Beyond that, the ideologies of both versions of Ludendorff line up perfectly with the personality and modus operandi of DC’s Ares — making the real life German general a perfect foil for a darker and more sinister form of evil.
Erich Ludendorff is already a great villain in his own right, but his use in Wonder Woman is even more impressive when we consider the fact that a real German general of the same name inspires him.
This was a real man who believed that war was humankind’s natural state and that peace was merely a period of calm in between the current war and the next war.
Patty Jenkins has taken some significant liberties with the creation of the character, but the real Ludendorff’s own ideology about the nature of humanity and the concept of perpetual war lines up incredibly well with the thinking of the fictionalized man.