Talk:Hermann Goering

Berlin or Ruhr?

WP gives this Meier anecdote slightly differently: when a bomb falls on the Ruhr you can call me Meier. This difference is not completely trivial, the Ruhr is close to the Western border, while Berlin is a much larger flying distance from Britain. Also the Ruhr was the area where all weapons factories were and Berlin is ... well you know.--Paul Wormer 15:27, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

Somewhere else I found "German towns" instead of "Berlin" (or Ruhr), to me that is the most probable. --Paul Wormer 15:41, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

I looked further and found this [1] :

No enemy bomber can reach the Ruhr. If one reaches the Ruhr, my name is not Goering. You may call me Meyer. Addressing the Luftwaffe (September 1939) as quoted in August 1939: The Last Days of Peace (1979) by Nicholas Fleming, p. 171; "Meyer" (or "Meier") is a common name in Germany. This statement would come back to haunt him as Allied bombers devastated Germany; many ordinary Germans, especially in Berlin, took to calling him "Meier". It is said that he once himself introduced himself as "Meier" when taking refuge in an air-raid shelter in Berlin.

It is very hard (maybe even impossible) to get it straight. The majority of websites say "Ruhr", some say "German airspace" or "German cities" and only a minority say "Berlin". Since the book of Fleming is from before WP, Fleming at least did not copy it from WP. So I would go for Ruhr plus reference to Fleming.

--Paul Wormer 16:41, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

This is one of those things that may exist in many versions. While I can't be quantitative, I'd say I have heard "Germany" most often. For the record, my memory predates the Web, not just WP. (No, we did not have cave paintings rather than basic displays).

I wonder if that is a reasonable compromise, and that adequate sourcing, perhaps in a note, points out there are multiple versions?

There is quite a bit of folklore about him. While I can't immediately find the book, I have a reference that addresses civilian humor inside the Third Reich. Referring to Goering's love of decorations, the "Goer" was defined as the limit of mass of medals, which, when exceeded by pinning one more on the recipient's chest, would cause him to fall forward. Howard C. Berkowitz 17:20, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

Yes "bombs on Germany" is the most neutral and in any case correct as both Berlin and Ruhr are part of Germany. --Paul Wormer 17:27, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

Records

Howard, the web reference to Goering's letter contains a voice recording (sound!) of a part of the Nuremberg trial, pertinent to the letter. Apparently I didn't express myself correctly, but that's what I wanted to say. I wanted to say that one can actually hear Goering.--Paul Wormer 17:33, 1 February 2009 (UTC)

Apologies. Since you have heard it, please change the reference to whatever seems best. Howard C. Berkowitz 18:05, 1 February 2009 (UTC)