Global wizarding war

"Gellert - Your point about wizard dominance being FOR THE MUGGLES' OWN GOOD - this, I think, is the crucial point. Yes, we have been given power and, yes, that power gives us the right to rule, but it also gives us responsibilites over the ruled. We must stress this point, it will be the foundation stone upon which we build. Where we are opposed, as we surely will be, this must be the basis of all our counter-arguments. We seize control FOR THE GREATER GOOD."

- Albus Dumbledore to Gellert Grindelwald.

The "Revolution" was a conflict fought in continental Europe ending in 1945. It was started by the Dark Wizard Gellert Grindelwald and his followers with the intentions of toppling the European Ministries of Magic, replacing them with a Wizarding Empire that would control the entire wizarding population of Earth, and enslaving the Muggles for their long ago crimes against wizardkind.

Background and Rise to Power
"You cannot imagine how his ideas caught me, Harry, inflamed me. Muggles forced into subservience. We wizards triumphant. Grindelwald and I, the glorious young leaders of the revolution."

- Albus Dumbledore to Harry Potter



In the village of Godric's Hollow during the summer of 1899, Albus Dumbledore, who was in the throws of grief for his family, met Gellert Grindelwald, the great nephew of his neighbour Bathilda Bagshot. The two boys took to each other at once, as they were both incredibly talented young men. When the young Grindelwald began telling Dumbledore about his ideas, he found that Dumbledore was in agreement, whether this was due to true belief on Dumbeldore's part or out of something else is unclear. They also believed that wizards have been gifted with their magical powers for a reason, so that they may rule the non-magical population. He was forced to leave Godric's Hollow after there was an incident with Dumbledore and his siblings, Aberforth and Ariana in which Ariana died. Some time after leaving Godric's Hollow Grindelwald stole the Deathly Hallow - the Elder Wand from Gregorovitch a famous wandmaker. A step towards victory over the international magical and muggle communities.

His power grew throughout Europe but he did not dare to gain power in Britain - afraid of his old friend Dumbledore who had became a famous wizard.

Due to his obsession of the Deathly Hallows Grindelwald soon used the symbol as the mark of his organisation - the army of dark wizards and witches following him and his quest for an international wizard empire.

Fall of Grindelwald
After Grindelwald's gain of power across Europe the wizarding community desperately went to Dumbledore the most powerful wizard of that time. The only one who dared to fight Lord Voldemort later on. Though Grindelwald was a skilled wizard too and with the Elder Wand in his possession - he became even more dangerous.

He constructed Nurmengard, a prison to hold Grindelwald's defeated opponents. It was a fortress protected by magical guards and anti-Apparition wards. Grindelwald's terrorizing of Europe went on for years during the Muggle's World War II. Dumbledore knew he had to fight his former friend but kept pushing the moment until "only when it would have been too shameful for him to delay taking action any longer," as Dumbledore said himself. It resulted in a legendary duel between the two great wizards which brought Grindelwald to defeat. Dumbledore claimed the Elder Wand. The Dark Wizard who had terrorized the magical society of continental Europe had fallen. He was ironically imprisoned in his own prison where the slogan of Grindelwlad was carved above the entrance: "For the Greater Good"

Behind the scenes

 * As Albus Dumbledore defeated Gellert Grindelwald in 1945, it has been thought by many people to mean that Grindelwald may have had a hand in, or may even have been the mastermind behind the infamous World War II. This would make sense, as it would be immensely easier to topple the Wizarding Governments if the Muggle World was too wrapped up in its own affairs to take notice of blatant magic.
 * In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore mentions that he put off facing Grindelwald for some time before facing him. If the premise that Grindelwald is the mastermind behind World War II is taken to be true, then this statement by Dumbledore could mean that Grindelwald's plans were in motion from 1939, when the War began, and that Dumbledore put it off through that time.
 * It would be easy for him to start the war by placing the Imperius Curse upon several world leaders, or even just Adolf Hitler and the German Government.
 * Several references contributes to the theories about Grindelwald and World War II: Nurmengard may be reference to the German city Nuremberg home for many Nazi rallies and where the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws were promulgated. Grindelwald's motto (inspired by Dumbledore) "For The Greater Good" may be a reference to "Arbeit macht frei" (German, "Work shall set you free,") the motto that was mendaciously inscribed over the entrance gates to several Nazi concentration camps. "For the Greater Good," or its German eqivalent, "Für das größere Wohl'" may have been the actual inscription, and the spoken text simply states its translated version.

Appearances

 * ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows