2026-10-06 Papers Past, National Library of New Zealand (paperspast.natlib.govt.nz) - Rahn-Otto
Query "Otto Rahn": 9 hits. Relevant: Gisborne Times 19 Aug 1932 "Death Ray"; Greymouth Evening Star 7 Sep 1932; Hawera Star 10 Sep 1932; Dunstan Times 19 Sep 1932; Timaru Herald 24 Sep 1932; Franklin Times 5 Oct 1932. Not relevant: 1910, 1911 items; Press 1 Feb 1944 "Nazis still at work in the Middle East" (probably the other Otto Rahn; not opened).
Source chain: a Science Service "Wire Report" by Watson Davis (managing editor), Washington.
Adds to the NYT account: yeast killed "in five minutes" by one person's fingertip radiation; the human chest does not radiate; blood and saliva radiate; the rays work through quartz, so probably short UV; Rahn called them "doubtless a physical influence" and cited others' figure of about 2000 A; it recalls the German and Russian muscle radiation and the cancer-blood findings. It also says the work was in "preliminary stages".
Bearing: claim 6, and claim 5 (blood). Shows how widely the 1932 claim was syndicated. Science Service's own archive (Smithsonian Institution Archives, Science Service records) is a target for the original wire text.