John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in what is now South Africa, but there was never any doubt about his British citizenship. However, the German root of his surname became relevant when, in 1938, the German publisher Rütten & Loening expressed a desire to translate 'The Hobbit' into German. Everything seemed to be on track, but there was one detail: the publisher asked Tolkien to prove his Aryan blood…
A Publisher Under Nazi Control
According to history, Rütten & Loening was formed in Frankfurt by two German Jews, Joseph Rütten and Zacharias Löwenthal, later known as Karl Friedrich Loening. In 1936, the owners of the publishing house, Wilhelm Ernst Oswalt (nephew of Rütten) and Adolf Neumann, were found guilty of breaking the 'Nuremberg Laws' based on racism and antisemitism. Oswalt had converted to Protestantism and baptized his children, but it was not enough: in the eyes of the Nazis they were all Jews, and Jews could not publish books.
The Demand for Aryan Proof
Oswalt and Neumann were forced to sell under the 'instructions' of the Reichsschrifttumskammer, a subdivision of the Reich's 'Chamber of Culture'. Neumann managed to escape to Sweden, but Oswalt died in the camps. In that brutal way, the Nazis took control of Rütten & Loening, which brings us to the summer of 1938. 'The Hobbit' had been on shelves for almost a year, and the publisher (now completely aligned with the Reich's desires and laws) wanted to publish its German translation... but they also asked Tolkien to prove he was Aryan.
Tolkien's Draft Responses
At first, Tolkien's British publisher, Stanley Unwin (of Allen & Unwin), was very interested in closing the deal. However, Tolkien had a thing or two to say, and began with a response to his editor, sent on July 25, 1938. The translation that appears below is the same as the one in the book 'Letters', edited by his biographer Humphrey Carpenter, with the collaboration of Christopher Tolkien:
I must say that the letter from Rütten & Loening that you attach is a little stiff. Do I have to endure this impertinence because I carry a German surname, or does the lunatic law that governs them require a certificate of possession of an 'Aryan' origin from all persons of all countries?
Personally, I would be inclined to refuse a Bestätigung (although I can actually do it) and delay the German translation. In any case, I would strongly object to such a statement appearing in print. I do not consider the (probable) absence of all Jewish blood as necessarily honorable; I have numerous Jewish friends and would regret giving any basis to the idea that I subscribe to the racist, pernicious and completely unscientific doctrine.
You are the main party involved and I cannot jeopardize the opportunity of a German publication without your approval. So I present you two drafts of possible responses.
(Translator's note: Bestätigung means 'confirmation')
The Second Draft
The first of the drafts confirmed receipt of the request, and ignored it. The second, so to speak, took off the gloves. All interested parties can find the exact copy of the original letter at the link at the end of the article, or enjoy its translation, also published in 'Letters':
Dear Sirs:
Thank you for your letter... I regret not being very clear about what they mean by 'Aryan'. I am not of Aryan descent: that is, Indo-Iranian; as far as I know, none of my ancestors spoke Hindustani, Persian, Gypsy or any other related dialect. But if I must understand that they want to find out if I am of Jewish origin, I can only answer that I regret not being able to claim that I have ancestors belonging to that gifted people.
My great-great-grandfather came to England from Germany in the 18th century; most of my ancestry, therefore, is purely English, and I am a subject of England; that should suffice. Nevertheless, I have become accustomed to considering my German surname with pride, and I continued to consider it so throughout the period of the lamentable past war, during which I served in the English army. However, I cannot fail to comment that if impertinent and irrelevant inquiries of this sort are to become the rule in matters related to literature, then the time is not far off when having a German surname will cease to be a source of pride.
The inquiry in which they engage is undoubtedly due to the laws of your own country, but that these should apply to subjects of another State is not correct, even if they had (and they do not) the least relation to the merits of my work or the convenience of its publication, of which they seem satisfied without any reference to my 'Abstammung'.
I trust that you will find this answer satisfactory,
Sincerely yours,
J. R. R. Tolkien.
(Translator's note: Abstammung means 'ancestry' or 'descent')
What Happened Next
Unfortunately, we do not know which of the two drafts reached the Germans, but we do know that 'The Hobbit' in that language had to wait almost twenty years, debuting under the title Kleiner Hobbit und der große Zauberer, with the translation by Walter Scherf and art by Horus Engels.
Source: Flashbak
