No enemy bomber can reach the Ruhr. If one reaches the Ruhr, my name is not Göring. 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 alleged statement would come back to haunt him as Allied bombers devastated Germany; many ordinary Germans, especially in Berlin, took to calling him "Meier" and air raid sirens "Meier's Trumpets". The authenticity of the statement could not be verified. It is said that he once himself introduced himself as "Meier" when he took refuge in an air-raid shelter in Berlin.