How Charlie Chaplin used his uncanny resemblance to Hitler to fight fascism

How Charlie Chaplin used his uncanny resemblance to Hitler to fight fascism

Neda Ulaby

October 15, 2025 / 9:45 am

Hollywood studios did not want Charlie Chaplin to make The Great Dictator . When he first started writing the script in 1938, the U.S. had not yet entered World War II. In fact, it still enjoyed friendly diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany, as well as many lucrative business ones.

So Chaplin financed The Great Dictator himself. He took advantage of his uncanny resemblance to Adolf Hitler by playing an obvious parody of the Nazi leader, named Adenoid Hynkel, in the film. But the parallels continued, as noted in the 2002 documentary, The Tramp and Dictator.

"Charlie Chaplin, the Little Tramp, and Adolf Hitler, the leader of Germany, had more in common than just a m