Attack on Titan: Why Are Eldians Hated?

Updated:

16 Feb 2023

The stirring anime series; Attack on Titan, started as a story of a boy who wanted nothing more than to take revenge against the Titans.

Titans, known as species of giant human monsters, were the creatures that attacked humanity and consumed them barbarically. These monsters were responsible for his mother’s death. However, as the story progressed and unfolded, we, as the audience, learned that there was more to the story than just a simple revenge quest.

The author of the series Hajime Isayama made an intricate plot and finally explained where the Titans originated from, why the Colossal Titan and Armored Titan suddenly appeared at Wall Maria one day without any warning, and, more significantly, why humanity was locked behind those walls all these years.

However, in this article, we will discover the extreme resentment of another percentage of humanity that resided outside the walls, Marley, against the nation of Eldia. We will also go through why Eldians were hated as a nation by the entire world.

Eldia’s True Identity as a Nation

In the past, there was a kingdom known by the name of Fritz, and they held an extraordinary power that gave them an immense sense of dominance.

This power allowed them to turn anyone they wanted into man-eating Titans. Hence, they excessively used this power to take over other nations under their command. Anyone who didn’t belong to the Eldian clan was either turned into Titan food or killed. They performed various experiments, such as on the Ackerman family and the Founding Titan, to control countless Titans.

It is unclear how the Fritz family was able to be masters of a power that could turn humans into monsters; nonetheless, it has been thought that Ymir Fritz- the first ever Founding Titan, made a deal with the Devil; hence the slang; “Devil’s Spawn” was used against all the descendants of Eldian kingdom.

When Ymir Fritz died after acquiring the power of the Titans for 13 mighty yet short-lived years, her powers were split into 9 Titan Shifters. Titan Shifters could assume their Titan form whenever they wanted to at their will, and each one had unique abilities.

With the power divided, Eldians continued to carry out their genocides and ruled. It was the Eldians only who could turn into Titans, and after a particular turn of events that we’ll discuss below, they were trapped behind those walls to ensure their safety.

Why Did Marley Think of Eldians as Devils

Long before the Survey Corps discovered the nation of Marley, its people, and its existence, it was made to believe for all those people that belonged and resided outside the walls that all the people living at Paradis Island were pure evils.

In a scene where Bertolt calls his former comrades ‘Spawn of the Devil,’ the audience at that time thought he spat it out of anger as he learned about Armin’s lie that the military was torturing Annie. Nevertheless, it turns out he truly meant it based on the history and information the people of Marley were being fed and brainwashed with.

According to their history books, around 1800 years ago, Ymir Fritz allegedly made a deal with the Devil to obtain the power of the Titans. Her death brought the creation of the 9 Titan Shifters, who subsequently formed the kingdom of Eldia after defeating many other nations, including Marley.

However, the so-called peace maintained by Eldia didn’t last long, as Marley rebelled during the Great Titan War. The Marleyan hero, Helos, and the Tybur family tricked the Eldian Empire and their king into turning on their backs, fleeing to Paradis Island with some subjects to ensure their safety.

But King Fritz had the Founding Titan- meaning he still had the power to command millions of Titans to trample any nation he wanted, which is why the Warrior Unit was sent to Paradis Island. The Eldians in Marley hated the ones living inside the walls and thought of them as nothing more than just wicked, evil people.

Why Did the Eldian Restorationists Believe Ymir was Their Savior

Though this history was blindly believed on the mainland, and even by the people living in internment zones, some were curious cats who questioned this bizarre truth.

The Eldian Restorationists, which had the members such as Eren himself, Zeke, and his father, Grisha, were handed over some documents by Eren Kruger (who was the owner of the Attack Titan before Grisha Yeager) and stumbled upon something far different from what they had been told.

This was revealed in Season 3 Episode 20, “That Day.” The documents given were in a different language and couldn’t be understood, but based on the pictures and their faith, they saw a contrasting truth of what they knew.

They believed Ymir Fritz awoke the powers of Titans to improve the infrastructure and agriculture, which helped the land prosper and grow- not destroy. They also learned that king Fritz took the Founding Titan with him to Paradis Island because he refused to fight the brewing rebellion, which led to him abandoning many of his people on the mainland to face the consequences of his actions. Such horrifying action led to many Eldians being transformed into Titans to fight against Marley’s enemies.

King Fritz also fabricated the lie of unleashing the wrath of the Titans in the walls to trample the remaining humanity once more if the Eldians weren’t left alone. Nonetheless, Marley still looked at Eldians as their enemies and feared the power of the Founding Titan. Thus, the Warrior unit was sent to retrieve the Founding and live as the ones in absolute control.

The Truth of What Happened Between the Two Nations

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The main reason we now know the absolute truth of what happened between Marley and Eldia is the Tybur family’s Titan.

The War Hammer Titan belonged to the noble family of the Tyburs and had been solely passed down in the family alone. They knew the truth about the conflict, as the holder inherited the memories of their ancestors.

During Willy Tybur’s speech, he narrated how Helos and Tyburs weren’t the ones who ended the Great Titan War; instead, it was king Fritz himself all along. He was greatly terrified after learning about Eldian Empire’s history and was greatly pained by all the oppression Marley had to face as a nation, along with all those who got trapped in the vicious killing spree that occurred in the past.

Once he inherited the Founding Titan, he teamed up with the Tyburs and gave birth to a fake hero, Helos. King Fritz then moved as many people as he could to Paradis Island while the rest of the remaining nations under his command collapsed due to his absence.

Upon reaching Paradis, he formed the walls, which were made of Titans the size of an average Colossal Titan. He swore that anyone who dared to interrupt his peace would face the wrath of the Founding's power- which was another lie to keep enemies at bay and prevent any unnecessary wars. Next, he erased the people's memories regarding their knowledge of the outside world and renounced war, sealing it in the Founding's will.

Fritz’s vow was passed down to all the members of the royal family who inherited the Founding Titan and prevented them from fighting, making the people of Eldia suffer for the actions of their ancestors.

At one end, he was also ready to accept defeat and surrender if the forces of Marley declared war against Paradis Island. In his eyes, the sins committed by the Eldian Empire could never be forgiven, and he was okay with it. Just for a while’s peace, the Tyburs and king Fritz sold out all the people of Eldia to Marley, leading them to the oppression they had suffered all their lives.

Were the Nations Able to Maintain Peace

With the events that have turned out till the latest episode in the anime, the word peace hasn’t been heard, let alone maintained.

The conflict between Eldia and Marley is what has shaped the story and world of Attack on Titan. It has been formed to the point that none of them can be held accountable as they both are responsible for what has happened. Moreover, there is much bloodshed to deal with on both sides.

Eren Yeager, the lead protagonist and then the antagonist, realized this vicious cycle of vengeance that had been going on for years and decided to put his plan in motion to give Paradis Island the justice it deserves.

Eren’s plan was the Rumbling he activated in Season 4 Part 2. Eren started the Rumbling to turn king Fritz’s lie into a harsh reality.

Conclusion

Due to Eldia’s ability to transform into mindless Titans, and their history of how the kingdom came to be, many nations across the world hated them. They continued to punish the Eldians for the actions taken by their ancestors.

However, their hostility with Marley has weaved the mind-blowing plot of the anime. The anime is yet to stream its highly anticipated final of the series, where we will get to see the majestic end of whether both nations were able to form peace.

In conclusion, this marks the end of the article. Hopefully, you found this article insightful. Let us know your thoughts down below. Can you think of any other reasons why the nation of Eldia was hated? Enlighten us if we missed any significant points.