Lord of the Rings-A Theme This World Has Seen Before?

A dark sorcerer is on a desperate search for a tiny jewel, a group of fairy tale creatures bound by that same jewel, and a desperate race against time to stop a war.  The Lord of the Rings is a tale on an epic scale with multiple plot lines.  Is one of the themes taken from real life?

Around the time J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the original novels the world was in chaos.  World War II had claimed many lives and there was no clear end in sight.  Hitler's armies were encroaching on the Soviet Union while Japan plotted against the United States.  Much like in the real world, Tolkien's land of Middle Earth was in conflict.

Sauron's active aggression against the world of Man is reminiscent of Hitler's invasion of Europe, most likely an inspiration for Tolkien.  As Hitler invades country after country, so Sauron invades the kingdoms of Minas Tirith and Erador.  Battles are waged and casualties mount as the era of Man is closely coming to an end under Sauron's might.

Hitler did not count on one thing.  The United States of America entered the war after an attack by Japan.  Sauron also made a fatal mistake.  His focus on the war instead of the search for his ring left his very existence threatened.  A small hobbit named Frodo had ventured deep into enemy lands and put an end to the evil tyrant.

Did Tolkien use real life events as inspiration for his trilogy?  The evidence is astounding.  Hitler's attempt to eradicate the Jewish people of Europe and Sauron's attempt to eradicate Man from the face of Middle Earth is undoubtedly parallel.

The plot of the books steals several World War II events.  The Allied peoples of Middle Earth invade Sauron's land while the Allies storm the beaches of Normandy and the surrender of tower Orthanc while Japan surrenders to the Allies to name a few.  

The one thing that both fantasy and fiction share is that the good and just stood up to overwhelming oppression and tyranny.  That is one way sci-fi and reality should never differ.