Friday, December 28, 2012
STILL CHASING HELMUT OBERLANDER
Today's Waterloo Region Record advises us that the Simon Weisenthal Center has put Oberlander on it's list of the ten most wanted Nazi war crimes suspects. The article is titled "Helmut Oberlander again loses Canadian citizenship". This ten most wanted list leads me to a number of conclusions. Firstly the war ended almost sixty-eight years ago. Exactly how old were current living survivors when the war ended? In Oberlander's case he is now 88 making him 20 at the end of the war and 14 at the start. Just exactly what was his rank and seniority if he was 20 at the END of the war? Secondly it seems highly probable that any Nazis who were even thirty years old at the end of the war, 68 years ago, are now long gone. Thirdly there is virtually zero evidence of any kind linking Oberlander to any war crimes of any kind. Therefore if he is on the ten most wanted list of war crimes suspects than I can only suggest that list has outlived it's purpose.
I do not understand why both Liberal and Conservative governments have chased and harassed a Canadian citizen for so long. Similar to Omar Khadr who at worst was a child soldier caught up in events beyond his control or understanding; Helmut Oberlander was still a child in the early years of the war. What ever happened to guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty? He's never been proven guilty of anything including the so called "finding" that his wartime experience was not disclosed or admitted to. This "finding" was by a Judge based upon essentially nothing. The Judge felt that probably a Canadian immigration official would have asked Oberlander a specific question or two. Therefore the Judge detrmined a so called finding. Such ridiculous legal bullshit. Shame on our federal governments past and present and shame on the lack of common sense. By the way I have no love for either Nazis or war criminals. My father and two uncles fought overseas for years during World War Two and they fought to stop tyranny and despotic behaviour. I believe they'd be appalled at the behaviour of our government in regards to Helmut Oberlander.
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A youth of 14 is more of a menace than a man of 30. It is during the adolescent years that we are most easily influenced, that our minds are impressionable and maleable and we make decisions that are ill-thought out and have little remorse over. I would be far less likely to cross the street to avoid a group of 30 year olds than to avoid a gang of teens.
ReplyDeleteAnd consider that people underreport their age in order to enter a country, if they even know their exact age at all.
Rank and seniority are of no consequence - crimes are not absolved because you were given orders or simply allowed to commit them.
And he does not deny being a member of a nazi death squad - he is complicit in the crimes of his company, though he may be excused if he was a unwilling non-participant.
However, to admit to being only a minor player at such a late date, when faced with the prospect of loss of citizenship is reprehensible. He has had years to come clean, and in the face of evidence that indicts him, now claims to be only an unwilling interpreter.
Whatever his past crimes, the fact that he entered the country without disclosing his military past is illegal - then and now. The government requires disclosing military service as part of port of entry exams, and makes decisions on the basis of that info - to falsify that information is to break the law.
Whether the government wants to be lenient is its choice, but I see no reason why any immigrant who intentionally hides their military background should be allowed to remain in Canada, whether they are 19 or 90 years old.
The message should be clear: Canada is not sanctuary for those who are dishonest.
Got news for you in regards to your last sentence "Canada is not a sanctuary for those who are dishonest.". Let's not be hypocritical. Honesty is no requirement for citizenship here or in any other country. If it was there wouldn't be a politician anywhere that kept his citizenship. In regards to the rest of your comment I repeat: there is no evidence that he failed to disclose anything when he entered Canada. That was a guess elevated in legal jargon to a "finding" by a judge decades later. This is a witch hunt plain and simple. The guilty have either been found and punished or died a long time ago.
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