Germar Rudolf

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Germar Rudolf became first known in the early 1990s for writing an expert report about the alleged extermination of Jews in the infamous German wartime concentration camp at Auschwitz. He later expanded his publishing activities and became one of the most prolific revisionist writers, editors and publishers worldwide – until his arrest in 2005. A German court sentenced Rudolf to prison for "inciting racial hatred" in publications and websites which "systematically called into question the National Socialist genocide". He subsequently spent 44 months in prison for his writings and thoughtcrimes.

Germar Rudolf (born 29 October 1964 in Limburg an der Lahn) is a German chemist, author, publisher and Holocaust revisionist.

Life

Summary

He studied chemistry at Bonn University, where he graduated in 1989 as a Diplom-Chemist, which is comparable to a U.S. PhD degree. From 1990 to 1993, he prepared a German PhD thesis at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in conjunction with the University of Stuttgart, Germany.[1]

Parallel to this and in his spare time, Rudolf prepared an expert report on chemical and technical questions of the alleged gas chambers of Auschwitz, The Rudolf Report. He conclude in it that "the alleged facilities for mass extermination at Auschwitz and Birkenau were not suited for the purpose as claimed."[1]

As a result he had to endure severe measures of persecution in subsequent years. Hence he went into British exile. When Germany asked Britain to extradite Rudolf in 1999, he fled to the U.S. There he applied for political asylum and in 2004 married a U.S. citizen. In 2005, the U.S. recognized Rudolf's marriage as valid and seconds later arrested and subsequently deported him back to Germany, where he was put in prison for 44 months for his scholarly writings. Some of the writings he was punished for had been published while Rudolf resided in the U.S., where his activities were and are perfectly legal. Since not a criminal under U.S. law, he managed to immigrate permanently to the U.S. in 2011.[1]

Rudolf, while in Britain, started a small revisionist outlet for German language material, Castle Hill Publishers, and the multilingual website www.vho.org (see Vrij Historisch Onderzoek), which within a few years outgrew other revisionist websites by size and traffic. While his case wound its way through the U.S. legal system, Rudolf expanded his publishing activities into English language material, for instance by launching the Holocaust Handbooks series.[2]

This brilliant, German-trained chemist re-examined Auschwitz, Birkenau and other installations and buildings, testing rocks, soil and other physical samples for traces of Zyklon B. Following the pioneering work of Fred Leuchter, he put the final nail into the coffin of the Auschwitz story. Even though he did scientific work and was utterly apolitical, Rudolf's home and office were raided, computers seized etc. He was charged and tried in Germany for not believing in the standard Auschwitz story. As a scientist, he found the "gassing" claims to be scientifically untenable and, therefore, absurd. A modern day Galileo, Rudolf was found guilty and convicted because he refused to renounce scientific facts and his own scientific tests and findings. He was facing jail when he went into exile with his young wife and two babies. He now edits and publishes devastating refutations of the Allied Propaganda claims in a German-language journal. The Holocaust Enforcers are dogging his steps, and he faces endless hassles and trials, should the "German" vassal authorities ever get a hold of him. Ernst Zündel expert witness in chemistry in the Munich trial in 1991 -- disallowed by the judge at the request of the prosecution.[3]

Background

After finishing secondary education in 1983 in Remscheid, Rudolf studied chemistry in Bonn, completing his studies in 1989. As a student, he joined A.V. Tuisconia Königsberg zu Bonn and K.D.St.V. Nordgau Prag zu Stuttgart. Both are Catholic fraternities belonging to the Cartellverband der katholischen deutschen Studentenverbindungen. He was a temporary supporter of the CSU/CDU, but parted ways and became a temporary member of party Die Republikaner (REP) due to their more patriotic policy.

Finishing Ph.D. postgraduate studies after his compulsory military service with the Bundeswehr, he was temporarily employed at the "Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research" in Stuttgart, beginning in October 1990. During this time he wrote a paper, titled "Report on the formation and verifiability of cyanide compounds in the Auschwitz gas chambers" on behalf of the Düsseldorf attorney Hajo Herrmann (de), a former Luftwaffe pilot holding the rank of Oberst. In 1993, when his "report" caused some media attention, his employer ordered Rudolf not to enter the Max Planck Institute unless asked to. When Rudolf entered the institute without permission, his employment contract was terminated without notice. In 1994 this termination was converted into a termination in mutual agreement. In 1996, the Universty of Stuttgart demanded that Rudolf retracts his application for his final PhD examination, or else the University would deny it, rendering his PhD thesis worthless. The legal basis for this is a German law permitting universities to deny or withdraw academic degrees in case the candidate in question has used his academic credentials or knowledge to commit a crime. Rudolf subsequently withdrew his application.

Herrmann used Rudolf's paper in the defense of Otto Ernst Remer, a former Wehrmacht officer charged with "incitement of hatred" (Volksverhetzung), a criminal offense in German law. Although Rudolf was aware from the outset that his work would become publicly associated with an extremely controversial individual, he insisted that even an individual as despised by the general public as Remer has a right to a legal defense. Rudolf stated that his findings at Auschwitz and Birkenau "completely shattered his world view," which motivated him to continue despite increasing societal and legal resistance against his work.

Among other things, the report states that, after having collected and analyzed samples from the walls of various buildings in the Auschwitz concentration camp, only insignificant and non-reproducible traces of cyanide compounds can be found in the samples taken from the gas chambers. Rudolf claims that this is in stark contrast to samples from other locations, where hydrogen cyanide (Zyklon B) has been used for non-homicidal purposes (delousing chambers, deloused civil buildings like churches). This report has been critically analyzed by Richard Green and Jamie McCarthy from The Holocaust History Project,[4] among others. Rudolf has repeatedly addressed these and other critiques, for instances in the English edition of his report. [5]

Both in 1994 and in 1995, Rudolf was evicted from his rented apartments after media articles had reported about police searches in his homes. In 1995 a TV report revealing the identity of his current employer led to the immediate termination of his employment contract. That same year Rudolf was expelled from the Catholic fraternities on grounds of having violated his fraternity's principles by his Holocaust denial publications.

Legal consequences: Escape, Deportation and Imprisonment

In 1995, Rudolf was sentenced to 14 months in prison by the district court of Stuttgart because of the "Rudolf Report", as Holocaust denial is a crime in Germany. Rudolf avoided prison by fleeing to Spain, England and finally to the United States. There, he applied for political asylum, but his request was denied in 2006.

Meanwhile, criminal investigations continued in Germany. In August 2004, the district court of Mannheim distrained a bank account in an attempt to confiscate 55% of Rudolf's business turnover from the years 2001 to 2004 (some €214,000; at that time the account contained only some €5,000, however). Rudolf and his associates had earned this money by selling publications which are banned in Germany, although Rudolf's business was located in the UK and the USA, where this activity was and is legal.

On 11 September 2004, Rudolf married a US citizen and subsequently had a child. Nevertheless, his requests for asylum or at least withholding from removal were turned down in November 2004 of that year on the basis that his application had no merits and was indeed "frivolous." Rudolf appealed against this ruling, and as a result of this the US Federal Court in Atlanta denied in early 2006 that his application was frivolous, yet it upheld that it had no merits. While Rudolf's asylum case was still pending, he was arrested on 19 October 2005, seconds after his marriage had been certified as genuine and valid.

The Immigration Services stated that Rudolf does not have a right to file an application to remain with his family. On November 14, 2005, Rudolf was deported to Germany.[6] There on arrival, he was arrested by police authorities and transferred first to a prison in Rottenburg, then to one in Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg. On March 15, 2007, the Mannheim District Court sentenced Rudolf to two years and six months in prison for inciting hatred, disparaging the dead, and libel. Rudolf as well as the prosecution accepted the verdict. Rudolf's "Lectures on the Holocaust" were confiscated and ordered to be destroyed, that is to say: burned in waste incinerators under police supervision. The prosecution's initial request to confiscate 214,000 was reduced to 21,000, the total turnover from sales of the former book.[7]

Investigation into 9/11

In July 2003, according to his own published articles on the topic of the 9/11 attacks, Rudolf conducted limited experiments in the use of cell phones from an airliner while in flight. He reports mixed results and has left the question open.[8] His stated reason for conducting these experiments is to verify or deny a widely circulated claim that it is impossible to make cell phone calls from an airliner at cruising height as stated by Alexander Dewdney.[9]

Motivations

In his own writings, Rudolf describes how, as a student, he first doubted the credibility of those who spoke of the "Auschwitz bludgeon against the political right." Rudolf states that he thought they could not be trusted, because he felt that they were "extremists with dishonest intentions." However, he soon encountered the memory of the Holocaust being used against his own affiliations and himself directly:[10]

"Certainly in the beginning of my second involvement with the Republikaner, I was repeatedly confronted with the use of the ‘Auschwitz bludgeon’ used against both ‘my’ party and myself. I have mentioned above the scandalous question of the journalist after the Berlin election, a question which was used continually to suggest that the Republikaner — after they had seized power — intended to ‘gas’ the Turkish immigrants residing in Germany."

Rudolf states that there are four reasons for his research:

"1. Because of my upbringing, I felt bad merely for doubting. I knew something was wrong with a society when it instills guilt-feelings in its members simply because they dissent. The Holocaust is the one area, and almost the only area, where one is admonished to accept facts blindly; not to think critically. We are taught to question practically everything else, even that which is kept in high regard, such as the reality of God, or sexual intimacy. We are primed to be docile subjects and kept fearful of any transgressions with respect to the Holocaust. That angered me then and it angers me still.
2. Because of my doubts, my entire outlook on life became unstable. I was no longer certain what was correct or incorrect, who lied and who told the truth. The eternal conflict of good and evil was revived in me. The question where the truth could be found concerning the Holocaust was so important, that I knew I could only recover my peace of mind by finding out for myself, personally, where the truth lay. I wanted to rid myself of uncertainty one way or the other.
3. There is no scientific area in which those who hold dissident opinions are persecuted more mercilessly by the ‘ruling order’ than that of revisionism. That is probably why most people don’t want to touch it, and most avoid it by convincing themselves that the subject is not relevant to current problems. But for me, this draconian persecution is the best proof there is that this is a crucial subject, because the powers that be regard it as most important that nobody touches this taboo. Comprehensive and critical research in this area is therefore very important for scientific, political and social reasons.
4. The treatment of revisionism and its proponents in areas of science, journalism, politics and law is a scandal worldwide—it demands redress"

Politics

In his "Rudolf Report", for which he had been imprisoned, he writes with regard to his view on National Socialism in chapter 3.2. "On Politics":[11]

"Personally, I am inclined to judge [Hitler and National Socialism] on the basis of what he, or it, was able to leave behind for their respective population--everything else follows. That must suffice at this point."

About the accusation that revisionists merely want to exonerate National Socialism he says there:

"[It] implies that it is deemed unacceptable to partially exonerate National Socialism historically, and by so doing, always also morally. But by declaring any hypothetical exoneration based on possible facts as unacceptable, one admits openly not to be interested in the quest for the truth, but in incriminating National Socialism historically and morally under any circumstances and at all costs. And the motivation behind this can only be political. Hence, those accusing revisionists of misusing their research for political ends have themselves been proven guilty of exactly this offense…. [Our] research must never be concerned with the possible ‘moral’ spin-off effects of our findings in relation to politicians or regimes of the past, but solely with the facts. Anyone who argues the opposite does not understand scientific research…"

He has this to say in his discussion of the political responsibilities of Holocaust revisionists:[12]:

"It ought therefore to be the foremost concern of moderate politics to see to it that the discussion about the Holocaust spreads to social circles other than radical or extremist ones, so that any potential consequences of a revision of historiography can be represented and implemented credibly and competently by respectable and respected politicians. And the foremost concern of the scientist must be to alert the politicians to this fact and to accompany them as they steer their way among the cliffs of scientific insights."

Publications

Germar Rudolf Lectures on the Holocaust Controversial Issues Cross.jpg
Hunting Germar Rudolf.jpg

After Rudolf left the Max Planck Institute, he started to publish several books on the Holocaust. He founded Castle Hill Publishers in Hastings, England, in 1996, with Theses & Dissertations Press as its American outlet since 2000. That same year Rudolf launched his English language "Holocaust Handbooks Series".[13] addressing various issues of the Holocaust from a denier's/revisionist point of view; as of late 2010 this series encompassed 22 titles. Furthermore, until 2005 Rudolf has been closely associated with the Belgian Holocaust revisionist organization Vrij Historisch Onderzoek (VHO).

Revisionist Monographs

  • Germar Rudolf: The Rudolf Report. Expert Report on Chemical and Technical Aspects of the ‘Gas Chambers’ of Auschwitz, Theses & Dissertations Press, Chicago 2003, ISBN 0-9679856-5-X. (German: Das Rudolf-Gutachten, Gutachten über die „Gaskammern“ von Auschwitz. 2nd ed. Castle Hill Publishers, Hastings 2001, ISBN 1-902619-03-X).
  • Germar Rudolf (ed.): Dissecting the Holocaust. The Growing Critique of ‘Truth’ and ‘Memory’ 2nd ed. Theses & Dissertations Press, Chicago 2003, ISBN 3-87847-141-6 (German: Grundlagen zur Zeitgeschichte. Ein Handbuch über strittige Fragen des 20. Jahrhunderts Grabert, Tübingen 1994, ISBN 3-87847-141-6).
  • Germar Rudolf: Revisionism – an Ideology of Liberation, 2005
  • Germar Rudolf, Robert Countess, Christian Lindtner: Festschrift for Robert Faurisson to his 75th Birthday. Theses & Dissertations Press, Chicago 2005, ISBN 1-59148-004-3.
  • Germar Rudolf (ed.): Auschwitz: Plain Facts. A Response to Jean-Claude Pressac Theses & Dissertations Press, Chicago 2005, ISBN 1-59148-020-5 (German: Auschwitz: Nackte Fakten. Eine Erwiderung an Jean-Claude Pressac, Vrij Historisch Onderzoek, Berchem 1995, ISBN 90-73111-16-1).
  • Germar Rudolf: Lectures on the Holocaust. Controversial Issues Cross Examined Theses & Dissertations Press, Chicago 2005, ISBN 1-902619-07-2 (German: Vorlesungen über den Holocaust. Strittige Fragen im Kreuzverhör. 2nd ed., Castle Hill Publishers, Hastings 2005, ISBN 1-902619-07-2).
  • Germar Rudolf, Carlo Mattogno: Auschwitz Lies. Legends, Lies, and Prejudices on the Holocaust Theses & Dissertations Press, Chicago 2005, ISBN 1-59148-021-3 (German: Germar Rudolf (somewhat different content): Auschwitz-Lügen: Legenden, Lügen, Vorurteile von Medien, Politikern und Wissenschaftlern über den Holocaust. Castle Hill Publishers, Hastings 2005, ISBN 1-59148-014-0).
  • Germar Rudolf, Fred A. Leuchter, Robert Faurisson: The Leuchter Reports: Critical Edition. Theses & Dissertations Press, Chicago 2005, ISBN 1-59148-026-4
  • Germar Rudolf, Eric Hunt: Probing the Holocaust – The Horror Explained, 2019
  • Germar Rudolf: The Chemistry of Auschwitz, 2019

Other Monographs

  • Germar Rudolf: Kardinalfragen zur Zeitgeschichte. Vrij Historisch Onderzoek, Berchem 1996, ISBN 90-73111-20-X.
  • Germar Rudolf: Kardinalfragen an Deutschlands Politiker. Aufforderung zur Wiederherstellung der Menschenrechte in Deutschland. Castle Hill Publishers, Hastings 2005, ISBN 1-902619-09-9.
  • Germar Rudolf: Holocaust Revisionismus. Eine kritische geschichtswissenschaftliche Methode. Castle Hill Publishers, Hastings 2005, ISBN 1-59148-019-1.
  • Germar Rudolf: Eine Zensur findet statt! Zensur in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Castle Hill Publishers, Hastings 2006, ISBN 1-59148-017-5.
  • Germar Rudolf: Diktatur Deutschland. Die Zerstörung von Demokratie und Menschenrechten unter dem Einfluß von Kriegspropaganda, Castle Hill Publishers, Hastings 2005, ISBN 1-59148-018-3.

Editor

  • 1997–2005 editor of the German periodical "Vierteljahreshefte für freie Geschichtsforschung"
  • 2003–2005 editor of the English periodical "The Revisionist"

See also

External links

Article archives

Videos

References