One of the reasons we began this blog was to make it possible for people to check the accuracy of the dubious quotation. Since this page shows up fairly high on a Google search that sometimes happens.
Today I came across this interesting posting by “eatbees” that found the quotation used by a British politician, went to this site, and wrote an interesting post reflecting on larger issues. It’s worth a look.
Hey there, thanks for the shout-out — and the work that brought me here in the first place!
ReplyDeleteI concur with eatbees. I've blogged for over 3 years. I love to collect quotes, particularly unusual ones. Over the years I've gotten much more particular about sources, citations and accuracy.I've used the Goebbels quote and also put it on one of my quotes pages. I had reason to use it again, and saw no date or source on my original citation. That got me searching again.
ReplyDeleteIt quickly came to seem, as you observed, professor, that all the quotes cited other web sites, but the citations became circular.
Deep into my searches on Google, I found your site. I also saw your link to Goebbels' article on the British using the Big Lie. This suddenly made perfect sense. I could totally see how this bit of writing got twisted around to become the quote so commonly attributed to Goebbels. It's reminiscent of the Romney campaign claiming a quote by Obama on video, when Obama was actually quoting someone else. The Romney camp response was essentially, "Well, the words did come out of his mouth, didn't they?" So, a total twisting of reality goes on the 'permanent record'.
This investigation of yours on this one quote is great work. Even if your hypothesis is proven wrong -- and particularly if it's not -- your efforts provide all us quote-lovers with a cautionary example.