[Child of the 7th Age]

Another way to determine if Tolkien was racist is to look at his conduct in his own life. Since Tolkien lived through World War II, the biggest racial question at that time was, of course, how Hitler's Germany viewed themselves as superior because of their "Aryan" blood and the resulting genocide of the Jews as well as the persecution of "supposedly inferior" groups like the gypsies, the mentally handicapped, and gay people. (Hitler's Germany would undoubtedly have treated black and brown people the same had they been inside Germany in large numbers.)

Before the War, a publisher wanted to buy the rights to translate the Hobbit into German. The publisher wrote Tolkien a letter and asked if Tolkien was an Aryan. The author was furious at this. He replied that he had no Jewish blood in his family, but was very sad he did not. Moreover, he he had many Jewish friends. Then, he told the publisher he wanted nothing to do with them and would they please go hang themselves with their insane ideas (his language, not mine!).

This is all the more remarkable when you remember the very straight financial circumstances Tolkien was in at this time. Even with the publication of the Hobbit, things were tight. In this same time period, when Tolkien received an award for the Hobbit which came with a 50 pound prize, he immediately turned to his wife and told her to use it for their overdue doctor bills. So turning down a contract of this type was not merely an empty gesture. sharon, the 7th age hobbit