Editing King Ottokar's Sceptre (section)

===Background===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1985-083-10, Anschluss Österreich, Wien.jpg|thumb|The ''Anschluss'': cheering crowds greet the Nazis in [[Vienna]]]]
''King Ottokar's Sceptre'' was not the first Tintin adventure to draw specifically on contemporary events; [[Hergé]] had for instance previously made use of the 1931 [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria]] as a political backdrop for the setting in ''[[The Blue Lotus]]''.{{sfn|Assouline|2009|p=61}} This time, Hergé had closely observed the unfolding events surrounding the expansionist policies of [[Nazi Germany]].{{sfn|Peeters|2012|p=97}} In producing this story, he was particularly influenced by the ''[[Anschluss]]'', the annexation of [[Federal State of Austria|Austria]] by Nazi Germany in March 1938.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=82|2a1=Farr|2y=2001|2p=81|3a1=Assouline|3y=2009|3p=61|4a1=Peeters|4y=2012|4p=97|5a1=Goddin|5y=2009|5pp=40}} The [[Munich Agreement]] and the subsequent [[German occupation of Czechoslovakia|Nazi invasion of the Sudetenland]] followed in October 1938.{{sfnm|1a1=Farr|1y=2001|1p=81|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2p=97|3a1=Goddin|3y=2009|3pp=40,49}} Three weeks after ''King Ottokar's Sceptre'' finished serialisation, Germany invaded Poland.{{sfnm|1a1=Farr|1y=2001|1p=81|2a1=Assouline|2y=2009|2p=62|3a1=Goddin|3y=2009|3p=50}} By this point, the threat to Belgian sovereignty posed by Nazi expansionism was becoming increasingly clear.{{sfn|Peeters|2012|p=97}} By 1939, the events surrounding the [[Italian invasion of Albania|Italian annexation of Albania]] made Hergé insist his editor publish the work to take advantage of current events as he felt "Syldavia is Albania".{{sfn|Assouline|2009|p=62}} Later Hergé denied that he had just one country in mind.{{sfn|Assouline|2009|p=62}}

Hergé claimed that the basic idea behind the story had been given to him by a friend; biographer [[Benoît Peeters]] suggested that the most likely candidate was school and [[scouting]] friend Philippe Gérard, who had warned of a second war with Germany for years.{{sfnm|1a1=Peeters|1y=2012|1p=98|2a1=Goddin|2y=2009|2p=40}} ''Tintin'' scholars have claimed Hergé did not develop the names ''Syldavia'' and ''Borduria'' himself;{{efn|At first, Hergé named the country "Sylduria".{{sfn|Goddin|2009}} }} instead, the country names had supposedly appeared in a paper included in a 1937 edition of the ''[[British Journal of Psychology]]'', in which the author described a hypothetical conflict between a small kingdom and an annexing power.{{sfnm|1a1=Farr|1y=2001|1p=82|2a1=Libération|2y=2006}} Reportedly, the paper, by [[Lewis Fry Richardson]] and entitled "General Foreign Policy", explored the nature of inter-state conflict in a [[mathematics|mathematical]] way.{{sfnm|1a1=Farr|1y=2001|1p=82|2a1=Libération|2y=2006}} Peeters attributed these claims to Georges Laurenceau, but said that "no researcher has confirmed this source". Instead, a paper by Richardson entitled "Generalized Foreign Politics: A Story in Group Psychology" was published in ''The British Journal of Psychology Monograph Supplements'' in 1939, but did not mention ''Syldavia'' or ''Borduria''. In any case, given the publication date, it is unlikely that it was an influence on ''King Ottokar's Sceptre''.{{sfn|Peeters|2012|p=325}}

{{Quote box|width=246px|bgcolor=#c6dbf7|align=left|quote="At the time, Germany was of course on my mind; ''Ottokar's Sceptre'' is nothing other than the tale of a failed Anschluss. But one can take it to be any other totalitarian regime&nbsp;... Moreover, isn't the villain of ''Ottokar's Sceptre'' called [[Müsstler]], evidently a combination of Mussolini and Hitler? It strikes me as a clear allusion".|source=Hergé, talking to [[Numa Sadoul]]{{sfnm|1a1=Sadoul|1y=1975|2a1=Farr|2y=2001|2p=82}} }}

Hergé designed Borduria as a satirical depiction of Nazi Germany.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=83|2a1=Apostolidès|2y=2010|2p=29}}
Hergé named the pro-Bordurian agitator "Müsstler" from the surnames of [[Nazi Party|Nazi]] leader [[Adolf Hitler]] and Italy's [[National Fascist Party|National Fascist]] leader [[Benito Mussolini]].{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=82|2a1=Lofficier|2a2=Lofficier|2y=2002|2p=43|3a1=Assouline|3y=2009|3p=62|4a1=Peeters|4y=2012|4p=98}} The name also had similarities with the [[British Union of Fascists]]' leader [[Oswald Mosley]] and the [[National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands]]' leader [[Anton Mussert]].{{sfn|Peeters|2012|p=98}} Müsstler's group was named after the [[Iron Guard]], a Romanian fascist group that sought to oust [[Carol II of Romania|King Carol II]] and forge a Romanian-German alliance.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=82|2a1=Farr|2y=2001|2p=81}} The Bordurian officers wore uniforms based on those of the German [[Schutzstaffel|SS]],{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=83|2a1=Apostolidès|2y=2010|2p=29}} while the Bordurian planes are German in design; in the original version Tintin escapes in a [[Heinkel He 112]],{{sfn|Goddin|2009|p=50}} while in the revised version this is replaced by a [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]].{{sfnm|1a1=Farr|1y=2001|1pp=84–85|2a1=Apostolidès|2y=2010|2p=29}} Hergé adopted the basis of Borduria's false flag operation to take over Syldavia from the plans outlined in [[Curzio Malaparte]]'s ''[[Coup d'État: The Technique of Revolution]]''.{{sfn|Peeters|2012|p=99}}

Syldavia's depiction was influenced by the costumes and cultures of [[Romania]] and the neighboring Balkan region.{{sfnm|1a1=Peeters|1y=2012|1p=100|2a1=Goddin|2y=2009|2p=50}} The mosques that appear in Hergé's Syldavia are based on those found throughout the Balkans,{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=83|2a1=Farr|2y=2001|2p=81}} while the appearance of the Syldavian village, featuring red-tiled roofs and [[minarets]], may have been specifically inspired by the [[Bosnia]]n town of [[Mostar]].{{sfn|Tett|2012|p=8}} Syldavia's mineral rich [[subsoil]] could be taken as a reference to the [[uranium deposits]] found under Romania's [[Carpathian Mountains]] – later to be mentioned directly in the eventual ''[[Destination Moon (comics)|Destination Moon]]''.{{sfn|Tett|2012|p=9}} ''Tintin'' scholars have noted that the black [[pelican]] of Syldavia's flag resembles the black eagle of [[Flag of Albania|Albania's flag]],{{sfn|Farr|2001|p=81}} and that Romania is the only European country to which pelicans are native.{{sfn|Tett|2012|p=9}}

[[File:Mostar, Türken Viertel-LCCN2002710853.jpg|thumb|The Bosnian town of Mostar (pictured {{circa}}1890-1900) has been suggested as a likely influence on Hergé's depiction of the Syldavian village.]]
The name Syldavia may be a composite of [[Transylvania]] and [[Moldavia]], two regions with historical ties to Romania.{{sfn|Tett|2012|p=9}} Czech, Slovak, and Bohemian history influenced the Syldavian names,{{sfn|Assouline|2009|p=62}} while several [[List of rulers of Bohemia|medieval Bohemian kings]] were the inspiration for the name "Ottokar".{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1991|1p=83|2a1=Farr|2y=2001|2p=81}} The [[Polish language]] influenced Hergé's inclusion of ''–ow'' endings to the names of Syldavian places, while Polish history parallels Hergé's description of Syldavian history.{{sfn|Farr|2001|p=81}} The [[Syldavian|Syldavian language]] used in the book had French syntax but with [[Marols|Marollien]] vocabulary, a joke understood by the original Brussels-based readership.{{sfn|Assouline|2009|p=62}}

However, despite its Eastern European location, Syldavia itself was partly a metaphor for Belgium – Syldavian King Muskar XII physically resembles King [[Leopold III of Belgium]].{{sfnm|1a1=Farr|1y=2001|1p=82|2a1=Peeters|2y=2012|2p=100}}{{efn|Syldavian King Muskar XII also resembles King [[Zog I of Albania]] and Prince [[Alexandru Ioan Cuza]] of Romania.{{sfn|Goddin|2009|p=50}}{{sfn|Tett|2012|p=9}} }} Hergé's decision to create a fictional Eastern European kingdom might have been influenced by [[Ruritania]], the fictional country created by [[Anthony Hope]] for his novel ''[[The Prisoner of Zenda]]'' (1894), which subsequently appeared in film adaptations in [[The Prisoner of Zenda (1913 film)|1913]], [[The Prisoner of Zenda (1915 film)|1915]], [[The Prisoner of Zenda (1922 film)|1922]], and [[The Prisoner of Zenda (1937 film)|1937]].{{sfn|Lofficier|Lofficier|2002|p=43}} Many places within Syldavia are visually based on pre-existing European sites: the ''[[Diplodocus]]'' in the Klow Natural History Museum is based on the one in the [[Museum für Naturkunde]], [[Berlin]]; the Syldavian Royal Palace is based on both the [[Charlottenburg Palace]], Berlin{{sfn|Farr|2001|p=82}} and the [[Royal Palace of Brussels]];{{sfn|Tett|2012|p=12-13}} and Kropow Castle is based on [[Olavinlinna Castle]], constructed in fifteenth century [[Savonia (historical province)|Savonia]] – a historical province of the [[Sweden|Swedish Kingdom]], located in modern-day Finland.{{sfn|Tett|2012|p=11}} For the revised version, Kropow Castle was drawn with an additional tower, inspired by [[Vyborg Castle]], Russia.{{sfn|Tett|2012|p=23}} The United Kingdom also bore at least one influence on Syldavia, as King Muskar XII's carriage is based on the [[British Royal Family]]'s [[Gold State Coach]].{{sfn|Tett|2012|p=18-19}}