Antedating of "Blitzkrieg"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Quite significant discoveries, Fred. The buzz among historians - undoubtedly shored up by the OED's treatment - is that this word was the colorful creation of Allied journalists.

  JL



Fred Shapiro <fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU> wrote:
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Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Fred Shapiro
Subject: Antedating of "Blitzkrieg"
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blitzkrieg (OED 1939)

1938 _Living Age_ Sept. 13 (American Periodical Series) A prize was
recently offered by the German Military Academy for the best outline of
an attack on Czechoslovakia. The prize-winning plan, printed below, is an
elaboration of Adolf Hitler's own ideas of _'Blitzkrieg.'_

1938 _Wash. Post_ 5 Oct. 9 (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) We know that
the "blitzkrieg" theory of Gen. Goering -- that a swift and fearful air
attack can be made which will totally demoralize populations -- is no
longer tenable.

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and YALE BOOK OF QUOTATIONS
Access and Lecturer in Legal Research Yale University Press
Yale Law School ISBN 0300107986
e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu http://quotationdictionary.com
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