Rathenau

[Lars Frehse]

Hi everybody,
Finally it´s wet and gray again in Hamburg, which is just the way I like
it. Damn, if I wanted heat, I´d moved south!
Anyway, regarding the little poem on page 163: "Knallt ab den Juden
Rathenau,/Die gottverdammte Judensau" (Shoot Rathenau the Jew/the
god-damned jewish pig), I´m at a loss.
I know a different version of this little "doggerel", which was a threat
used by Nazis against whatever opponents, and definetly "composed"
after the assasination: "Sonst geht es Dir wie Rathenau/ Der
gottverdamten Judensau" (Else you´ll end up like Rathenau/ the
god-damned jewish pig).
Now I wonder if Pynchon made his pre-assasination version up himself or
if it really did exist. Does anybody know?

Yours,
    Lars