It is a common misconception that the Thalmor are in someway "Jewish", in that they act similar to how the Jew acts in many stereotypes. While it is true that they do share some of the same qualities, the Thalmor were in fact based primarily on the NSDAP. Bethesda drew several parallels between the Thalmor and the Nazis. Firstly, both were originally a minority political faction in their nations, being tolerated but distrusted. Both were elevated to power in their countries during a crisis, and then consolidated their power and refused to let go. With the Nazi Party it was the Hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic, as well as the burning of the Reichstag and the general disorder of the Weimar Republic. With the Thalmor it was the Oblivion Crisis, and later the Void Nights which enabled them to spread to Elsweyr. Thirdly, both factions announced that they had saved their respective nation from destruction, with the NSDAP claiming to have both saved Germany's economy and Germany itself from Bolshevism and Jews, whilst the Thalmor claimed to have saved the Summerset Isles from destruction at the hands of the Daedra. Both the Thalmor and Nazi Germany annexed genetically similar races before their main war/conquests, Germany with Austria and the Sudetenland, the Thalmor with the Bosmer. Both factions secretly killed and/or intimidated influential/important people who spread discontent within these conquered territories in order to make annexation smoother. Both the Thalmor and the Nazis surprise attacked their enemies/neighbours, Nazis with Poland, France, the Low Countries, Britain, Russia, etc. Thalmor with the Empire of Tamriel. Another parallel is that both the Thalmor and Nazi Germany were dominating their opponents in the first section of the war, only for the tide of war to later turn against them and the Thalmor/Nazis being driven out. Finally, both the Thalmor and the NSDAP believe in the superiority of their race, with the Thalmor believing in the superiority of the Elven (especially High Elven) race as opposed to the Human race and the NSDAP believing in the superiority of the German race as opposed to the other races of humanity. Likewise, both factions wanted to see the extermination or subjugation of inferior races. Whilst some parallels between the Thalmor and Jewish stereotypes do exist, more parallels exist between the Thalmor and the NSDAP. The parallels between the Thalmor and NSDAP were purposely made by Bethesda, as it is what influenced the Thalmor. Meanwhile, any parallels between the Thalmor and Jews are incidental.

Another misconception is that the Empire is merely a puppet of the Thalmor and so the remaining Imperial provinces, such as Skyrim, must break away. This could not be further from the truth. Both General Tullius and Legate Rikke claim that the Thalmor are not to be trusted, and predict a future conflict between the Empire and Aldmeri Dominion. A future conflict is an inevitability- you must be a fool to deny this, as both agents of the Dominion and the Empire admit that a future conflict is to come. The only way for Humanity as a whole to avoid Elven conquest is for the Empire of Tamriel, the Empire created by Tiber Septim/Talos Stormcrown, to own Cyrodiil, Skyrim and High Rock. In the event of a second conflict, Hammerfell would help the Empire in the conflict, even if they are not part of the Empire. The image attached to this document shall show how a coalition between the Empire and Hammerfell would look. If Skyrim were to become independent, as the Stormcloaks desire, then High Rock would also become independent as there would be no way for the Empire to keep control of a province they have no land connection to. This would result in the human race being balkanised into relatively small, insignificant states- balkanised states that the Aldmeri Dominion could (and would) steamroll. Many supports of the Stormcloaks like to hold Hammerfell up as an example which proves this point wrong, as an independent Hammerfell successfully defeated the Aldmeri Dominion in a conflict. However, this is not the case. The Empire conveniently "retired" several legions' worth of soldiers in Hammerfell, who were vital in helping the Redguards fend off the Aldmeri onslaught. Furthermore, Hammerfell is naturally difficult to conquer due to a variety of reasons and thirdly, Hammerfell did sustain a lot of damage from the invasion of a WEAKENED Dominion. How would Hammerfell had fared if they were fighting a strong Dominion without the support of "retired" Imperial soldiers? I think we know the answer.

Some people claim that the has weak leadership. This is another misconception. Titus Mede II is in fact a good Emperor, unlike his predecessors. He was left with a weakened Empire and did the best he could in the Great War and managed to prevent the Thalmor from outright conquering all human lands. Whilst ultimately the Empire lost and was forced to sign the White-Gold Concordat, if Titus Mede II did not destroy the Aldmeri army at the Battle of the Red Ring, then the peace treaty would have been much, much harsher. Abandoning Hammerfell was not the Empire turning its back on Hammerfell, it was a wise choice which enabled the Redguards to fight the severely weakened Aldmeri forces with the assistance of "retired" Imperial soldiers, as explained in the previous paragraph. Likewise, people claim that the Empire itself is weak. This is another misconception. The Empire is preparing for war, and has been for some time. Elves breed slower than humans, and so the Empire is able to recover from its losses at a much faster pace. The only way for the Thalmor to counter this is to make humans fight eachother. Whilst Ulfric certainly was not consciously an agent of the Thalmor, and likely legitimately did what he thought was right, every action he has taken has benefited the Thalmor. His actions in Markarth were what led to the Thalmor being able to operate in Skyrim, hunting worshippers of Talos. Previously, whilst Talos worship was outlawed, it was not enforced and many people were continuing to both quietly and not so quietly worship. The Civil War is costing both Skyrim and the Empire a lot of men and the only ones who benefit from this are the Thalmor. Likewise, the Civil War is damaging infrastructure in Skyrim such as city walls, forts, etc., making them easier to siege/destroy in the event of the war. Not only this, but the Civil War is forcing the Empire to reassign legions from Cyrodiil to Skyrim- weakening the Aldmeri-Imperial border and making it easier for Aldmeri forces to overrun Imperial forces at the border.

If Ulfric is victorious, humans are left with separate, weakened nations that will be conquered one by one with ease. If the Empire wins, it can recover its losses quickly and be ready for a second war with the Dominion.