

I've noticed that a lot of Western fans seem to associate the genocide / war
in Ishval with the Holocaust (or alternatively, the Middle East). However,
from somewhat secondary sources, I've heard that Arakawa was inspired by the
plight of the Burakumin or Ainu. (The first I don't remember the reference
for; the second appears on [this page for
Scar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scar_\(Fullmetal_Alchemist\)) and on this
reported interview, although there's no statement of where this is from.)

**Given that FMA is a _Japanese_ manga and that the direct linkage of Amestris
to Germany seems tenuous, I am more inclined to assume that there isn't an
exact real world parallel to Ishbal.** (After all, the exact details of [what
happened in FMA](http://fma.wikia.com/wiki/Ishval_Civil_War) don't entirely
match up to what I know about the Holocaust. In combination with the
statements by Arakawa and the fact that Amestris isn't really reducible to
being a "fantasy version of German", I would assume that the events are
largely fantasy, even if some portions might be inspired by various real-life
events.)

Moreover, I would see it as best to assume that the events in Ishval were
inspired (at least partly) by issues such as Japanese colonialism (per
[statements](http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/733666-in-researching-this-
volume-i-interviewed-veterans-who-had-been) about interviewing war veterans1),
even if some aspects might be European. My cynical self suggests that Western
fans are also more likely to say `Ishvalan War of Extermination == Holocaust`
because they simply are more likely to have more experience with it (or with
the Middle East being an issue) than with tensions in East Asia, and not
because this was necessarily explicitly stated somewhere.

What exactly is the arc involving Ishbal supposed to be based on, if anything?
**Is the oft-cited factoid that it is based on the Holocaust true, or is it
more reasonable to associate it with issues linked to Japan or to see it as a
largely fantastic element with occasional grounding in things that have
happened in real life?**

* * *

  1. ( **Update** ) I now realise that the most obvious purpose of such interviews would be to get some grounding for the experiences of military characters such as Mustang or Hawkeye. However, I'm trying to preserve the question as close to its original form as possible (and there, I had mentioned East Asia) in this clean-up.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-27T06:13:14.560
13069
2016-02-23T04:11:13.740
2016-01-18T09:41:04.773
63
2604
question
fullmetal-alchemist-series fullmetal-alchemist-manga
Are the events in Ishbal based on or inspired by the Holocaust?


I'm not sure what it was inspired by or based on. I think that's more a fault
of the readers view to think that. I mean, if I say mass genocide what will
any Westerner immediately think of? It's just because The Holocaust was such a
major representation of such an event we get that image that it must be based
on it, when in fact, several other mass genocides have occurred over human
history.

As far as it might be, I don't think so. As far as parallels go to reality and
history I don't see any others.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-27T16:44:33.637
13072
2014-07-28T09:17:53.633
2014-07-28T09:17:53.633
3650
6389
13069
answer


Hiromu Arakawa, the mangaka, states that she was not influenced greatly by any
specific country, but rather a collection of European countries during the
Industrial Revolution, as stated in [the answers to this
question](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/501/274), sourced back to an
interview in Newtype USA, January 2006.

While I'm sure Arakawa took inspiration from her own country's history, too,
the fact that she was inspired by Europe at all makes a convincing argument
already.

With that said, I think it's fair to say that there is a decent amount of
evidence specifically toward the extermination of Ishval being inspired by the
Holocaust. In the question I linked above, there's a few other points that tie
Amestris to Germany, but I think there's a few specific points to consider.

**The leader of the time was labelled as a Fuhrer.**

Not sure there's much more to say here. Hitler and Bradley share a title and a
mustache.

**During the flashbacks, the most prominent feature of the Amestrian army is
their eyes.**

It's quite clear that there is emphasis put on the non-Ishvalan Amestrians
being very similar to the Aryan race that was dominant during the Holocaust.

[![Blue-eyed Rockbells as medics during the
Extermination.](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ICUAJm.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ICUAJ.jpg)

**Ishval differs from Amestris greatly in its religious views.**

Aside from their ways of living being similar to those of the Amish, the
largest difference between them and the "regular" Amestrians is the fact that
they believe in the creator Ishval. In the Holocaust, Hitler's motivation was
a duality of both targeting their bloodlines _as well as_ their faith.

**However, the Holocaust is a very sensitive topic.**

I think part of the reason Arakawa denies being inspired by this is that she
does not want to take a political stance on the issue. As soon as she admits
to being inspired by such a sensitive issue, she opens herself up to all kinds
of criticism and alienation from specific groups, mostly notably those of
Jewish faith or descent.

**Answer the question already! _Was the Ishvalan Extermination inspired by the
Holocaust?_**

There is no straight answer! Sorry! If you believe what Arakawa has said
publicly, then no, it wasn't. She does not admit to taking inspiration from
any particular country or event, just the feel of the European countries
during the Industrial Revolution as well as the 20th century development.

However, if you'd rather look past the [word of
God](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WordOfGod), I think there is
ample evidence to suggest that there were aspects of the Holocaust and WWII
Germany that were imported into _Fullmetal Alchemist_ , with Ishval and the
Extermination being two of them.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-07-27T17:24:35.803
13073
2014-07-27T17:24:35.803
2017-04-13T12:54:48.953
-1
274
13069
answer


It does seem more likely a collection of different countries. When looking at
the Ishvalan people, I would not say the Jewish people. Looks aren't
emphasized in the manga as much, but when talking about physical features,
Jewish people match no traits of the Ishvalans. First, their geographic
location. They live(d) in a desert. Even though some Jewish people now live in
a desert, the tense does not allow such a correlation to create a parallel.
The people in the desert have tanned skin. Majority of people who follow
Judaism do not have that complexion. And finally, the Ishvalans fought back. I
can't recall any recorded uprising of the Jewish people. The Ishvalans, on the
other hand, fought back.

There are then two plausible choices, in a Western point of view, who the
Ishvalens are. They are either Middle-Eastern people, maybe Palestinians, or,
if looking at a present state, they are Gypsies. _Conquerer of Shamballa_
introduced gypsies, but it is non-canon, so it probably isn't as reliable.

Some other things that reinforce, at least in a western view, how the
Ishvalens are middle eastern is that they lie east of Amestris, and Xerxes
could be shown as Jerusalem, a city destroyed overnight. Also, this could
allude to the Crusades.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-08-02T22:35:52.787
23768
2015-08-03T00:21:58.833
2015-08-03T00:21:58.833
7579
16042
13069
answer


No it was based on the War on Terror in the Middle East. You can tell they are
an Arab-looking ethnic group. King Bradley and his warmongering cohorts were
creating false flags which would be allegorical to 9/11 and the subsequent
invasion, but in the show it would be the killing of the child by a officer to
incite war and create the stone.

She is using two different generations of allegory, one being the German
Fuhrer and the white skin blue eyes rhetoric of Amestrians, and the million[s]
of Iraqi civilians who perished under the embargo on them and the war on the
country itself which happened in the show in similar fashion.

It is weird because Germany was friends with the Ottoman Empire of the Middle
East so I don't see how she could make the connection of the two.

Also Aryan does not mean white, blonde hair with blue eyes as the mainstream
history books tell you. Iran (Land Of the Aryans) is also Aryan and they are
not white nor blonde or blue eyed.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-09-16T01:23:13.343
25907
2015-09-16T03:30:25.160
2015-09-16T03:30:25.160
2604
17958
13069
answer