Hitler (Symbol)
Jojo has an imaginary friend, a sort of "Hitler on my Shoulder" that follows him pretty much everywhere. This buffoonish and imaginary Hitler eggs him on to think evil thoughts, have evil aspirations, and to generally hate anyone that the Fuhrer thinks the citizens of Germany should hate. This imaginary friend symbolizes Jojo's imagination, a desire for power and dominance particular to a small child, as well as the actual Fuhrer himself. In Taika Waititi's imaginings, Hitler is himself a symbol as much as a real figure, a surface onto which Jojo can project his own desire for power and control in spite of feeling ineffectual and weak.
Rabbit (Symbol)
When Jojo is at Nazi camp, he is encouraged to kill a rabbit by some older boys to prove that he is brave and evil like a good Nazi ought to be. The rabbit is something adorable that Jojo must kill, but he cannot, in spite of the fact that he wants to be a good Nazi. As he runs away, humiliated, the other boys call him "Jojo Rabbit" as a taunt. Thus, in this moment, the rabbit becomes a symbol for Jojo's inability to live up to his organization's expectations for him, and of his cowardice. After speaking to imaginary Hitler in a clearing nearby, Jojo decides that rabbits do not have to just be cowardly figures, but can also be effective, sneaky, and brave in their own way. As a way of motivating himself, Jojo reclaims the title of "rabbit" as an empowering one, making the rabbit a symbol for his own unique gifts—until he accidentally gets blown up by his own grenade.
Dagger (Symbol)
Early on in Nazi camp, Jojo is given a dagger that he is advised to keep on himself at all times. Later, when he finds Elsa in his house, she steals his dagger. In this moment it becomes a symbol for the ways that Elsa, a Jewish girl, has gained an upper hand over Jojo, and is taking away the main instrument of his allegiance to Hitler. Later, when the Gestapo searches Jojo's house, they notice that he is without his dagger, which seems to represent his failing loyalty, but Elsa comes to his rescue, pretending that she is his sister and stole his dagger in a sibling fight. Then, when Jojo's mother dies, he becomes inconsolable and angry and tries to stab Elsa with the dagger, but cannot bring himself to do it. The dagger is a symbol of the violence that, ultimately, Jojo is unable to commit.
Rosie's Shoes (Motif)
Throughout the film, Waititi often includes shots of Jojo's mother's shoes, which are red and stylish. They are not especially practical shoes, and in this way they represent the fact that Rosie is fun-loving and carefree. Also, she is a character who loves to dance through hard times and have fun when she is feeling low, so they represent her zest for life and her playfulness. Towards the end of the film, Jojo finds that his mother has been hanged by the Gestapo, and his first indicator that it is her is that he sees her shoes as she hangs in the town square. It is a devastating image that shows that Rosie has been punished by the authorities.
Dancing (Motif)
Dancing is itself a motif in the film. First of all, Rosie proposes that people ought to dance to "show God we are grateful to be alive." She dances all the time, even when the serious Jojo wants no part of it. At another point in the film, Elsa tells Jojo that when the war is over, she wants to dance. When they do finally emerge from the house at the very end of the film, they stand in the street and dance, relieved that the war is over. Dancing represents pleasure in the face of adversity, relief when it is over, and hope for the future.
