Rufus wrote:
I am thinking of those great words spoken by Charles Manson, " The train is hard and the road is fast. You better get on it while you can. "
A Life of StruggleErnst Zundel, a towering figure in the worldwide Holocaust revisionist movement, was born in 1939 in a small town in the Black Forest region of southwestern Germany. He emigrated to Canada at the age of 19, where he soon married and became the father of two sons. It wasnt long before he made a name for himself as a successful graphic artist whose work appeared, for example, on the front cover of Canadas national news magazine, Macleans.
Setting aside a thriving career, he resolved to dedicate himself to the great task, as he sees it, of redeeming the sullied reputation of his fellow Germans. Through his Samisdat publishing house he distributed worldwide a prodigious quantity of books, booklets, leaflets, newsletters, and audio and video cassettes. Simon Wiesenthal, the well-known Nazi hunter, has called Zundel the worlds number one distributor of allegedly dangerous literature and cassettes.
He has written countless booklets, newsletters and essays. He is a prodigious publisher, a one-man public relations firm, and an able public speaker and organizer. A dauntless leader in struggle against apparently insurmountable odds and seemingly invincible adversaries, no revisionist is more tenacious, dedicated and courageous.
Ernst Zundel, who sometimes describes himself as a "Swabian peasant, is an outgoing, good-humored man who is blessed with a rare combination of unflagging optimism and practical ability. He maintains this infectious spirit even under very trying conditions. He is an unusually alert and sensitive individual with a keen understanding of human nature. He knows how to persuade, cajole and encourage his supporters to give their best for the greater good. He inspires confidence, loyalty and affection.
Zundel is probably best known for his central role in the Holocaust Trials of 1985 and 1988. He was brought to court in Toronto on a charge of publishing false news, and specifically for publishing a reprint edition of a booklet entitled Did Six Million Really Die?.
To wage the legal battle that was forced upon him, he brought together an impressive international team of revisionist scholars, legal specialists, researchers, and many others. From numerous libraries and archives in North America and Europe, this group assembled at Zundelhaus one of the most impressive collections of evidence anywhere on this chapter of history.
Zundels two lengthy trials the 1985 trial lasted two months, and the 1988 trial lasted four months have been the closest thing anywhere to full scale debates on the Holocaust issue. For the first time ever, Holocaust survivors and Holocaust historians were closely and critically questioned under oath about their claims and views.
Among those who testified on Zundels behalf in the two trials were Robert Faurisson, David Irving, Mark Weber, William Lindsey, Udo Walendy, and Bradley Smith. As a result of the two trials, an enormous quantity of compelling evidence refuting the Holocaust extermination story was presented to the court and thereby was made part of the permanent public record. The most important of this evidence was the historic testimony of American gas chamber expert Fred Leuchter about his on-site forensic examination of the alleged extermination gas chambers in Poland.
Zundel was found guilty in the 1985 trial, but the verdict was set aside by the provincial appeals court. It ruled that the judge in that trial had, among other things, given improper instructions to the jury, and had improperly excluded defense evidence. In May 1988, at the conclusion of the second Zundel trial, the jury declared him guilty. A few days later, he was sentenced to nine months imprisonment.
On appeal, Canadas Supreme Court threw out the conviction, declaring on August 27, 1992, that the archaic false news law under which he had been convicted was a violation of the countrys Charter of Rights. This was not only a personal vindication by Canadas highest court; Ernst Zundel secured an important victory for the rights of all Canadians.
Zundels next great legal battle was fought out before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal in Toronto on charges, instigated by Jewish groups, of promoting hatred or contempt against Jews through the Zundelsite Internet web site (
www.zundelsite.org), operated by Ingrid Rimland from the United States. In this legal action, as the Tribunals presiding Commissioner declared, the truth or validity of the supposedly hateful items was not a consideration. The Tribunal ultimately ruled against Zundel, declaring the Zundelsite to be unlawful.
After four decades in Canada, including a failed effort to acquire Canadian citizenship, he moved to the United States, where he married Ingrid in January 2000. For two years they lived quietly in the mountain region of eastern Tennessee.
Of this remarkable man, Robert Faurisson wrote in 1988: Zundel may once again go to prison for his research and beliefs or be threatened with deportation. All this is possible. Anything may happen when there is an intellectual crisis and a realignment of historical concepts of such a dimension. Revisionism is the great intellectual adventure of the end of this century. Whatever happens, Ernst Zundel is already the victor.
http://www.ihr.org/news/030923Zundel.shtml