From Zundel to Topham: Zionist theatre

As evidence of hate, Rudner presented Topham’s political poster which truthfully (if provocatively) shows the theatrical state of Canadian-Israeli relations today
(thanks Len, for bringing this sizzling graphic to the attention of millions of Canadians).

Germany Must Perish!

Then the trial turned to Israel Must Perish!, Topham’s parody based on a now forgotten book Germany Must Perish! (1942) by Theodore Kaufman.

[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ne of the most bizarre literary careers in America is that of the now obscure Theodore Kaufman, a  pacifist member of the American Federation of Peace, born in 1910, whose first publication was “Life Liberty Pursuit of Happiness – Where? In The Graves of European Battle Fields?” (1938). He, like most Americans at the time who bothered thinking about it, realized the insanity of WWI, and even in 1938 was, again, like most Americans, staunchly against US participation in the coming war. He differed from most American Jews, who by then were pressing the US to join in the battle against Hitler, who was openly persecuting Jews in Germany and had vowed to clear Europe of them.

As the US war began and the evidence against Nazi crimes mounted, Kaufman drew inspiration, and wrote his startling book Germany Must Perish!, advocating the sterilization of all German males. A few hausfraus could be left to breed, but preferably with non-Germans, so a defanged German identity could be left extant.

Whew! What a hot potato that seems these days. But hardly warranting a prison sentence for the author. And in any case eugenics and sterilization were not taboo in the 1930s. The British Eugenics Education Society (1907) and the American Eugenics Society (1921) promoted eugenics. Patients with mental illness were sterilized not only in Nazi Germany but in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Japan, and Sweden. At its peak of popularity, supporters of eugenics included Winston Churchill, HG Wells, Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover and George Bernard Shaw. Granted, sterilizing all Germans sounds a bit over-the-top.

Just before his epiphany and the publication of Germany Must Perish!, pacifist Kaufman went so far as to advocate sterilizing all American troops: “A possible plea to Congress. …

Have Us All Sterilized! … If You Plan On Sending Us To A Foreign War … Spare Us Any Possibility Of Ever Bringing Children Into This World — Into This Country Of Ours!” Kaufman’s book was ignored in the US. 1941 was not a good year for civil rights advocates, especially of German rights. Americans of German descent were being herded into prison camps along with Japanese Americans and communists.

What a horrifying legacy for the gentle, militantly pacifist Kaufman, who apparently soon rued his rhetoric.

His final publication at his Argyle Press was the March 1942 brochure titled “No More German Wars! Being an outline for their permanent cessation”, advocating democratic re-education of the German population. But it was read by no one.  He tried to atone, dropping his pacifism, and enlisting in the US Army, along with his three brothers. After World War II, Kaufman disappeared entirely from public life and died in 1986, not in Israel but in his ‘homeland’ in New Jersey, in obscurity. Not feted by Israel as a Zionist icon—with good reason, as he  greatly facilitated the murderous deeds of the Nazis through his success in promoting hatred of his own people through his scandalous screed.

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his trial recalls the legendary trials of Ernst Zundel, a German Canadian jailed in 1988 for publishing literature “likely to incite hatred against an identifiable group” as a threat to national security, and in Germany in 2007 for charges of “inciting racial hatred”. He lived in Canada from 1958 to 2000 but was denied citizenship.

In 1977, Zündel founded Samisdat Publishers, which issued his “The Hitler We Loved and Why” and Richard Verrall’s “Did Six Million Really Die? The Truth At Last”.  In 1984, the Ontario government initiated criminal proceedings against Zündel based on Holocaust survivor Sabina Citron’s complaint, charging him with spreading false news by publishing “Did Six Million Really Die? The Truth At Last.”

He underwent his first criminal trial in 1985, where he was found guilty, though this conviction was overturned on a legal technicality, and he was tried again in 1988, when he was again convicted and sentenced to 15 months imprisonment. In 1992 this conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada who ruled that the law under which he had been charged—reporting false news—was unconstitutional.

Wow! In 1992, Canada’s Supreme Court ruled that you can question the veracity of the official Holocaust narrative.

But Zundel’s trials were far from over. His house was destroyed in an arson attack in 1995. The leader of the Toronto wing of the Jewish Defense League, Meir Weinstein, denied involvement in the attack; however, five days later, Weinstein and American JDL leader Irv Rubin were arrested trying to break into the property. No charges were ever filed. Weeks after the fire, Zündel was targeted with a parcel bomb that was detonated by the Toronto Police bomb squad. A suspect was arrested but again, no charges were laid. Finally, he was deported to Germany and in 2007, convicted and sentenced to the maximum term of five years in prison (released in 2010).

The more oppressive political climate today vs the 1980s is shown by Topham’s fate. Despite strong support from Jews and Gentiles alike, and though Topham’s credentials as civil libertarian and anti-Nazi are impeccable (none of Zundel’s baggage), he was nonetheless found guilty on one of two “promoting hate” counts (they were indistinguishable, covering two periods of Topham’s website publications). British-Israeli anti-Zionist activist Gilad Atzmon flew to BC to testify that contemporary opposition to Jewry is driven by political and ideological arguments, that no one criticizes Jews as a race or a biology, that Israel Must Perish! was a harmless parody, but to no avail.

Topham is now out on bail, pending an appeal (the prosecution also wants to appeal). Meanwhile, Zionists are free to promote hatred of Topham, such as Ezra Levant (“I Hate Arthur Topham” on the Sun News Talk Show “The Source”). When Topham heard this, he debated whether to sue Levant, and instead, just laughed.  The circus continues.

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