Mordor inspired by Nazi Germany?

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Originally Posted by Ibrîniðilpathânezel

The Nazis are probably in there somewhere, but by influence, not intent, I believe.

The waste and destruction that took place during WWI was, to me, what Tolkien thought of as 'evil,' not a particular group. Like when he speaks through Sam who sees the Southroners marching, knowing that the one particular soldier wasn't evil, seemingly, but just caught up on the wrong side and maybe even forced to fight.

We see something 'evil' and compare it to something we know, as maybe Tolkien did. Anyway...

Both sides in the real war not only had to contend with 'the enemy,' but those enemies we all face - deprivation, starvation, disaster, atrocity, etc. Think of those that were lost, not via a bullet, but by the mud that drowned them, or the cold that froze them, or the virus, bacterium or amoeba that infected them. And then there were those clever inventions, such as gas, that not only killed, but tortured as it slowly did so.

There are monsters about, but where's Grendel in all of that?