British Ian Buckley on The Trials of Ernst Zundel: "God have mercy on mankind!"
 

November 28, 2005

At the outset, it should be noted that this piece is in no sense a substitute for Paul Eisen's excellent and exhaustive "The Holocaust Wars." Rather, it is a personal reflection upon the growing lack of freedom in the Western world, as illustrated by the story of one man. Though it is the story of one man, it applies to us all, as the mistreatment once handed down to those handily designated and demonized as 'extremists' and 'cultists' is extended more and more to ordinary citizens.

Ladies and Gentleman, the New World Order is on your doorstep. Open resistance brings down a rain of fire as at Fallujah, while in the outer ring of indirect, diffuse oppression, more subtle methods than mass murder usually prevail.

'Terror' and fear of 'terror' - which is anyway largely sponsored and created by government intelligence agencies - means acquiescence as acres of streets in the city of Leeds are sealed off or tanks ring Heathrow Airport. Even English country towns are monitored and secured, under perpetual watch by veritable forests of security cameras on poles.

Indeed it's fortunate that Zundel is still around to face the Mannheim trial, when one bears in mind the dismal and sinister fate that often befalls very high-profile dissenters when they fall into the hands of the injustice system. Such was the case even in the Eisenhower era : in this context one thinks of psychologist Wilhelm Reich, the originator of the wonderful term 'Hoodlums in Government' or HIGs, a phrase which is much more applicable now than in Reich's days. Or of Francis Parker Yockey, widely accused of being both pro-Communist and pro-Nazi, but more likely a fellow of philosophical bent unenamoured of liberal capitalism.

Reading through a selection of Ernst Zundel's letters from prison, you may feel that he has descended as a witness into the dismal and deadly underbelly of so-called democracy. Ernst notes the following incident during his stay at the Ottawa Detention Center, which he - quite justifiably - nicknamed 'Abu Ghraib North' :

'One young Negro died in the cell next to me. Why? He must have had some seizure or breathing difficulties. The guards shouted, danced around and taunted him. I saw him the day before. He was athletic, had good muscle tone like many young Blacks who are in far better physical shape than Whites - yet I saw him through my little 8 1/2 by 11 cell observation window, carried out of his cell limp like a dish rag, dumped unto a gurney, electric shock applied to his heart, given an injection, given CPR, oxygen - the fellow was dead!'

What is prison, if not a place where society attempts - and fails - to hide its true face, its real nature? Are not many of the 'cons' little more than victims of a harsh, commercialised and globalized environment? The outer jail is 'society', while the inner one is prison itself. Over two million Americans are now incarcerated; something to think about when you hear those vain and bombastic State of the Union addresses.

Ernst again :

'Four big guards came in the afternoon. Ordered me out of my cell with my stuff, took me to the corridor, threw my mental cellmate on the floor, kicked him, pummelled him 'til he was dragged along the halls, bleeding and screaming. Eventually, I was put into the general population, which meant three times out of the cell.'

Ernst Zundel's initial arrest came over two years ago, a short while before the start of the US-UK assault on Iraq. A posse of immigration officials - some of them armed - descended upon his home in rural Tennessee. A little excessive, perhaps, when the 'villain' concerned is a life-long pacifist and the ostensible charge he faces is a mere visa violation! By all normal standards, as his wife Ingrid is an American citizen, Zundel should enjoy legal status, and not be subject to arbitrary harassment in this way. Incidentally, as a pacifist, Ernst Zundel would make quite an unusual 'Nazi'.

After the arrest, he entered into a nether world of leg irons, a cell with a perpetually glowing light and a regime of ridiculous, pettifogging regulations - such as being forbidden access to Post-it notes and marker pens. And all for what?

The ostensible charge in America was a violation of immigration rules. In Canada, Zundel was officially some sort of (undefined) threat to national security. But in essence, Ernst Zundel is being accused of heresy. He has challenged a dogma of the 'Church' and the 'Empire' prosecutes and persecutes.

We are all different, and have varying political ideals and viewpoints. For example, I don't share Zundel's almost instinctive anti-Communism. To my mind, there is something to be said for Communism when mixed with national patriotism, as seen in Fidel's Cuba or the latter years of the USSR. At least such nations provide - or did provide - full employment, universal health care, and a sense of community.

But for three centuries or more, opinion was sacred. The idea that no man or woman should be arrested for their thoughts or beliefs was an essential part of a civilised society. But Zundel has endured over two years in jail, and faces the possibility of much more jail time, solely because of his opinions on the events of World War II. I say 'solely', but - who knows - maybe his pamphlet "The West, War and Islam" also contributed to his arrest as a 'Public Enemy'.

In "The West, War and Islam" he warns that '..distorted viewpoints are deliberately being used and often magnified to goad the West into a future criminal war against the Islamic world.'

Huh, completely wrong there, Ernst!

Jesting aside, Zundel 'denies' much less than some might imagine, saying that: 'It is absolutely true that Jews were incarcerated and often treated cruelly. They were seen as the enemy, just as in our times the "Nazis" are seen as the enemy of entrenched oligarchies.' He just disbelieves in the existence of extermination gas chambers, after initiating some first hand research on the matter. Surely the normal, rational procedure would be have honest, open debate on this subject, and not to suppress one side of the argument. Suspicion must always fall on those who attempt to silence their opponents.

One very important statement on the case was made by Dr. Roger Dommergue from France, who had this to say to American officials:

'I have known M. Zundel these last 20 years, and as a Jew I felt compelled to check what he said and published. I became conscious of the fact that he was a most distinguished mind, that he told the truth and that I could understand why my all-powerful peers did not like him! I feel that a country in which he resides can be proud of having him. Please give him back his liberty in the country of liberty, and keep away from the totalitarianism of my worst peers who think they have all the rights because of their financial and political power.'

All true, of course, but Zundel was still railroaded back to Germany, after high-level twisting of the law had taken place in both the USA and Canada. There his trial began just a week ago, on the 8th November, with Zundel's first thoughts just before its start being for others : 'This judgment is important for other imprisoned idealists / human rights activists - people who struggle for their human and civil rights in Germany and beyond!'

The trial itself has an interesting feature in that the defence team must weave a delicate ballet, for if they seem to share the heretic's views, then they too are subject to arrest. It is like the return of Galileo!

However, unlike the deluded American and British dole queue conscripts now occupying Iraq, Zundel has one great consolation:

"At least I have the privilege of understanding the forces which took hold of me. God have mercy on mankind!"

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Reminder:

Help free Ernst Zundel, Prisoner of Conscience. His prison sketches - now on-line and highly popular - help pay for his defence. Take a look - and tell a friend.

http://www.zundelsite.org/gallery/donations/index.html

Contribute to Ernst Zündel's Defence

Table of Contents for additional articles

Revisionism 101: Basic Revisionism

Revisionism 201 for Holocaust Skeptics

"David against Goliath": Ernst Zündel, fighting the New World Order

"Lebensraum!": Ingrid Rimland, pioneering a True World Order