- I had a 15-minute telephone conversation with Ernst.
When I asked how the day went, he said simply: "I essentially re-told
my youth."
-
- He felt the day had gone well - he had an attentive audience
and a supportive and respectful legal team that made it easy for him to
relax. He said some media folks were present, as were "quite a few
Jews."
-
- The day before, a long-time Zundel supporter and loyal
comrade had died, and Ernst had been asked to write the eulogy, which will
be read at the funeral service. He took great care to write it, even though
he needed every minute preparation time for court.
-
- Paul Fromm's write-up below:
-
- [START]
-
- Subject: THE ERNST ZUNDEL STORY: IMMIGRANT SUCCESS, BUDDING
POLITICIAN
-
- TORONTO. February 18, 2004.
-
- Court heard a relaxed Ernst Zundel tell of his life in
Canada. His was an immigrant success story: a graphic artist, with 400
words of English, who almost immediately was earning twice the average
wage and was quickly moving to the top of his profession. Proud of his
newly adopted land, Mr. Zundel began to educate himself about politics
and began to participate, first in the Ralliament des Creditistes (the
Social Credit Party) in Quebec and, then, in the Liberal Party. However,
as he began to speak out for fairness for German Canadians, he became the
object of a concerted lobbying campaign by organized Jewish groups that
led to his being denied citizenship, being charged on numerous occasions,
and being the victims of bombings, arson, telephone harassment and assault.
-
- The Zundel story emerged in a Toronto Court today before
Mr. Justice Pierre Blais. The court hearing is investigating the reasonableness
of a CSIS national security certificate issued last May 1 against Mr. Zundel
and alleging that he is a threat to national security because he is a terrorist.
The testimony of the 64-year old German publisher was cut short at 3:10m
when lead counsel Peter Lindsay, after consulting with other members of
the defence team, requested an adjournment. Mr. Zundel had been relaxed,
confident and humorous in his morning testimony. However, as the afternoon
wore on, he became pale and somewhat forgetful. Mr. Lindsay told the Court
Mr. Zundel was suffering from the effects of antibiotics given him Monday
for a periodontal condition.
-
- Mr. Zundel told the Court: "I was born on April
24, 1939" in Southern Germany. "My father was a Social Democrat
and a Seventh Day Adventist. Early on, I was recognized for my aptitude
for drawing and art. I went to Pforzheim, a town 20 km. away, took an aptitude
test and enrolled in an institute for graphic arts. I was in a three year
apprenticeship, which lasted from ages 14 to 17. I attended school two
days a week."
-
- On graduating, Mr. Zundel spent a year in Northern Germany
"to learn German", as, up until then, he had only spoken the
local Swabish dialect. He, then, applied to emigrate to Canada.
-
- "I came to Canada in 1958, first to Quebec City
and, then, to Montreal," he told the Court. "I started work in
Toronto, but moved back to Montreal in 1960." His fine German education
ensured that his graphic arts skills were in high demand in Toronto.
-
- "I had 400 words of English and no French, when
I arrived," Mr. Zundel explained. "Within three days of arriving
in Toronto, I landed a fantastic job in the graphic arts department of
Simpson Sears. I was earning twice the average salary. I went to night
school to learn English and there met my wife, a French Canadian girl named
Janick who came from Ste. Josette d'Alma. We married. My wife was pregnant
and became homesick for Quebec. We moved to Montreal in 1960."
-
- In Montreal, "there was not enough work for my qualifications.
So, I freelanced and scrambled very hard to find work. I was making less
in a month than I had earned in one week in Toronto.. Eventually, I landed
a good job at Macdonald's Federated. By 1963, I had earned enough money
to buy a house and two cars."
-
- However, Mr. Zundel was spiritually restless. His swift
financial and professional success made him hungry to learn and broaden
himself. His political education began in 1960, when he met Adrien Arcand,
who, in the 1930s. "had started the National Socialist Christian Party
in Quebec. A former RCMP undercover agent told me to visit Mr. Arcand.'
-
- A solemn Mr. Zundel told Mr. Justice Pierre Blais: "Mr.
Arcand was the most profound influence on my life. He let me read the books
in his huge library, including books in German. We'd meet on Saturday mornings
and talk, while my wife and Madame Arcand and my son would socialize. Mr.
Arcand said I was a brainwashed young German. I'd been taught the Allies
non-history at school. Mr. Arcand had a profound influence on me. He shook
me up. It took me two years to realize that there was another version of
history. We talked about Nuremburg, about ex post facto law. Mr. Arcand
saved me decades of going down false tracks. He had been one of Quebec's
best journalists. Mr. Arcand was one of the greatest French Canadians I've
met in my life. My relationship with him continued until the day he died
in 1967."
-
- Flowing from what he'd learned from Adrien Arcand, Mr.
Zundel decided to get involved in politics. "Much to the dismay of
Adrien Arcand, I joined the Creditistes of Rheal Caouette. I became their
ethnic groups' organizer. I met Gilles Caouette and Dr. Robert Thompson,
the leader of the Western wing of the Social Credit Party. I made radio
commercials for the Creditistes in the early 1960s. Rheal Caouette was
a real firebrand. He was alive to the Jewish issue. Copies of the Protocols
of the Learned Elders of Zion were sometimes sold under the counter at
Creditiste meetings."
-
- It was not long, however, before Mr. Zundel became disillusioned
with the mercurial Creditistes, who had captured the public interest by
being different from the staid and compromised old parties, the Liberals
and Conservatives. Mr. Zundel came to believe that Caouette lacked substance.
"Mr. Caouette had little ideology. Factions and schisms began to develop
within the party."
-
- Mr. Zundel began to look around for a new political home.
"I kept an eye on the Liberal Party. I saw people there like Andre
Laurendeau and Jean Lesage. Under Premier Lesage and his 'Quiet Revolution',
Quebec was becoming almost European and much less Church-dominated. I joined
the Liberals in 1967.
-
- I was doing graphic arts work and had founded Ernst Zundel
Studios. I attended night school courses at Sir George Williams University,
taking courses in political science, history, English and French."
Although working at a full time job, Mr. Zundel also wrote for the student
newspaper.
-
- When Prime Minister Lester Pearson stepped down as Liberal
leader because of ill health, according to Liberal Party tradition, the
next leader would be a French Canadian. I had supported bilingualism.
When Jewish Judge Maxwell Cohen spearheaded a resolution supporting bilingual
labelling, I seconded the resolution."
-
- In a bold move for a recent immigrant, the ambitious
Ernst Zundel announced his candidacy for the leadership of the Liberal
Party at a press conference at the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Hotel in
downtown Montreal. Reminiscing about this golden bygone era, Mr. Zundel
told the Court: "I loved this country. It was 1967. With Expo '67,
Montreal was the centre of the world. There was no inflation. I wanted
to put my shoulder to the wheel. I felt that German and European immigrants
were getting the short end of the stick. We wanted to enjoy full equality
and our share of the political pie and not just be trotted out for ethnic
folk dances when the Queen visited. I was the representative for the new
European arrivals," Mr. Zundel said.
-
- The eventual winner of the 1968 Liberal leadership contest,
Pierre Elliot Trudeau spent $375,000 on the race. "I spent $3,750
of my own money," Mr. Zundel explained to the Court. "However,
I spoke to 25,000 people at the Ottawa Civic Centre. I got my message across.
I was called a 'maverick' and a 'dark horse'. To fulfill the party rules,
I had to rustle up the endorsements of 50 prominent Liberals."
-
- However, the brash Ernst Zundel was too pushy for some
people. "Germans should be seen and not heard," Gerard Pelletier,
one of the "three wise men" and a close associate of Pierre Trudeau's
warned him. --
-
- [END]
-
- [The EZ life story be continued today in an all-day hearing]
|
