The Second Wizarding War is often compared with World War II. The similarities are striking. Voldemort is often compared with Hitler. Again, many similarities. But if Voldemort is Hitler, who is Churchill?
Two characters come to mind. Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister for Magic, and Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts. Which one of these two is most like Churchill?
Plenty is known about Albus Dumbledore, but not much is known about Rufus Scrimgeour.
One can presume that Scrimgeour did well in school, given that he became an Auror. Winston Churchill, on the other hand, was a bad student. He did poorly in the two schools he first went to, and it took him three tries to pass the entrance exams for the British Royal Military College. Schools were not Churchill’s favoured environment.
Scrimgeour became Minister for Magic during a major war, after the former Minister for Magic was forced to resign. Churchill became Prime Minister in exactly the same way.
While Churchill wasn’t one to spread fake confidence, Scrimgeour was known for that, covering up prison breaks and anything else that could make people doubt him. He should have been less worried about publicity, and more worried about Voldemort, the man who would murder him.
Albus Dumbledore was the best student that Hogwarts had ever seen. He was sorted into Gryffindor, house of the brave.
Churchill once said, ‘Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities … because it is the quality which guarantees all others.’ I think we can guess what house he’d have been in.
Dumbledore is known for often committing foul deeds ‘for the greater good.’ While I can’t name any specific event, Churchill did once say: ‘If Hitler invaded Hell, I would at least make a favourable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons.’ One can deduce that Churchill was as much for ‘the greater good’ as Dumbledore
Churchill died of a stroke, at the age of 90. Dumbledore died during the war, though, with his death triggering a series of events, that ultimately ended in Voldemort’s destruction.
Scrimgeour’s career path may have mimicked Churchill’s, but as leaders, the two were far apart. Though Dumbledore’s career was very different than Churchill’s, they were much closer in personality. I believe that Dumbledore is the one who comes across as most like Churchill.
What’s your opinion?
Sources
the Left Handed Blotcher 