Their ideologies did not line up. Voldemort was fixated on pureblood wizard/witch status.Grindelwald was focused on wizard/witch status in general. Grindelwald wanted to rule the muggles “for the greater good”.
Summary. Grindelwald and Voldemort had similar goals but likely wouldn't have been allies due to their desire for ultimate power. Voldemort's search for the Elder Wand led him to Grindelwald, ultimately resulting in the death of the former Dark Wizard.
Voldemort broke into the prison Nurmengard Castle, where Gellert Grindelwald was being held, and demanded to know the location of the Elder Wand. It was only during the confrontation in Grindelwald's cell that Voldemort learned Albus Dumbledore had claimed the wand in a duel decades back.
Why didn't Grindelwald tell Voldemort where the Elder Wand was?
What made things interesting was that Grindelwald had refused to tell Voldemort where the Elder Wand was. He knew that Dumbledore was the current owner and he probably worked out that it remained with Dumbledore in his tomb.
Believing that wizard kind was oppressed by the non-magical, Grindelwald sought to establish a new world order in which Witches and Wizards ruled over Muggles, claiming that his actions were "for the greater good."
The REAL Reason Voldemort Visited Grindelwald - Harry Potter Explained
Who is more evil, Voldemort or Grindelwald?
However, by dissecting the origins of both Voldemort and Grindelwald, it can actually be inferred that while Voldemort was the more destructive wizard, Grindelwald was far more dangerous, given his pursuits weren't inherently selfish and his efforts to effect change were far more cunning and far-reaching.
Perhaps that lie to Voldemort was his attempt to make amends ... to prevent Voldemort from taking the Hallow ...' Though Grindelwald undoubtedly did some terrible things (as seen in Fantastic Beasts), he lacked the unfeeling maliciousness of Lord Voldemort.
I welcome death! But my death will not grant you what you seek. There is so much that you do not understand! Grindelwald's last words standing up to Lord Voldemort and defending his ex-lover's legacy.
Near the end of his life, when Voldemort found him at the top of Nurmengard, Grindelwald had been emaciated, his body becoming a frail skeletal figure, his skull-like face with great sunken eyes, and most of his teeth were gone.
It is learned that Grindelwald was still alive, though imprisoned in the highest tower in Nurmengard, the prison Grindelwald himself built to hold those who opposed him. Voldemort successfully hunted him down there, although Grindelwald lied to Voldemort, claiming never to have had the Elder Wand.
Voldemort only killed him while he rotted in a cell in the prison Nurmengard because he was frustrated, in a rush to go after Harry, and realized that Grindelwald wasn't going to give him the location of the Elder Wand. Without Voldemort, Grindelwald would potentially still be alive.
Voldemort was born Tom Riddle in 1926, which is when the first Fantastic Beasts film takes place. In Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, there's a bit of a time jump, setting the year as 1932. This would make Tom Riddle around 6 years old at the time.
While indeed powerful, Voldemort fails to achieve the same level of success as Grindelwald. He also fails to show the same mastery over the dark arts. Grindelwald can conjure intense flame, withstand Voldemort's Legilimency, camouflage himself, and handle dark magical creatures.
Grindelwald firstly probably didn't create the Horcrux while still being at Durmstrang, he just tested out how it works (at least if Durmstrang didn't lie to the public by stating that the attacks were NEAR-fatal).
Was Salazar Slytherin more powerful than Voldemort?
In the case of Salazar Slytherin vs Voldemort, the Hogwarts founder comes out on top. Tom Riddle may have been the Heir of Slytherin, but it seems like a safe bet to assume that the Dark Lord probably couldn't defeat Salazar.
Therefore, I think Dumbledore did actually want Snape to have the Wand if only to protect himself. He did not morally feel like he could leave Snape to face Voldemort without any way of saving his own life. That did not, however, work out as planned, so as Dumbledore says, “Poor Severus” (DH 721).
While Grindelwald and Voldemort were both feared dark wizards, they definitely had nothing to do with each other until much later in the series. Aside from the obvious fact that Grindelwald came much earlier than Voldemort, Grindelwald was more of a European/American dark wizard.
He was tortured by Lord Voldemort for information regarding the twin cores of Harry Potter's wand and his own. Ollivander told him that he merely needed to use a wand other than his own to face Harry Potter.
After Credence defies him, and he is outed for faking the Qillin election, Grindelwald retaliates by aiming Avada Kedavra at Credence in retaliation. Grindelwald tells his acolytes to use the curse during Crimes of Grindelwald.
In the end, Voldemort kills Grindelwald via Avada Kedavra after deciding he doesn't need Grindelwald alive anymore. The movie however, took a very different approach. After getting inside Grindelwald's cell, Grindelwald straight up tells Voldemort that the Elder Wand was buried with Dumbledore.
In the Deathly Hallows, Grindewald refused to tell Voldemort the location of the Elder Wand. When Voldemort was taunted by Grindelwald telling him to kill him if he wanted because he would not reveal it, he killed Grindelwald with the Killing Curse.
During his final confrontation with Voldemort, Harry knew that he (Harry) was the Elder Wand's true master. He again cast Expelliarmus, ejecting the wand from Voldemort's hand into his own as the Killing Curse rebounded off his body, fatally striking Voldemort.
Why couldn't Dumbledore defeat Voldemort with the Elder Wand?
Dumbledore wasn't trying to injure or kill Voldemort, I don't think. Just hold him at bay. He suspected about the horcruxes so he didn't want to kill him until his death would mean his final death. I also think he wanted to keep him there until fudge arrived to witness voldemort actually being alive.
