GRGR p. 163 Rathenau

[davemarc]

> From: Lars Frehse <improfane at flashmail.com>
>
> 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.
[snip]
> Now I wonder if Pynchon made his pre-assasination version up himself or
> if it really did exist. Does anybody know?
> 
Martin Gilbert, in The Holocaust (1985), writes on page 25:  "Hitler's
party had no monopoly on anti-Jewish sentiment.  Several other extremist
groups likewise sought popularity by attacking the Jews.  One target of
their verbal abuse was Walther Rathenau, who, as Foreign Minister, had
negotiated a treaty with the Soviet Union.  Street demonstrators sang,
'Knock off Walther Rathenau, the dirty, God-damned Jewish sow.'  These were
only words, but words with the power to inspire active hatred, and on 24
June 1922, Rathenau was assassinated."

Regrettably, Gilbert does not identify a source for the lyrics.

d.