Why is Freeza often compared to Hitler?

[coola]

Hitler: "ZE JEWS MUST DIE!"
Frieza: "ALL SAIYANS MUST DIE!"

Difference is that one didn't kill anybody by himself while the other did wipe out a whole race.

Except Vegeta, Tarble, Kakarotto But yeah, after they die, full blooded Saiyans in our Universe will become extinct

[precita]

Freeza can be compared to any tyrant throughout history.

You can even compare Donald Trump to Freeza.

[The Monkey King]

Both Freeza and Hitler are racist and genocidal.

So is Vegeta, but I don't see anyone compare him to Hitler.

Vegeta's not anywhere near as overtly racist as Freeza.

Also as far as the manga's concerned Vegeta's never committed genocide.

Also unlike Hitler Vegeta became a good guy in the end.

Freeza can be compared to any tyrant throughout history.

You can even compare Donald Trump to Freeza.

"Honestly when I see a saiyan I just can't help myself I just grab 'em by the tail. And if you're power level's over 9000 they'll let you do it"
- Lord Freeza Trump 2005

[Kid Buu]

He attempted genocide in the comic when he tried to blow up Earth, killed a village of Namekieans, and is even racist against other Saiyans.

[Kamiccolo9]

He attempted genocide in the comic when he tried to blow up Earth, killed a village of Namekieans, and is even racist against other Saiyans.

Genocide requires genocidal intent. Just killing a group of people, regardless of how large, does not in and of itself constitute genocide. There needs to be some sort of ideology at play. As shown in the manga, Vegeta is a mass murderer, but he's not genocidal.

[ABED]

He attempted genocide in the comic when he tried to blow up Earth, killed a village of Namekieans, and is even racist against other Saiyans.

Genocide requires genocidal intent. Just killing a group of people, regardless of how large, does not in and of itself constitute genocide. There needs to be some sort of ideology at play. As shown in the manga, Vegeta is a mass murderer, but he's not genocidal.

That ideology is tribalism and Vegeta is in fact racist, but it's more about how Saiyans are inherently superior to other races.

You can even compare Donald Trump to Freeza.

The clear connection is that Trump is like Hitler. Trump is an awful human being, but he's not Hitler. Hitler is a totalitarian, but Trump and Freeza are Authoritarians.

[Kamiccolo9]

He attempted genocide in the comic when he tried to blow up Earth, killed a village of Namekieans, and is even racist against other Saiyans.

Genocide requires genocidal intent. Just killing a group of people, regardless of how large, does not in and of itself constitute genocide. There needs to be some sort of ideology at play. As shown in the manga, Vegeta is a mass murderer, but he's not genocidal.

That ideology is tribalism and Vegeta is in fact racist, but it's more about how Saiyans are inherently superior to other races.

You can even compare Donald Trump to Freeza.

The clear connection is that Trump is like Hitler. Trump is an awful human being, but he's not Hitler. Hitler is a totalitarian, but Trump and Freeza are Authoritarians.

Tribalism and racial superiority did not drive Vegeta to attempt to destroy the Earth; his personal fight with Goku did. It wasn't a concentrated effort to destroy humanity; that would merely have been a side effect.

From what I recall, he killed the Namekians so that Freeza wouldn't know he was the one with their Dragon Ball. Neither race nor tribalism was involved there.

"Genocide" gets thrown around far too often by people who don't really get what the word means. There are strict parameters for what constitutes a genocide, and nothing Vegeta does matches the criteria.

[ABED]

Tribalism and racial superiority did not drive Vegeta to attempt to destroy the Earth

I never said it did, but Vegeta is most certainly a tribalist. He believes Saiyans are inherently superior to every other race. Yes, he didn't kill the Namekians because of their race, that wasn't my issue. And I don't think you need to intentionally target a particular race for it to be considered genocide. It usually is in the real world, but we're dealing with a universe where individuals are more powerful than every real world army that has ever existed.

[Kid Buu]

He attempted genocide in the comic when he tried to blow up Earth, killed a village of Namekieans, and is even racist against other Saiyans.

Genocide requires genocidal intent. Just killing a group of people, regardless of how large, does not in and of itself constitute genocide. There needs to be some sort of ideology at play. As shown in the manga, Vegeta is a mass murderer, but he's not genocidal.

Okay, that's a fair point. I'd still consider him racist though.

Daimao attempts to kill the Martial Artists so no one can mafuba him right? I know martial artist isn't a race, but it can still be viewed as ethnic cleansing.

Cell believes because of the way he was created, he is naturally superior (especially in his final form). He also intends to wipe out entire cities, so he can become stronger.

Super Buu killing the humans on Earth, just because. I doubt it was race related, but he did intend to kill them, and he did.

Would you count these?

[RandomGuy96]

So I was watching Oliver Hirschbiegel's Downfall, and I couldn't help but think at the back of my head how DB fans like to compare Hitler to Freeza. I don't really see many parallels other than the fact that they are both viewed as antagonists. To me Freeza's relationship with Planet Vegeta feels more like being a mafia boss than being a dictator. What do you guys think?

No one cares about accuracy and I would venture to guess that almost no one making that comparison actually knows anything about Hitler beyond the most basic facts, they just think it sounds 'right' because Hitler = bad and Freeza = bad. Even though Freeza does not at all resemble Hitler in any way except "genocidal dictator".

Freeza doesn't even have a coherent ideology. He doesn't need one. He's a space pirate who mugs people and steals their stuff, except on a large scale. He does this because he's a spoiled brat who was born with a high power level, and wants more money and stuff. That's literally it.

[Kid Buu]

So in this context, would the Saiyans equate to the Jews? Because uh, I don't think that dynamic completely parallels.

[Kamiccolo9]

He attempted genocide in the comic when he tried to blow up Earth, killed a village of Namekieans, and is even racist against other Saiyans.

Genocide requires genocidal intent. Just killing a group of people, regardless of how large, does not in and of itself constitute genocide. There needs to be some sort of ideology at play. As shown in the manga, Vegeta is a mass murderer, but he's not genocidal.

Okay, that's a fair point. I'd still consider him racist though.

Daimao attempts to kill the Martial Artists so no one can mafuba him right? I know martial artist isn't a race, but it can still be viewed as ethnic cleansing.

Cell believes because of the way he was created, he is naturally superior (especially in his final form). He also intends to wipe out entire cities, so he can become stronger.

Super Buu killing the humans on Earth, just because. I doubt it was race related, but he did intend to kill them, and he did.

Would you count these?

No, I wouldn't. Killing all the martial artists isn't ethnic cleansing, because "martial artist" isn't an ethnicity. Cell doesn't want to destroy the Earth to get rid of the humans; he just wants to destroy stuff. Buu doesn't kill all the Earthlings out of any particular malice against them; he does it to make Piccolo hurry up.

I mean, none of these are good people, but, as I mentioned above, there are very specific parameters for genocide, and these examples do not meet them. Freeza's eradication of the Saiyans is the only example I can think of in Dragon Ball that does. You can call the others "mass killings," or "exterminations," but "genocide" is not a synonym for "killing lots of people." It's a specific term made for a specific usage, and has become wildly misused in the present day.

[Kid Buu]

I mean, can agree with the notion that Freeza's attack on Planet Vegeta being the only thing that qualifies as a genocide (in the manga), but I don't really think blowing up Planet Vegeta is completely comparable to the Holocaust.

[Kamiccolo9]

Well I don't mean ethnic cleansing in the literal sense, and it's mentioned Buu was planning on killing all the humans even before Piccolo used it as a way to delay him getting into the Time Chamber.

Although, I think others made a good point when we said Hitler is used as the defacto bad guy in taught history, even though there are arguably much worse people.

The thing is, Buu isn't killing all the humans because they are human. He's killing them because he wants to destroy stuff, and they just happen to be the ones there. He'd do the same if you replaced all humans on Earth with Namekians. Who he's killing has nothing to do with his motivation.

Genocide is targeted, and requires specific intent. The entity committing genocide has to establish at some point that they are specifically targeting (insert group here) for elimination.

[Kid Buu]

Well I don't mean ethnic cleansing in the literal sense, and it's mentioned Buu was planning on killing all the humans even before Piccolo used it as a way to delay him getting into the Time Chamber.

Although, I think others made a good point when we said Hitler is used as the defacto bad guy in taught history, even though there are arguably much worse people.

The thing is, Buu isn't killing all the humans because they are human. He's killing them because he wants to destroy stuff, and they just happen to be the ones there. He'd do the same if you replaced all humans on Earth with Namekians. Who he's killing has nothing to do with his motivation.

Genocide is targeted, and requires specific intent. The entity committing genocide has to establish at some point that they are specifically targeting (insert group here) for elimination.

I was editing as you responded; conceding to your point on what qualifies as genocide. Though I still don't think the dynamics of the genocide were the same, per se.

[RandomGuy96]

Wait, now I think I know where the comparison comes from. In the Dragon Ball manga, chapter 310, page 11, the Goku-Freeza fight is randomly interrupted by a page detailing Freeza's backstory:

After rising to power on a wave of historical anti-Tuffle racism and North Galaxy nationalism, as well as resentment at the Treaty of Namek, Freeza proved enormously popular in his initial term. His popularity only increased when he stimulated the economy of the North Galaxy with public spending, dropping unemployment to near zero. However, it was a miracle built on a house of cards; his government's debt had reached untenable levels within a few years. At this point he had two options: liberalize his economy, or go to war and plunder the resources he needed to maintain his regime and avoid a collapse.

On the basis of the data compiled by Cui, Zarbon then commissioned Appule, the North Galaxy price commissioner, to make a general assessment of the policy options facing the North Galaxy. The resulting memorandum was a remarkably frank statement of the gravity of the choices facing Germany. As far as Appule could see, the only way to avoid a steady deterioration in Freeza Co's universal economic position was devaluation accompanied by liberalization of foreign exchange movements. Appule acknowledged the risks involved, but also pointed out the enormous advantages. By bringing the price level into line with that of its competitors, devaluation would render redundant the entire cumbersome apparatus of trade promotion. North Galaxy firms would at least be able to compete on level terms. Such an adjustment could only be successful if it gained the acceptance of the trading partners of the East and West galaxies. If they responded by allowing their own currencies to devalue or by imposing trade restrictions, Freeza Co exporters would gain no advantage. Devaluation, if it was to bring its full benefits, would have to be accompanied by a diplomatic rapprochement with the West and East galaxies.

There are clear parallels [in the West, East, and South galaxy proposals] in the arguments being offered at the same time on Freeza Planet No. 67. In his memorandum for Zarbon, Appule emphatically stressed the 'grandiose possibility' that a Freeza Co return to the universal economy would herald the beginning of a new era of intergalactic economic cooperation. The precondition for cooperation, however, was an end to unilateralism. The North Galaxy would need the support of the West and East. It would need to bring its military spending under control. And Appule went further than that. He believed that concessions would also have to be made on the 'Tuffle question, Saiyan question, question of the rule-of-Kaioshins, and Kami question': 'I can well imagine that we will have to bring certain issues. . . into greater alignment with the imponderable attitudes of the other peoples, not in substance, but in the manner of dealing with them.' One is tempted to say that, given the mood prevailing in the West and East galaxies, Appule exaggerated the price Freeza Co would have to pay for an economic accord.

Appule had raised concerns about the cost of the spending already in Age 723. And his increasing criticism of excessive spending on spaceships, armor, energy blasters, Cultivars, martial arts training, and powerful mercenaries was backed up in Age 724 by a series of internal Freezabank reports stressing the severity of the North Galaxy's fiscal and monetary imbalance. Thus, the proposed plan aimed to end all that. Appule had the support and sympathy of many prominent North Galaxy economists, financiers, martial artists, and industrialists. Had the Freeza Clan decided to go with the plan for devaluation and liberalization they would have had broad support from the North Galaxy financial elite.

Freeza, however, was unconvinced, and endorsed fully the second option. His response to the memorandum was brief and made clear that he simply did not want an economic solution to the problem. Towards the end of his response, he laid clear his goals: "I. The North Galaxy army must be operational within four years. II. The North Galaxy economy must be fit for war within four years." And that was that. They were off on the path of planet-plundering.

I don't know why Toriyama put that in tbh, it didn't even have illustrations to go with it.

[Kid Buu]

Well that explains a lot. My copy must have missed that page.

Was wondering why there wasn't anything on Freeza's backstory.

[RandomGuy96]

Well that explains a lot. My copy must have missed that page.

Was wondering why there wasn't anything on Freeza's backstory.

I'd say it was worth reading to give him some back story, but the subsequent graphs detailing scouter production as a percentage of the North Galaxy's GDP over the years under Freeza was a little much.

[Polyphase Avatron]

The biggest difference is that Hitler never fought anyone himself (at least, not after WWI)

[DBZAOTA482]

Freeza can be compared to any tyrant throughout history.

You can even compare Donald Trump to Freeza.

I don't think so. Donald Trump is just an abrasive idiot that's demonized by the media (Hilary is more evil than him) while Freeza was calculating and a stone-cold killer.