The general public at the time of the Empire had no idea about the true identity behind
Darth Vader’s mask.
With Palpatine and Vader himself working incredibly hard to make sure the true identity of Darth
Vader was kept quiet, only few select people in the galaxy knew his true idenity
So before we find out who these people are please remember to leave a like, comment and subscribe. It really helps the channel grow and produce more great content just like this
The general public at the time of the empire had no idea about the true identity behind Darth Vader's mask.
With Palpatine and Vader himself working incredibly hard to make sure that the true identity of Darth Vader was kept quiet.
Only a few select people in the galaxy knew his true identity.
The official narrative released in the imperial news and history books stated that clone wars
hero Anakin Skywalker had died along with the other Jedi in their temple after the events
of the Jedi purge.
The events of the prequel trilogy do however outline a few of the main people that knew
of Darth Vader’s true identity.
Most obviously is Obi Wan.
After pledging himself to Palpatine, Vader fought his now former master in the lava beds
of Mustafar, leaving him horrifically scarred and burnt.
We also know that Master Yoda knew of Vader's true identity.
Yoda foresaw pain and suffering for Kenobi as he viewed the security tapes to discover
the identity of the person who committed the massacre of the Jedi temple.
Although he had already sensed it, the security tape confirmed Master Yoda’s worst fears
of Anakin’s fall to the dark side.
Moreover, Bail Organa was also informed about the true identity of Vader by Yoda and Kenobi,
as he agreed to take responsibility for one of the children of Vader, later named Leia.
Bail Organa harboured this dark secret for many years as he raised Leia on Alderaan.
On top of this, it is strongly hinted at in Episode 4 that Owen and Beru Lars know that
Darth Vader is Anakin Skywalker.
They make it very clear to Luke that they don’t want him getting involved in the conflict,
and risk ending up like his father.
They are extremely reluctant to allow luke to have the same fate as his father.
In the Empire Strikes Back, Vader reveals to Luke that he is his father, to intial disbelief.
Once luke accepts the truth and finds out that Leia is his sister, he passes on the
identify of Vader as their father to Leia.
Outside of the these major characters, a few people did discover the true identity of Darth
Vader.
One of these was Doctor Silo, the man responsible for the creation of Vader’s suit, who witnessed
the disfigured and scarred anakin inside the medical chamber that held Vader until the
construction of his suit was complete.
Another was his former apprentice Ahsoka Tano.
While she initially had suspicions about the true identity of Vader being her former master,
it was later confirmed to her when she confronted him at the end of Season two of rebels.
On top of this, it is almost certain that Grand Moff Tarkin knew who Vader truly was.
After Anakin’s rescue of Tarkin from the Sepratist Maximum Security prison, the Citadel,
the two struck a chord, sharing many of the same views on the war and the role of the
Jedi in it.
Tarkin’s further relationship with Anakin made it almost certain that he knew.
He however never questioned Vader on his true identity, not considering it a matter of great
importance.
Furthermore, imperial inspector Thanoff - who was placed on a mission with Vader inspecting
a robbery, put together enough evidence to conclude the true identity of the man behind
the mask.
Shockingly, Thanoff did not care about Vader’s true identity, but knew that he could not
remain alive carrying such critical information.
He sang the praises of Vader, hoping that he would overthrow Palpatine before being
struck down by Vader.
Finally, it goes without saying that Palpatine knew of Vader’s identity, as he was the
one behind everything up from the Phantom Menace, all the way to the turn of Anakin.
Along with this, anyone close to Palpatine such as Mas Ameda very likely knew the truth.
The clone troopers that Palpatine ordered to collect Anakin’s scorched body, would
have very likely also recognised the scarred Jedi.
This is every known person who knew the true identity of Darth Vader, up until the events
of the bloodline novel, where Leia Organa’s father was revealed to be Darth Vader, spreading
throughout the galaxy and ruining her political career.