Mark Weber of the IHR gave the keynote speech in which he detailed the terrible hardships and financial difficulties of the past five or six years, which have so hampered the IHR's work due to the unfortunate and divisive litigation between the IHR, Willis Carto, and Liberty Lobby. Many of us have been under pressure to side with one or the other party - which we have tried to resist, considering the issues and personalities involved. At the conference, Mark Weber was restraint personified, which again helped to keep the mood of the meeting focused on historical Revisionism - and on what lay ahead!
Three famous and magnificiently articulate Revisionists gave important speeches. Dr. Robert Faurisson of France, undoubtedly the most knowledgeable scholar on the scene, had us laughing at the contradiction that this man, who has done so much for the cause and who has advanced Revisionism both by his personal heroism and his dogged determination not to let one comma stray, had us all laughing belly-laughs as he described himself as a ". . . pessimistic bird who keeps on singing because cannot help singing." Jurgen Graf of Switzerland, a gifted linguist who speaks over a dozen languages, and Germar Rudolf, the German chemist and author of the Rudolf Report, delivered highly interesting papers - all of them ending on a far more political note than attendees could recall at any of the other IHR conferences. Germar, particularly, spoke with deeply felt passion about his homeland, saying: "Today's Germany is a totalitarian state!" This from a man who was born in 1964, nine years after the most "villainous dictator of all times" committed suicide after the total defeat of his heroic country. The "democratic" system installed at bayonet point after Adolf Hitler's death has brought a truly shameful "freedom"! Some "victory" the Allies won!
During one of the slower and more familiar presentations I had the pleasure of sharing a cup of coffee with Jurgen Graf in the cafeteria, and I enjoyed his knowledge and grasp on what is important in our struggle even more than I did during his lecture. What command of language that man has! Thoughts and ideas pour over his lips with a precision that one can only envy! Both he and Germar Rudolf face jail sentences in Europe, unless some miracle happens. Jurgen is scheduled to be encarcerated for 15 months in September. Germar could face over 5 years if the German authorities ever manage to have him arrested and extradited to Germany. He seems to think he can still rely on the remnants of political decency left in the bureaucracies of the country where he presently resides in exile.
Charles Provan, an American Revisionist who (strangely!) believes in the gas chamber story of Auschwitz, gave a politely received lecture on his work dealing with Auschwitz doctor Miklos Nyiszli, a hitherto mysterious figure. Provan found out that this "witness" was not only Jewish but was also a Communist to boot - and during the war a Nazi collaborator for good measure. After his speech I found him corraled by an energetic Dr. Faurisson who appeared to read Mr. Provan the Riot Act for being fuzzy on his science. I smiled and walked away.
Dr. Robert Countess spoke briefly and even sang us a Revisionist ditty - I wish I could recall the lyrics, but it was very funny! Bradley Smith was his usual funny self, upbeat and charming as always, always understating his enormous achievements in reaching out to college audiences by placing provocative ads in student campus newspapers. As many of my readers know, lately he has added a new "weapon" to his arsenal, a small but tightly packed 32-page magazine called "The Revisionist" which he prints up in the tens of thousands and even manages to insert the entire publication in student newspapers. His CODOH website has received up to 500,000 hits a month, which multiplied by 12 gives the "six million" number new meaning. Bradley still offers $250,000 as a reward to anybody who can place the David Cole film on a national network or who can get him into a nationally televised debate with some recognized Jewish leaders or spokesman for organizations like the Anti-Defamation League. Bradley is a funny, funny man, with a gift for disarming people with his sense of humor and his total lack of guile.
Dr. Arthur Butz, the author of the "Bible of Revisionism" (The Hoax of the 20th Century) struggled bravely through his speech, obviously uncomfortable and clearly more at ease with writing than with standing before a live audience.
John Sack, the Jewish author of the upsetting book of the torture of the Germans at the hands of largely Jewish torturers in 1944-45 Silesia, as captured in his book, "An Eye for an Eye," also spoke. Sack is a well-known mainstream media type, now retired but freelancing for the slicks such as Esquire. He has impressive credentials. He was the editor of the Harvard Crimson, a student newspaper, and has written for Stars and Stripes, worked for Sixty Minutes with the well-known Mike Wallace and other illustrious assignments. Sack, being Jewish, of course dutifully believes in the gas chambers of Auschwitz and the fiendishness of the Nazis. However, he has published shocking, well-researched and documented accounts of a murderous campaign of near genocide against the Silesians by Jews in Polish uniforms at the end and after World War II. He was suave as a speaker, somewhat evasive in his answers - but he did say that he "found no hate" at the conference. Now that was nice of him! He also said that Ernst Zundel "does not have a mean bone in his body" which will not please some of his friends such as his buddy, Irv Rubin of the Jewish Defense League, I am sure! Sack unnerved some attendees by always flicking on his little tape recorder when engaging them in conversations about controversial subjects.
Former US Congressman, Pete McClosky, was the featured Sunday night banquet speaker. He delivered a fluid and genuine speech, stunning at times in its frankness, about Jewish influence and financial control of the political process in America. He was not afraid to say "Jew"! He mentioned names of leading politicians who sold themselves to the Jewish Lobby, and he added that it was impossible to get elected in California without Jewish money. He excoriated the Anti-Defamation League for spying on and against Americans, detailing especially the case where a private investigator worked with the Israelis and the South African Intelligence agencies by spying on Americans while having the cooperation of law enforcement officers. He is bringing a class action suit against the ADL in this matter. His speech was warmly received.
Ted O'Keefe, staffer and editor at the IHR, spoke on the various "Schindler' s Lists" in existence, bringing out many new facts and details. Greg Raven, also of the IHR, ran a tight ship as master of ceremonies and kept both speakers and attendees to a reasonable schedule.
Ernst Zundel, happily, was there. We weren't sure the Canadian censors would let him pass the border, since they have blocked his attendance of IHR meetings in the past. This time there was no trouble. He spoke about his struggle in Canada, which he quipped would be translated to his German readers as "Mein Kampf in Canada." This opening line brought a wave of laughter, repeated many times throughout his speech.
A little "in-house" story here! Since I take pride in functioning on many an occasion as his unofficial editor, I credit myself for having made him abandon a canned speech he had laboriously written out by telling him ". . . please don't tell the audience AGAIN about the fire and the bombs..." I think I hurt his feelings, but boy, did he come up with an alternative speech - impromptu and straight from his heart! The audience loved our man! He got a standing ovation not only at the end - before he even started! His talk was scrumptuous, humorous, always upbeat while underlining very serious, important topics and issues. He paid homage to the greats of Revisionism, gave credit to David Irving's lonely but heroic struggle in the courtroom in London, and painted a picture for Revisionism full of promise. He spoke of the importance of the Internet and its pioneers. At times his voice choked up a bit as he led his audience through the brief history of his struggle, the trailblazing work of Fred Leuchter, the results of the Leuchter Report and the Errol Morris documentary now playing across Europe, Canada and the United States - from sea to shining sea. Did Sabina Citron have any idea at all what forces she unleashed through her un-called for, vindictive campaign? Of course not! These people are so driven by their hate they never seem to learn!
Thought for the Day:
"The ghetto will not win!"
(Ernst Zundel's closing words at the 13th International IHR Conference)