The trials and tribulations of Helmut Oberlander are not just the concern of the Jewish and German communities in Canada. What has happened to Oberlander should be of concern to all citizens who are concerned with justice and decency.

It is difficult to believe that some Canadians actually think that a 17-year-old boy in the upheavals of a brutal war in Europe should be able to evaluate the long-term moral consequences of his actions when he is threatened with death if he appears to be going against the German occupying power in Ukraine.

One gets the impression that the desire to deport Oberlander has more to do with uncritically supporting Israel in its occupation of Palestinian land than in bringing justice to those who died at the hands of the Nazis.

Alan Rimmer
Kitchener