TOLKIEN, HITLER & LEWIS IN THE TRENCHES
In a letter to his son Michael who was
serving in the RAF during World War II (1939—1945), J.R.R. Tolkien describes
the shaming and disgrace he had experienced for waiting until July 1915 (age
23) before beginning his active service in the Great War (1914—1918). Tolkien – who had become engaged to Edith in
January 1913 (war would break out in August 1914) – wanted to finish his
university studies before going to the Front.
He and Edith were married in March 1916; two months later, Second Lieutenant
Tolkien was sent to France to fight in the Battle of the Somme. Tolkien described himself as “a young man
with too much imagination and little physical courage”.[1]
In the Summer of 1916, a 27-year-old
Adolph Hitler was in one of the trenches opposite the British lines at the
Somme (the battle lasted from 1 July to 18 November). Both Hitler and Tolkien were evacuated from
the battlefield within a month of each other, the former due to an injury and
the latter due to trench fever. Tolkien
would not return to the trenches, but would be transferred to Thirtle Bridge
Camp in England for the remainder of the war (he was also constantly in and out
of hospital due to his persistent ill health)[2].
In January 1916, the British parliament
had passed the Military Service Act, making military service mandatory for all
men aged 18-41. Though Tolkien had voluntarily
enlisted 6 months previous, this legislation worried a young C.S. Lewis, whose
18th birthday was 11 months away and who was eager to gain a
scholarship to Oxford University. A year
after Tolkien’s departure from France, Second Lieutenant Lewis would arrive at
the Front along with his regiment on his 19th birthday (29 November
1917). What different trajectories the
lives of the two young officers (Tolkien & Lewis were destined to become
university dons) would take from that of “the Bohemian corporal” (as Hitler
would later be called by disgruntled German generals during WWII). Both Hitler and Lewis fought during the
German Spring Offensive of 1918[3]. Lewis would eventually be evacuated due to a
relatively minor wound and would resume his studies at Oxford. He would meet Tolkien in 1926 at a faculty
meeting of the English Department.
The Great War came to an end on 11
November 1918; two decades later, Germany – under the rule of Hitler – would invade
Poland, beginning the Second World War. Two
of Tolkien’s three sons would fight in the Royal Air Force during WWII. Both Michael and Christopher survived the
war. During WWII, Tolkien would write
most of his famous 600,000-word novel, The Lord of the Rings (finally published
in 1954-55).
[1] The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, New York: HarperCollins, 2006
[1981], p. 53 (cf. p. 232); And yet, in another letter to Michael during WWII,
even though he claims that “one War is enough for any man”, Tolkien complains
about not being able to play an active role in the conflict! (Ibid, pp.
54-55); for the shaming of un-enlisted men, cf. Ordway, Holly, Tolkien’s
Faith: A Spiritual Biography, Elk Grove Village: Word on Fire Academic,
2023, p. 129; for Tolkien’s patriotism: Ibid, p. 130.
[2] Garth, John, Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of
Middle-earth, Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003, pp.
205-48; for Hitler’s experience at the Somme, cf. Ullrich, Volker, Hitler:
Ascent (1889—1939), New York: Vintage Books, 2016, pp. 63-64.
[3] Ullrich, Volker, op. cit., pp. 69-70; cf. also Poe, Harry
Lee, Becoming C.S. Lewis: A Biograph of Young Jack Lewis, 1898—1918,
Wheaton: Crossway, 2019, pp. 253-57.
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