Three letters printed in The Record last week by John Guderian, Aaron Klassen and Karen Durnin represent the range of opinion that favours Helmut Oberlander. Combined, these writers present the view that Oberlander is an innocent victim, convicted without proof or evidence, by a government that is driven by an agenda of political expediency under pressure from a Jewish community that is motivated by a spirit of vengeance.

I am amazed that people can continue to believe this in the face of all the information that has appeared on this case in the last 18 months. It is obviously easier for people to hold an absurd position than it is for them to come to terms with an unpleasant reality.

What is that reality? Quite simply, Oberlander served as an interpreter for mobile killing unit, Einsatzkommmando 10a, for a period of 18 months. Further, that after five years and literally thousands of pages of evidence and testimony, a federal court justice, using the internationally accepted standard of proof, determined that Oberlander made false representation or knowingly concealed his wartime activities to gain entry to Canada.

It is for this reason that Oberlander now stands ready to be deported.

Attempts to turn the matter of Oberlander into a tale of vengeance and political manoeuvring are unfounded, mean-spirited and ultimately self-defeating.

Len Rudner
Director Community Relations
Canadian Jewish Congress Ontario Region
Toronto