2. Hitler, Saruman, Churchill, Aragorn & Gandalf

2. Hitler, Saruman, Churchill, Aragorn & Gandalf

What makes Nazism so attractive and appealing as to see it in a novel's plot? The myth behind it. A myth fed by imagery, by pompous and grandiloquent rallies in front of thousands of people, by displays of power and might in the way of Old Greece and Ancient Rome. And this is just the common starting point for all the resemblances to Nazism presumably found within the Lord of the Rings: the clash of two familiar branches of myths.

The theologian Emil Fackenheim believes that such was the magnitude of Hitler’s crimes that we must consider him as representing a ‘radical evil’, an ‘eruption of demonism into history’.
The industrialised mass murder perpetrated by the Nazis resonated irresistibly through the latter half of the twentieth century, and is certainly the principal contributing factor to what the British historian Norman Davies calls ‘a demonological fascination with Germany’.
In summarising the historiography of the Western Powers, Davies states: ‘Germany stands condemned as the prime source both of the malignant imperialism which produced the First World War, and of the virulent brand of fascism which provoked the Second.’
In the post-war years, this contributed to the ‘Allied scheme of history’ in which the West presented (and still presents) itself as the pinnacle of civilisation, morality and altruism. While the numerous reasons why this is far from the truth lie beyond the scope of this book, the attitudes that have accompanied the Allied scheme are of extreme importance with regard to our continuing fascination with the Nazis. Davies writes of ‘The ideology of “anti-fascism”, in which the Second World War of 1939-45 is perceived as “the War against Fascism” and as the defining event in the triumph of Good over Evil.’

To a certain extent, Saruman resembles Hitler greatly. The problem is that Hitler's image was not a standard in itself, as his attitude and public behaviour didn't come from scrap, but he had obtained them from a previous model. Thus we may conclude that Saruman and Hitler share resemblances with a common previous pattern. Saruman is identified by his White Hand sign, and Hitler had his svastika. The White Hand doesn't come from the svastika, but both come from a symbolical use of signs which have always been already established by humans to identify groups of people or to adscribe an image to world-wide known concepts (a cross for Christ, a dove holding an olive tree branch on his beak for peace, the dollar sign for money). In fact, the svastika already existed as a symbol thousands of years ago; the 'forged cross' is an adaptation (Nazi sign is mirrored clockwise) from a symbol of prosperity to Ancient Egyptians and American Indian tribes. Asimismo the poles from Nazi banners and flags were crowned by an eagle, like imperial standards from ancient Rome (in this case together with the inscription SPQR). So as a consequence, we should inexcusably argue in favour that Hitler resembled Caesar, but of course it is not an excuse to unarguably defend that he was a clone of a Roman emperor. He just imitated (or shared, if preferred) gestures, movements and attitudes from the acting techniques of ancient rhetorics, like Saruman did: banners, torches, military marches, rallies...

Another similarity to be found is Saruman's as well as Hitler's fascination for science, technology and occult powers. Existen infinidad de suposiciones e hipótesis sobre la vinculación de Hitler con un grupo sectario, the Thule Society, which had its roots in the ultra-nationalistic Völkisch movement, and shared the fascination about the supernatural raised during the period of German Romanticism.

From a practical viewpoint, the pretended similarity between the wizard and the Führer on their taste for technological improvements would find its basis in Tolkien's absolute distaste for industrialization and, because of it, the de-humanizaction of war. In the words of Tolkien:

It is full Maytime by the trees and grass now. But the heavens are full of roar and riot. [...] How I wish the "infernal combustion" engine had never been invented. Or (more difficult still since humanity and engineers in special are both nitwitted and malicious as a rule) that it could have been put to rational uses - if any...

Heroes, kings or peasants, all of them die riding in the battlefield, with honour; cowards shelter behind representatives and mercenaries and send machines which provide them with powers beyond the human. Dickerson points out:

Aragorn, Gandalf, Faramir, and even Théoden are always at the forefront of their armies, leading by their own examples of courage. Saruman, Sauron, and later, Denethor stay in their towers and rule from afar. "He uses others as his weapons," Denethor explains of Sauron. "So do all great lords, if they are wise, Master Halfling. Or why should I sit here in my tower and think, and watch, and wait, spending even my sons?"

Following Gandalf, 100

And in spite of all this Tolkien is not pointing his finger at anyone from the real world, save Humanity at its entire. He complained about and abhored what had started happening with the First World War: manipulation of the masses through oratory and propaganda (Saruman savagely addressing both the Army of Mordor and Rohan and Gondor's committee form the balcony at Orthanc or Sauron's mouth showing Gandalf Frodo's belongings to make him believe he was caught), the use of chemicals and explosives (Morgul's poisonous blade, the breathe of the Nazgûl, the bomb at the wall of Helm's Deep), the use of heavy weapons (Grond, the ram that crushes the gates of Minas Tirith, the mastodontic Mumakil, assault towers and catapults) Even the screams of the winged creatures the Nazgûl ride may have been a premonition about contemporary tactics on psychological war: an aircraft crosses the sky shouting out loud terrifying messages or music.