February 25, 1997

Good Morning from the Zundelsite:

I was working on an article for a German-language magazine, having a friend translate my draft for me. In it, I used the word "redneck" that made my translator stumble, where I described the misperception in the general public of Revisionists being of low intellect and limited financial and community resources.

In the draft of this article, I made the point that the reason we are feared and persecuted on the Internet is not that we are dangerous but that we are persuasive. There are a lot of dissident websites out there, belligerent to the point of discomfort, that are getting not nearly as hassled as we do.

The reason is that Ernst's supporters are not "rednecks." They are men and women of substantial inner moral resources who understand what is at stake. The enemy knows that.

One such supporter in the past has been a gentleman by name of Siegfried Ellwanger Castan, a man who lives in Brazil. Ernst met Mr. Castan in the late 1980s. Castan is a man of tremendous courage and filled with good ideas about how to promote Revisionism in his country where the Portuguese version of the "Holocaust - Jewish or German?" was for 7 weeks on the bestseller list in his state of Rio Grande do Sul. Castan has become a household word in Brazil - just like Ernst Zundel is in Canada.

From Guillermo Coletti, who regularly reports on Holocaustomania in South America, we read the following:

"Greetings! The accompanying report speaks for itself. The forces of the Thought Police strike again. I hope you can all help me bring the news of this new outrage to all decent people. As always, please send a copy of your magazine or newsletter if this material is used.

The headline published in the December 1996 issue of the bulletin of the Latin American Jewish Congress joyfully boasts of "Victory"; a Jewish victory that is.

In the report originated in Brazil and produced by Mauricio Soibelmann, president of the Israeli Federation of Rio Grande do Sul (a southern Brazilian state), we find out that the victory that causes celebration in the Jewish community in Brazil is a new defeat for free speech in the largest South American country.

In a decision delivered in late 1996, Brazilian judicial authorities tried and convicted the local revisionist writer, publisher and intellectual, Siegfried Ellwanger Castan.

Mr. Castan's best known work is "Holocaust: Jewish or German?".

Mr. Ellwanger has proven to be one of the most efficient activists of the Revisionist cause. The above mentioned book was released in 1987, and since then at least twenty two (22!) editions have followed the first one. More than one hundred thousand (100,000) copies have been sold in Portuguese, Spanish, German and English.

Mr. Ellwanger was born in Southern Brazil in 1928 and has lived a very interesting life. He volunteered to the Brazil Marine Corps in 1946. He is a patent holder of support plates for rails used in Brazilians railways and also exported.

He successfully worked in the steel business. At a young age he was the head salesperson of a very important steel importing corporation.

Ten years after that, Mr. Ellwanger started his own business, also in the trade of steel. A curious man and researcher of history, Mr. Ellwanger has traveled to the Americas (from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego), Western Europe and Poland.

His after-retirement involvement in the revisionist studies of the Holocaust has doubtlessly provided Mr. Ellwanger more excitement than an average retiree aspires to have. Although I have never had the pleasure to meet in person with Mr. Ellwanger, personal accounts of others depict him as a dedicated man who holds the highest standards of hospitality with his friends.

Through his publishing company, `Revisao Editora Ltda.', Mr. Ellwanger has made available to the Brazilian public a wide variety of books, some originally written in Portuguese while some (were) translated from their original tongues. Some of the works that the Jewish lobby has targeted for their inquisitorial objectives are (original titles are in Portuguese): "The Secret History of Brazil" by Gustavo Barroso; "World Conquerors" by Marchalko; "Brazil, a Bankers Colony" by Barroso; Henry Ford's "The International Jew" and "The Protocols of Zion", as well as summaries and translations of the "Leuchter Report" and material from the Institute for Historical Review.

Mr. Ellwanger's record of fighting censorship is long one. Unfortunately I have not kept record of the many times his literature was censored or confiscated by government authorities. But the latest court decision is particularly serious. In the afternoon of October 31, 1996, Mr. Ellwanger was sentenced to two years in prison for publishing anti- semitic books that "attempt against human dignity". This decision was based on law 8081, enacted in 1990. The prison term was changed (later in appeal) to three years of community service.

For further questions regarding this matter please do not hesitate to contact me by writing at:

Guillermo Coletti
P.O. Box 61221
Pasadena, CA 91106
USA

or, contact Mr. Ellwanger at:

Revisao Editorial, Ltda.
Caixa Postal 10 466
90001 Porto Alegre, RGS
Brazil"

(End of communique)

Thought for the Day:

"This is not about my views, but whether certain elements can tell us what to think and who has the right to talk. I can take care of myself. But what about you?"

(Syndicated columnist Thomas Friedman, on December 8, 1996 at an ADL banquet in Los Angeles)

Comments? E-Mail: irimland@cts.com

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