GRGR(5) Katje and the Nazis

[Richard Romeo]

>
>
>Michael Perez:
>
> > The Nazis genuinely believed that their economy was being threatened by
> > the Jews.  This, of course, was psychotic scapegoating or as Ian cites
> > later "phantasy."
> > I don't see the "crystal palace" reference as being to the
> > Kristallnacht ("The Night of Broken Glass," 11/9/38, when Nazi mobs > > 
>smashed Jewish owned shop windows and synagogues in retaliation for the > > 
>assassination of a German diplomat in Paris by a young Jewish man).  It > > 
>is a reference to that icon of Victorian ingenuity, The Crystal Palace, > > 
>that was mostly destroyed by a 1936.  .. As for the "judgment from which 
>there is no > > appeal," I always took this to mean death, I see no overt 
>Holocaust > > reference here.  The same with the "dark hotel," this could 
>be almost
> > anything.  The "Ss" is coincidental, IMHO, and does not refer to the > > 
>Schutsstaffeln, it is merely descriptive.
>
>I'll go along with that.
>
>love,
>cfa
------------
Plausible, but with an excess of signifier (SS, Crystal Palace) and a lack 
of signified (meaning), all we have are opinions.  sure "judgement w/ no 
appeal" could relate to a broad definition such as "death", but heck, it 
works locally, and could refer to the death camps.  Claims of coincidence 
seems a bit of a copout.  To summarize, I'm just saying that it could be 
coincidence, but us being close Pynchon readers, we've come to believe the 
man does invest his work with that ambiguity, leaving us with some feeling 
that everything connects in some way, with the caveat that we shouldn't be 
too hung up on any one meaning or explanation for an event, a passing 
reference, a character's actions...


P.S. Katje is tough, a survivor, and quite creepy just the same. (sounds 
like one of my old girlfriends)
Rich


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