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Heroes

Nazis demanded to know if ‘The Hobbit’ author J.R.R. Tolkien was Jewish. His response was legendary.

J.R.R. Tolkien had no problem telling his German publishing house exactly what he thought.

J.R.R. Tolkien didn't mince words when asked his opinion on Nazis

In 1933, Adolf Hitler handed the power of Jewish cultural life in Nazi Germany to his chief propagandist, Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels established a team of of regulators that would oversee the works of Jewish artists in film, theater, music, fine arts, literature, broadcasting, and the press.

Goebbels' new regulations essentially eliminated Jewish people from participating in mainstream German cultural activities by requiring them to have a license to do so.

This attempt by the Nazis to purge Germany of any culture that wasn't Aryan in origin led to the questioning of artists from outside the country.

J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, Nazi, Nazis, book burning, censorship, The HobbitA Nazi book burning in GermanyImage via Wikicommons

In 1938, English author J. R. R. Tolkien and his British publisher, Stanley Unwin, opened talks with Rütten & Loening, a Berlin-based publishing house, about a German translation of his recently-published hit novel, "The Hobbit."

Privately, according to "1937 The Hobbit or There and Back Again," Tolkien told Unwin he hated Nazi "race-doctrine" as "wholly pernicious and unscientific." He added he had many Jewish friends and was considering abandoning the idea of a German translation altogether.

lord of the rings hobbits GIFGiphy

The Berlin-based publishing house sent Tolkien a letter asking for proof of his Aryan descent. Tolkien was incensed by the request and gave his publisher two responses, one in which he sidestepped the question, another in which he handled in '30s-style with pure class.

In the letter sent to Rütten & Loening, Tolkien notes that Aryans are of Indo-Iranian "extraction," correcting the incorrect Nazi aumption that Aryans come from northern Europe. He cuts to the chase by saying that he is not Jewish but holds them in high regard. "I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people," Tolkien wrote.

Tolkien also takes a shot at the race policies of Nazi Germany by saying he's beginning to regret his German surname. "The time is not far distant when a German name will no longer be a source of pride," he writes.

Bryan Cranston Mic Drop GIFGiphy

Here's the letter sent to Rütten & Loening:

25 July 1938 20 Northmoor Road, Oxford
Dear Sirs,

Thank you for your letter. I regret that I am not clear as to what you intend by arisch. I am not of Aryan extraction: that is Indo-Iranian; as far as I am aware none of my ancestors spoke Hindustani, Persian, Gypsy, or any related dialects. But if I am to understand that you are enquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people.

My great-great-grandfather came to England in the eighteenth century from Germany: the main part of my descent is therefore purely English, and I am an English subject — which should be sufficient. I have been accustomed, nonetheless, to regard my German name with pride, and continued to do so throughout the period of the late regrettable war, in which I served in the English army. I cannot, however, forbear to comment that if impertinent and irrelevant inquiries of this sort are to become the rule in matters of literature, then the time is not far distant when a German name will no longer be a source of pride.

Your enquiry is doubtless made in order to comply with the laws of your own country, but that this should be held to apply to the subjects of another state would be improper, even if it had (as it has not) any bearing whatsoever on the merits of my work or its sustainability for publication, of which you appear to have satisfied yourselves without reference to my Abstammung.
I trust you will find this reply satisfactory, and
remain yours faithfully,

J. R. R. Tolkien



J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Nazis, Nazi, Germany The letter J.R.R. Tolkien wrote to his German publishersImage via Letters of Note

This article originally appeared four years ago.

The TUfast Eco Team celebrating its victory.

Imagine driving halfway across America in your electric vehicle on one charge. ONE CHARGE. Sixteen hundred miles. It’s impossible to believe—most EVs get maybe 250 miles before needing a charge—but German students created a car that does just that.

Called the "muc022 prototype," the single-seater vehicle, which looks like a Smart car but even cuter and more aerodynamic, handily surpassed the previous record of 999.5 miles in four days. The team of students from the Technical University of Munich kept driving the 374-pound car for two more days until it finally coasted to a stop after going 1,599.27 miles. All told, the car made it 99 hours on the road.

Of course, it wasn’t truly a road. (Or autobahn, if you’re being authentisch.) The students tested the car, a modified version of a vehicle used in previous competitions, in an empty hangar at Munich airport. Students from the team even slept in the hangar.


The group was awarded a Guinness World Record for “Greatest distance by electric vehicle, single charge (non-solar).”

The muc022 prototype is one of the most energy-efficient vehicles ever, with an energy consumption ratio of 103 miles per kilowatt-hour. For perspective, consider that Tesla Model Y, which calls itself “The most efficient Electric SUV ever built,” only offers 4 miles/kWh. The car built by German students is over twenty-five times more efficient! Take that, Elon!

It’s pretty amazing what students are coming up with these days on the automotive/energy front.

A team of students from Switzerland called the Academic Motorsports of Zurich (AMZ) created the fastest-accelerating electric vehicle in the world. It goes zero to 62 mph in just nine-tenths of a second. This is big because the perception that electric cars are slow or lack oomph is one of the barriers to getting more on the road, despite their many health and environmental benefits.

AMZ - World Record! 0-100 km/h in 0.956 seconds

A student was also responsible for a massive breakthrough in the battery space. In 2016, University of California Irvine doctoral student Mya Le Thai accidentally created a rechargeable battery that could last 400 years. Whereas the average rechargeable laptop battery lasts 300 to 500 cycles, this nano battery easily made it to 200,000 charges in three months, meaning your laptop battery could effectively last 400 years.

So when will the average person get their hands on a car that goes 1600 miles or a battery that lasts four hundred years? The answer is hard to pin down. Commenters on the futurology subreddit discussed the timeline and related issues of bringing these innovations out of the classroom and into the marketplace.

Regarding the immortal battery, user EXSPFXDOG said: “I look at this as solving a big problem in multiple ways! It would eliminate you having to drop 20 grand plus to replace battery car batteries!

tufast eco, ev world record, best ev charge

TUfast Eco

via Technical University of Munich

It may help the power storage issues with solar and wind. And it may keep millions of lithium batteries out of landfills. It seems like scalability may not be a big issue because it could mesh with how we make the millions of batteries currently being made. It also helps save some rainforest destruction for Lithium mining!”

Not everyone was so optimistic, though. “People who make batteries also sell batteries, and they don't want you to have one that lasts forever. Nationalize all battery manufacturing asap,” suggested outtyn1nja

It’s not the worst suggestion. What would need to happen to nationalize battery manufacturing?

Hopefully, some forward-thinking students are working on figuring this out.

A symbol of a man using the restroom and the German flag

A sexist stereotype in America is that men who sit down to pee are less masculine than those who stand while urinating. Some even assume that men who sit down to pee have been emasculated by a woman who wanted to deprive them of their God-given right to pee while standing up.

It’s a little strange that some people’s masculinity is so closely tied to how they use the restroom, but it’s not an uncommon theme throughout the world.

The same stereotype exists in Germany, where men who sit to pee are known as sitzpinklers. However, due to a rapid change in public opinion regarding peeing standing up, most German men now pee sitting down, and being a sitzpinkler is much less of an insult.


Recently, YouGov polled 13 countries worldwide to discover the cultural differences in the sit-versus-stand debate amongst men. The poll found that Germany was, by far, the leader in men who sit while peeing. Sixty-two percent of German men sit to pee every time or most of the time. Sweden came in a distant second, with the country split 50-50 on the issue.

American men prefer standing, with only 23% saying they sit most of the time. The country most likely to stand was Mexico, where 21% sit most time.

Why is it that sitting to pee has taken hold in Germany? It’s become a public health issue, and standing to pee isn’t allowed in some places. This is especially common in areas with communal living, such as an apartment building, because no one wants to clean the pee off the floor. It’s also considered rude by many to stand to pee in another person’s home.

Let’s face it, even men with expert aim are bound to miss occasionally. Plus, anyone who has raised a child knows that even though they are closer to the bowl, they still have a hard time keeping it off the seat and the floor.

In some places in Germany, when a man opens a toilet, an electronic voice (known as the WC-Geist or “toilet ghost” in English) reminds them to please sit while doing their business.

There are some compelling reasons why men should sit down while peeing. A study cited by The Sun found that splashback from urine droplets that hit the hard porcelain and catapult urine up to 10 feet away. Another study from 2021 found that after flushing a urinal, “tens of thousands” of diseased pathogens fly out of the bowl.

A study from The Netherlands found health benefits for men who sit while peeing. In a seated position, men urinate with a greater force, which is beneficial for those with prostate problems and lower urinary tract disease. The greater pressure also means that sitting to pee eliminates the bladder faster and more completely.

Aside from the significant change in public opinion in the sitting-versus-standing debate, more German men may be sitting to pee because it’s easier to look at your phone when your hands are free.

Education

Germany's most famous castle isn't a real castle. It's an elaborate 'work of fan fiction.'

Though it looks medieval, it was built in the 19th century by an eccentric "fairy tale king" who spent much of his life constructing his own elaborate fantasy world.

Neuschwanstein Castle sits atop a rock ledge in the Bavarian Alps.

Even if you haven't heard of Neuschwanstein Castle, there's a good chance you've at least seen pictures of it. Set atop a tree-covered rock ledge in the Bavarian Alps, the picturesque castle looks like it was conjured straight out of a fairy tale. In fact, it served as inspiration for Disney Imagineers as they designed "Sleeping Beauty's Castle" in Disneyland, and it's regularly named the top castle to visit in Germany.

There are estimated to be around 25,000 castles in Germany, but Neuschwanstein is unique among them. Most notably, it's not a real castle and never was. While it bears the look and feel of a well-preserved medieval castle, it was actually built in the 19th century, and rather than serving as a fortress, it served as the fantasy castle of an eccentric king obsessed with Richard Wagner's operas and medieval mythology.

Ludwig II came to the Bavarian throne in 1864 at age 18 with no experience in government or politics. Two years later, Prussia conquered Austria and Bavaria, and Ludwig's powerful status as king was greatly diminished. Not that he was particularly interested in governance anyway; he was more drawn to the romantic idea of having his own kingdom.


According to Encyclopedia Britannica, "The king worshiped the theatre and the opera, and henceforth concerned himself almost exclusively with his artistic endeavors, developing an extravagant mania for building in the Bavarian mountains that he loved." He essentially spent much of his reign constructing an elaborate fantasy world in which he could be the king he imagined himself to be.

Hence the idea for Neuschwanstein Castle, which Ludwig wished to be built "in the authentic style of the old German knights' castles." The foundation for the structure was laid in 1869, but it took until 1892 for the 65,000 sq. ft. "castle" to be completed. Ludwig himself would only ever see it as an incomplete building site, as he drowned himself in a lake in 1886, a few days after being declared insane. (Though his death was officially ruled suicide by drowning, some sources point to some mystery surrounding his death, as the psychiatrist who diagnosed him also drowned at the same time.)

The tragedy of Ludwig's final years stands in sharp contrast to the extravagant beauty of the castle he created, which The Cultural Tutor referred to as "the world's biggest work of fan fiction."

The Throne Room serves as a symbol of how Ludwig saw kingship. The grand hall was built in the style of a Byzantine church, pointing to how Ludwig saw kings as being intermediaries between God and the world.

Neuschwanstein Castle throne room

The throne room in Neuschwanstein Castle.

Public Domain

Where fan fiction comes in is in how much of the castle is an artistic shrine to Wagner's operas. In many rooms, the walls are covered in paintings depicting the German legends as told in Wagner's works, such as his 1845 "Tannhäuser" opera and his 1859 "Tristan and Isolde."

Tannhauser story, Neuschwanstein Castle

The Tannhauser story depicted in paintings

Snapshots of the Past

Tristan story, Neuschwanstein Castle

Bedroom depicting the Tristan story

Public Domain

In Neuschwanstein's early stages, Ludwig wrote to Wagner describing his vision for the castle, telling the composer he looked forward to moving in and having Wagner come visit:

"There will be several cosy, habitable guest rooms with a splendid view of the noble Säuling, the mountains of Tyrol and far across the plain; you know the revered guest I would like to accommodate there; the location is one of the most beautiful to be found, holy and unapproachable, a worthy temple for the divine friend who has brought salvation and true blessing to the world."

Ultimately, Ludwig and Wagner's friendship would be complicated by money, differing artistic visions and Ludwig's clear romantic feelings for Wagner, but if it weren't for Ludwig's support, Wagner would likely never have risen to the fame he ultimately enjoyed.

The "mad king" may have had some issues ranging from quirky to concerning, but he can fairly be credited with the making of Richard Wagner, as well as creating an architectural masterpiece that millions of people from around the globe travel to enjoy.

Check out the gorgeous Neuschwanstein Castle from all angles here: