution, they were unsympathetic toward the victims and find it enjoyable to watch pain inflicted upon others.  William is disgusted at the remarks that Symthe makes to him.  Describing a hanging, Smythe tells William, “I think it spoils it when they tie their feet together. I like to see them kicking. And above all, at the end, the tongue sticking right out, and blue a quite bright blue. That's the detail that appeals to me” (44).  As well, O’Brian, a man that William believed to be his friend, manipulates him, resulting in Winston being sent to a prison cell where is tortured and brainwashed.  Later on, he realizes that Julia, his lover, who had promised to never turn him in, had also betrayed him.  During both the Holocaust and Orwell’s novel, there is a lack of genuine relationships due the political power that controls society.  Individuals live in fear of being turned in a friend, neighbour or even family member, and there is little trust in any relationship.  As seen in 1984, relationships that do encompass trust often end in betrayal.  The only two people that William confides in and shares his true feelings with are O’Brian and Julia, both of whom betray him to suit their own needs.   Even marital relationships are non-existent, and Party members are forbidden to have pleasure from their relationships; the goal is simply to live together and reproduce as necessary.  The oppression of the political parties in 1984 and during the Holocaust result in a lack of genuine relationships, a great deal of betrayal, and the transformation of regular citizens into selfish and malicious opportunist, prepared to sacrifice any relationship for personal safety or for their party.

During the Holocaust, the Nazi party invaded the privacy of German citizens, and restricted their individuality similar to the way in Party members and workers are carefully scrutinized for any sign of disloyalty.  In Nazi Germany, spies were common, and often, devices were installed to listen into the phone conversations of households.  As well, in the labour camps, people were treated as numbers rather than individuals.  They were forced into inhumane and cramped living conditions in which they had no privacy or individuality.  The idea of forced labour camps is another similarity between the Holocaust and 1984, as labour camps were a common method of punishment in Orwell’s novel.  Additionally, in 1984, there is a clear attempt to remove individuality and freedom of expression, as was the case with the Jewish during the Holocaust.  One of the goals of Big Brother is to reduce the vocabulary of humans into Newspeak, and eventually into duckquack.  The idea of duckquack is to reduce the vocabulary of humans to the point that they only communicate through simple sounds, without the extensive language of the past.  In doing this, the expressions of people would be very limited, as would their thought processes and ideas because they would have no way of thinking of expressing complex ideas.  There are also many attempts to restrict privacy and expression, with the installation of telescreens in every home, building and neighbourhood.  This technology allows sounds and actions to be observed, and people have to be careful of their facial expressions as well, as not to give away any feelings.  “There was no way of knowing if you were being watched at any given moment.  They could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to.  You had to live- did live, from habit that became instinct- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in the darkness, every movement scrutinized” (6-7).  In 1984, it becomes illegal not only to act against the party but also even to think thoughts of rebellion or doubt.  The invasion of privacy and restriction of individuality that was experienced by victims of the Holocaust is illustrated clearly in Orwell’s novel.

In 1984, brainwashing and instilling loyalty to the political parties begins at a very young age, similar to the situation during the Holocaust.  In Orwell’s novel, children were encouraged to be spies, and even to turn in their own parents.  Violent games were encouraged from a young age, as William experiences.  When he goes to a neighbour’s home, he is surrounded by her young children who yell, “You're a thought-criminal! You're a Eurasian spy! I'll shoot you, I'll vaporise you, I'll send you to the salt mines”.  It was very common for children to turn in their own parents to the Though Police, and this was strongly encouraged, giving the children a nearly heroic status. As William observed, “hardly a week passed in which The Times did not carry a paragraph describing how some eavesdropping little sneak -- 'child hero' was the phrase generally used -- had overheard some compromising remark and denounced its parents to the Thought Police”.  Some parents seem to be proud of their child, such as Mr. Parson as he gloats over the intelligence of is daughter, saying “pretty smart for a nipper of seven, eh?' however, other parents were afraid of their own children, who had the power to turn them over to the Thought Police.  Winston sees the terror on Mrs Parson’s face following the loud outbursts of her children.  He observes “the look of fright on the woman’s greyish face”. During the Holocaust, children began to be brainwashed and taught anti-Semitic view in elementary school that that a hatred of minorities would be fixated in their minds from an early age.  Both political parties strove to influence and indoctrinate young children, as they were simpler to indoctrinate than adults were.  Children were brainwashed by political propaganda from an early age in 1984 and during the Holocaust. 

The oppression by political parties including propaganda, dehumanization, and invasion of privacy and a loss of individuality that were seen during the Holocaust is also expressed in Orwell’s novel, 1984.  The use propaganda posters, slogans, chants and rallies that are seen in 1984 are similar to the tactics used by the Nazi party during the Holocaust.  In both cases, this propaganda and brainwashing resulted in dehumanization and desensitization to violent and death. This desensitization began at an early age, so that children would grow up unable to remember a life other than the manipulation and lies that the Party had exposed them too.  In 1984, children were encouraged to turn their parents in to the Thought police, and during the Holocaust, anti-Semitists was taught in schools to ensure a hatred of the enemy. People became no long able to empathize with victims, and could not perceive others as individuals, which furthered the violence and fierce hatred.  Tactics used by political parties in 1984 as well as during the Holocaust transformed previously peaceful citizens into a mob, lacking any emotion or relationships other than their forced belief in their Party. A lack of privacy in both instances furthered the loss of individuality and ability to express emotion.  Orwell’s prophesy of the future in 1984 is meant to act as a warning for the future, and the Holocaust should be remembered as both a lesson from the past an a warning of what could easily reoccur in the future.