I was just reading the etymology of "Nazi", and was amused to read that it was a play on words from their enemies, sounding like both the german word for "national socialist" and a shortening of the common Bavarian name Ignatius (insinuating a stupid rural person).
This must have started as a joke within Germany, but it's interesting to me that this became the "official" translation of the party's name around the world. I'm curious how this happened, and in what timeline. Thanks!
The Oxford English Dictionary cites the first usage of "Nazi" as both a noun and an adjective in English as 1930.
1930 Times 19 May 13 In another encounter after midnight a ‘Nazi’ shot two Communists dead with an automatic revolver.
1930 Times 30 May 15 Herr Frick..has tried hard to make Thuringia a ‘Nazi cell’ within the Reich.
A linguist historian familiar with the period may be able to say whether the New York London Times's use of the term was unusual or if the word was entering the vernacular at that time. Curious that both of the initial usages were in May 1930 in the same paper.
[ Edit: Sorry, London not New York Times. ]