ERNST CHRISTOF FRIEDRICH ZÜNDEL

(German: [ˈtsʏndl̩]; 24 April 1939 – 5 August 2017)
RIP

Ernst Zundel, a German-born publisher, author and civil rights activist, is a towering figure in the worldwide Holocaust revisionist movement.

Ernst Zundel was born on April 24, 1939, in a small town in the Black Forest region of southwestern Germany . He emigrated to Canada at the age of 19, where he soon married and became the father of two sons. His career as a graphic artist was successful, with his work appearing, for example, on the front cover of Canada 's national news magazine, Maclean's.

Setting aside his thriving career, he dedicated himself to the great task, as he saw it, of redeeming the sullied reputation of his fellow Germans. Through his Samisdat publishing house he distributed worldwide a prodigious quantity of books, booklets, leaflets,

newsletters, and audio and video cassettes. Simon Wiesenthal, the well-known "Nazi hunter," called Zundel the world's number one distributor of allegedly dangerous literature and cassettes.

Zundel is probably best known for his central role in the "Holocaust Trials" of 1985 and 1988. He was brought to court in Toronto on a charge of "publishing false news," and specifically for publishing a reprint edition of a booklet entitled Did Six Million Really Die?.

Zundel's two lengthy trials - the 1985 trial lasted two months, and the 1988 trial lasted four months - have been the closest thing anywhere to full scale debates on the Holocaust issue. For the first time ever, "Holocaust survivors" and Holocaust historians were closely and critically questioned under oath about their claims and views.