On Wednesday the eighteenth of September 1991, the Swedish National
Television aired a documentary by Michael Schmidt called 'Warheit Macht Frei'.
I believe that certain parts of it are of interest to the net and may shed a
little light upon the background of some subjects that have been discussed on
several newsgroups lately.
The text below will be attributed thus: The narrators lines are contained
within parantheises "()". Descriptions on what happen on the screen are
contained within less- and more than signs "<>". Other attributions by name or
function (ie "Interviewer"). My comments will be contained within
brackets "[]". The text below is from the most interesting parts of the
documentary. The parts that wasn't included are those that only talk about neo-
nazism in Germany.
Background: Michael Schmidt is a German journalist who managed to infiltrate
and document the neo-nazi movement during the last two years.
===============================================================================
(Munich, 21st of April 1990. The day after Hitlers birthday.
Lo"venbraukeller. Eight hundred persons have been gathered to hear what they
want to hear. They are waiting for David Irving, who is going to say it:
Nobody was gassed in Auschwitz in the third reich. History is revised, forged)
Irving: "The gaschambers one can find as a tourist to Auschwitz was build by
the poles after WWII. The buildings have been chemically analyzed and we
have published the documents. This has stirred up so much dust that our
enemies cannot breathe."
<Michael Ku"hnen, leader of the German neo-nazis until his death in April
1991 and the rest of the audience applauds.>
(But among the audience are guests that throw a different light over this
seemingly respectable gathering.)
<Camera focuses on one person in the audience>
(A living legend, a hero among the neo-nazis of today, General Otto Ernst
Remer. He was adviser to the former leader of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, he
sold German weapons to Syria, but above all, General Otto Ernst Remer was the
man that tracked down the persons that the 20th of July 1944 conspired to
assassinate Hitler. As a reward he was appointed commander of Hitlers personal
guard.)
<Old German black and white newsreel shows Remer parading in front of gathered troops, one arm held high in a nazi salute.>
Narrator of the Newsreel: "Major Remer, commander of the guard battalion
"Berlin", distinguished himself during the squashing of a small, hostile to
the nation, honourless clique and was immediately promoted to Colonel by
the Fu"hrer."
Remer talking to the troops: "Today we are thankfully political soldiers!"
<Back to today and an interview with Remer>
Remer: "But then Hitler said: "I'm still alive, a small clique of officers is
responsible, but now we have caught the leading saboteurs. We shall deal
with this plague expediently, if necessary with brutal violence".
Schmidt: "You have said that you regarded Hitler as a democrat?"
Remer: "Basically, he was a democrat. When I now look back I can say that I've
never seen anyone of Hitlers calibre. I see it before me still. It was an
important man, the kind that is only born one in a hundred years.
However history is warped, Hitler is an lasting factor in German history."
<picture of the pamphlet "Journal of Historical Review", the listed contents
on the front page are:
"Carlo Mattogono: Auschwitz: A Case of Plagiarism,
Carlo Mattogono: Two False Testimonies from Auschwitz,
William Grimstad: Autopsying the Communist Corpse,
James J. Martin: A "Good War" It Wasn't.
Reviews:
Why I survived the A-bomb,
Sacrifice at Pearl Harbour,
Broken Alliance: The Turbulent Times between Blacks and Jews in America.
Historical News and Comment:
A Visit of Auschwitz,
An interview with General Ernst Otto Remer,
A "Diatribe" in honour of Dr. Alfred Schickel,
Alois Brunner talks about his past.">
(Institute of Historical Review in California has as its goal to whitewash
Hitler and deny the hideous crimes of Nazism. Remer is one of their
international contacts and Remer himself is very proud of his contacts around
the world.)
Remer: "I have had a lot of contacts and happen to know a lot of people.
This has always been current to me, but I'm not stupid. I saw that one
couldn't even talk about it - but then suddenly, over night, all changed.
Perspectives are now opening that are too large to see. But the world
cannot continue being divided. Americans and Russians cannot split the
cake. Nobody can accuse me of being a communist or anything like that. And
for nationalsocialism... I never was a member of the party. I have always
been independent and had my own thoughts."
(And he spreads his thoughts to people he claim not to know...)
<Home video of Remer talking to a gathering in front of a red banner with a
white circle and the gothic letters "FAP">
Remer on video: "In your hard political struggle, harder yet than ours, you
must keep your mind on becoming a disciplined, responsible, and immovable
circle of comrades! An Elite among the new German youth!"
<Applauds and shouts of agreement>
(He doesn't want to speak about todays neo-nazis, but this video shows
clearly that he is one of them)
<The gathered people Remer spoke to sings Deutchland Deutchland U"ber Alles>
Translation of text: "Germany, Germany, everywhere! The Reich shall again be
reborn!"
[That don't sound like the original text?]
Gathering ends with: "Long live todays NationalSocialist movement in Germany.
Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil!"
<The gathered people performs the nazi salute>
(Back to Munich. The main speaker, David Irving, is watching over the
proceedings. The Institute for Historical Review is there to document and
preserve to posterity those that absolve Nazi-Germany from all guilt, and
claim that any warcrimes never happened, those that want to rewrite history,
the so called "Revisionists".
They claim that there never was any gaschambers and that the holocaust of
the Jews never happened.)
<Front page of the book "Highlights of the 9th International Revisionist
Conference". There are pictures of David Irving, Fred Leucher and several
others on the front cover>
Institute for Historical Review representative: "We do video productions for
the Institute when we have conferences"
Speaker on conference: "We welcome Manfred Roeder, Michael Ku"hnen and their
group of youths."
(A convicted terrorist and a neo-nazi is welcomed, but this man wants to
avoid all publicity.)
<Man in background shown, several photos of him is also shown>
(His face looked familiar but where from? He has some aquarells with him and
allows them to be filmed, but he himself wants to avoid the camera)
<A cardboard folder filled with paintings by Adolf Hitler shown>
(There are few pictures of this man, but this time he is caught unawares)
<The camera zooms out from a painting in the folder and focuses on the mans
face>
Schmidt: "Where do you come from?"
Man: "Me? From.... London."
Schmidt: "From London?"
Man: "Mmm"
Schmidt: "So, which organization.."
Man cuts him off: "I'm not connected with any organization. I just.... I'm sort
of a collector."
Schmidt: "So you are a collector?"
Man: "I collect... I'm a collector of books and various things."
Schmidt: "May I ask your name?"
Man: "Yeah, My name is Michael...."
Schmidt: "Michael?"
Man: ".....Carter"
Schmidt: "Michael Carter?"
("Mr. Carter's" real name is Anthony Hancock and he is a bookprinter. He
print books for the National Front and supplies the whole world with nazi
propaganda. Now he is awaiting trial for forgeries and cheque-frauds in the
millions of pounds.)
<Picture of British paper with picture of Hancock in an article saying
essentially what the narrator just said.>
<Picture of pamphlet in red with the title "Did Six Million Really Die?",
the subtitle "The Truth At Last" and, in the corner in gothic letters
"Historical Fact No 1".>
("Did Six Million Really Die?", Hate literature from Hancocks printing shop.)
Man (Hancock): "I'm just a friend of a friend, you know. And I collect
antiquarian books. Books on WWII and pre-war. I'm just a general
collector."
Schmidt: "So you had nothing to do with the National Front?"
Hancock: "No, no. I'm just an independent sort of collector here for a weekend,
a nice time in Munich and all that, you know."
<Hancock blinks at Schmidt and grins>
<Three persons in jackass masks carries a placard saying: "Ich Esel, glau"be
noch immer alles was man mir so erza"lt!!">
("I'm a Jackass who always believes what is being said!!" The holocaust of
the Jews is ridiculed and mocked. This is nothing new.)
<picture of similar placard carried by a person in a jackass mask in a neo-
nazi demonstration>
(Hamburg 1978. Christian Worch, Ku"hnens right hand is overseeing the
demonstration.)
(Munich again: Another of Ku"hnens comrades, Evald Althan, is giving orders.
Behind him the chief of security, the same Christian Worch. He also organized
a conference with Irving in northen Germany. Here is also the skinhead leader
of Riehfeldt, Thomas Heinkel. Three top figures in the neo-nazi movement. All
of them taking care of Irving.)
Worch: "That Ku"hnen and I have intensive political contacts is common
knowledge. I wrote a letter to Irving some time ago and told him that he
needn't worry that it could be used against him."
<Cut to Haguenau, France. A building bearing a large sign saying "National">
[LePens Fronte National?]
(This is a small town called Haguenau in France. The pictures was taken by a
neo-nazi and was never intended for publication. The so called Revisionists
are gathered.)
<Home video showing a gathering. Robert Faurisson and Ernst Zu"ndel are
talking to them.>
Faurisson: "I'm surprised to find my special friend Ernst Zu"ndel here. If I
had
known about it, I would have brought him a present."
(Robert Faurisson, professor in literature in Lyon. Claims to sympathise
with the left. 1991 sentenced to a fine of 100,000 francs for having publicly
denied the nazi crimes against humanity. Behind hum Ernst Zu"ndel. German-
Canadian. Sentenced to prison in Canada 1988 for "spreading false information".
He spread pamphlets and books printed at Anthony Hancock in England. Some time
ago he commissioned a report that scientifically tries to prove that the
gaschambers in Auschwitz never could have existed.)
Zu"ndel: "Why should we respectable Germans wallow in this pigsty of diabolic
and mean lies that this judenpack have distributed?"
[Zu"ndel spoke in German and I'm not sure how to translate "judenpack" to
English.]
(Christian Worch is also in Haguenau. Also there, of course, is the next
speaker, David Irving, the historian.)
Irving: "Then we have the one-man gaschamber. Carried by two German privates
looking for lone jews in the polish countryside."
<Laughter from the audience>
Irving continues: "The one-man gaschamber looked like a sedan-chair,
camouflaged as a telephone booth. Now, how did one fool the poor victim to
enter this gaschamber? A telephone bell was rung inside and the privates
said: I think it is for you!"
<More laughter from the audience>
[Cut out are details on neo-nazi military training, neo-nazi contacts with
old nazis, neo-nazi attempts at infiltrating the EC-parliament, and a Swedish
neo-nazi group suspected of stealing police weapons to use in a "racial war".]
<Picture of relational chart over neo-nazi organizations in Sweden, and some
organizations that they have tried to infiltrate.>
(Common to all these organizations is that they spread their propaganda
through local radio. The most famous was "Radio Islam", Publisher: Achmed Rami,
formerly Moroccan officer, formerly Swedish convict that nowadays prefers to
look like a highly educated, controversial, serious researcher in political
science, but reveals himself the same second he is challenged.)
Rami: "I am a revisionist and I'm happy to be a revisionist."
Schmidt: "But you claim that you don't have any contacts with neo-nazis?"
Rami: "No"
Schmidt: "Do you know the name Ernst Zu"ndel?"
Rami: "Yes. I have never met him. When I was in Munich he was arrested, I don't
met him, Never. But I respect him."
Schmidt: "He is a neo-nazi and a anti-semite. He talks about "judenpack"."
Rami: "Are you sure?"
Schmidt: "Do you understand what I mean?"
Rami: "No"
Rami: "Can I ask you... Are you Jewish?"
Schmidt: "No"
<Rami switches to Swedish translated for Schmidt by someone off-camera.>
[I translates what Rami says directly from Swedish to English, and adds what
the translator tells Schmidt when there is a difference]
Rami: "To say that the gaschambers never existed, that is regarded as a crime."
Schmidt: "But they existed. I have seen them. I have been there."
Rami: Tell him: I must have the right to tell him that he is wrong. He hasn't
seen anything. He is just lying. But I am not punishing him for that."
Translator to Schmidt: "I must have the right to say: You are a liar when you
say what you say, without being punished."
Schmidt: "Oh, you won't be punished."
Rami: "I look upon him not as a ... really..., but as a victim of brain-
washing."
[sic!]
Translator to Schmidt: "He looks upon you as a victim of brain-washing."
Rami: "And I think we should start a deprogramming institution for the victims
of Judaism."
(It was the autumn of 1990. Kuwait was occupied by Iraq. The US sent troops
to Saudi. The world held it's breath.
This is a draft for an agreement between the government of Iraq and the
Anti-Zionist Legion in Germany, led by Lieutenant Michael Ku"hnen. Here
prerequisites are listed for putting an armed volunteer corps of one hundred
neo-nazi soldiers ar the service of Iraq, to "fight the zionist, US-i
mperialist aggression." Then a hundred more are to follow from Great Britain
and the USA.
Prior to transport to Iraq they are to gather in Copenhagen or Stockholm.)
<The document is shown. It says, in German, what the narrator said it said.>
[Demonstration in favour of Rudolph Hess shown. The ex-East German neo-nazis
meet their colleagues from ex-West Germany for the first time.]
<The end of the Munich meeting. A speaker declares its motto to be 'Warheit
Macht Frei' (Truth gives liberty). During the singing of the German national
anthem several persons in the audience perform the nazi salute, but cease when
they see the camera.
Afterwards a demonstration is shown where General Otto Ernst Remer, Neo-naz
leader Michael Ku"hnen and David Irving participates.>
("Warheit Macht Frei". During more than two years, Michael Schmidt was
confronted with their truths. But finally he found an old SS-officer, in
Denmark. One of them, connected to the NSDAP-AO and the Revisionists. Wanted
in Germany. He had worked in Auschwitz and written a book about it. He
admitted that their truths were just fantasies: Thies Christophersen.)
[NSDAP-AO, NSDAP was the old original German Nazi party. AO means Exile
Organization. Headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska and headed by Gary Lauck.
The part of the documentary that exclusively is about the neo-nazis talks
about it several times.]
Schmidt: "Was people gassed to death or not?"
Christophersen: "I didn't write anything about that in my report."
(In the report Auschwitz is described rather as a summercamp than an
extermination camp.)
<Picture of book in German. Title: "Kritik, die stimme des Volkes" ("Critic,
The voice of the People") and containing the article "Die Auschwitz-Lu"ge"
("The Auschwitz-Lie") by Thies Christophersen.>
Schmidt: "What do you think about David Irving?"
Christophersen: "He is attacked because he is British. We dislike that he talks
about German atrocities, even if they happened. But I'm partial, of
course."
(This book has become the bible of those who want to deny the truth. But
Christophersen admits that he knowingly warped the truth. The book doesn't
mention any gaschambers so therefore they don't exist, the argument goes.)
Christophersen: "I want to defend us, but I can't deny what we really did. No
defender brings forth that which is damaging to their cause. But I don't
care. It would mean betraying my friends if I retracted anything now."
<The documentary ends with the following words:
"Now we can't say that we wasn't warned.">
