The Holocaust Industry (26 page)
Finkelstein and Professor Zweig, the holocaust industry's first choice to
represent their side in the controversy. From the debate it becomes clear
that Professor Finkelstein is extremely comfortable when dealing with the
charges leveled against him by his detractors. He refutes them calmly and
convincingly. No wonder the spokespersons for the holocaust industry prefer
writing unopposed "hit pieces" like the New York Times review over
challenging Professor Finkelstein directly.
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(http://www.webactive.com/pacifica/demnow/dn20000713.html).
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To: info
Subject: Review of The holocaust Indusry
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 19:19:06 +0100
Dear Dr Finkelstein,
I read your book, The Holocaust Industry and have followed the
responses to its publication in the press (both in America and in the UK). It is an
insightful and interesting book on a topic which is certainly painful or
embarrassing for many people. However, I would like to take this
opportunity of voicing my admiration for your book and the honesty of
your pursuit.
Best wishes,
P.B.
______________________________________________________________________
From: "niallmcnamara"
To:
Subject: Your writings
Date: Sun, 13 Aug 2000 08:00:12 -0700
Dear Professor Finkelstein,
I have always read your books and articles because of the fairness and
perspective you bring to your intellectual and very readable writings.
Your recent book, is very relevant to society as it deals with corporations
over people. You clearly believe that the money collected for victims of
Nazism is actually due to those who were persecuted and suffered. "The
Holocaust industry" (HI) as you elaborate with acuity and skill, serves the
interests of those who want to gain money from the suffering of the European
Jews and to serve Israel's political interests.
Its objectionable to witness some of the unkind attacks on you by
certain critics. George Bernard Shaw once observed that: "If you put an
Irishman on a spit, you will get an other Irishman to turn it." (As you guess
I am Irish). Sadly, your co-religionists who profit by the HI have put you
on a spit. However, both you and Professor Chomsky are far greater human
beings and intellectuals than any number of your critics. And you both have a
wonderful sense of fair play that being left of the centre brings to any
discussion. Neither of you will get positions from the US government -
unlike your critics - but you represent the voice of idealism in a
worldwhere idealism has little enough voice.
Kindest regards,
Niall McNamara,
Dublin, Ireland.
______________________________________________________________________
From: Patron
Reply-To: [email protected]
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Subject: (no subject)
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 14:11:34 -0500
Did you notice the article praising your book by Taki in the right-wing
hate site Frontpagemag.com (edited by David Horowitz)? This was
reprinted from the New York Press. Of course, He links this to his own
racist objections to reparations for African Americans and attack on
Brent Staples. Something tells me that you wont be spotlighting THIS
review. Nice company you keep, Normie! (add on David Irving- whose work
you praise- etc).
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Dear Mr Finkelstein,
On behalf of my father, Coen Schutte, born in Amsterdam in 1924, I hereby send you a translation of the 'letter to
the editor' which he sent to the Netherlands newspaper 'NRC Handelsblad' which publicised an interview with you
regarding the publication of your book 'The Holocaust Industry' , as well as to the Dutch periodical 'Vrij Nederland'
which has been quoting from several of your publications and has recently been conducting a number of feature
articles with several spokespeople and individuals regarding the refunding of, and the compensation and
damages for Jewish funds that were appropriated by Dutch financial institutions during the German occupation of
The Netherlands in the Second World War.
I think the contents of my fathers letter is self-explanatory. I have only provided a direct translation of his original
Dutch text, but maybe I should clarify some of the specific historical facts and backgrounds that are mentioned,
since some of those are not quite known outside The Netherlands:
In February 1941, less than a year after the German invasion, literally he whole city of Amsterdam, from the public
transportation service to the stock exchange, went into a massive two-day strike against the repression by the
Nazi's of the local jewish population. This strike was initialised after several pogroms by the Germans and their
Netherlands collaborators on jewish people and their property and can be considered as one of the very first
structural resistance acts in the German occupied territories.
This uprising caused the German occupation authorities to speed up their initial plan to implement the structure of
a Jewish Council in Amsterdam. This process was actually helped by several leaders of the local Jewish upperclass,
who were worried about their own position after the strike, the Germans were already known for their
propensity to take reprisals at the time, as well as over the fact that they were loosing their grip and influence over
their own people. Due to several demographic, cultural and social circumstances, the jews of Amsterdam had
assimilated over the years into the local population at a far greater rate than in the rest of the European cities. The
fact that my father, who lived in a working class area had so many jewish friends and neighbours is probably the
best evidence of this assimilation.
The general role this Jewish Council, as well as the personal active involvement of its members in the registration
of the jewish inhabitants and the drafting of the lists of people to be deported to the Nazi death camps, has been
evidenced and heavily criticised over the years by several historians, but has never lead to any legal actions
taken against its members.
In his letter, my father mentions the book of the author Hans Knoop; another book which entails a detailed
description of the holocaust of the Dutch jews and the active involvement of the Jewish Council is the study
'Ondergang' by Professor Dr. J.J. Presser. I'm afraid, however, that to the best of our knowledge none of these
publications have ever been translated in English.
In case you may have any questions or remarks, please feel free to contact my father directly on the address he
mentions in his letter, or through my personal e-mail. My father is quite willing to give you any additional
information you may require or answer any questions you may have.
With most kindest regards,
Hildo Schutte
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Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Dear Mr Finkelstein,
It also fills me with anger, to see that yet another committee has appointed itself as 'the true representative of the
Jewish community' and has started another dance around the golden calf.
In my opinion, those who pretended to be the representatives of the Jewish people in The Netherlands during the
Second World War, the so-called 'Jewish Council', should have been brought in front of a court of law to be held
responsible for their actions many years ago.
But now, again, I see those same kind of smug faces in the news.
Whatever happened to my childhood friends ?
Brammetje IJzerman, Gerrie Trompetter, my junior high school sweetheart, Lettie Jacobs? Where is Elie Toff,
worked for the International Red Aid and helped to hide German political refugees in The Netherlands, years
before the Nazi invasion of 1940 ? What happened to our next-door neighbour Mr Berlijn ?
They were gassed, lead to the slaughter because they put their faith into these so-called 'Representatives of the
Dutch jewish community'.
"Communism is far more dangerous for the jews than National Socialism", was a public statement of rabbi
Loterijman in the early thirties: "Communism only divides the Jewish people, while National Socialism helps to
unify them....."
Well, we most certainly found out what he meant by that.
"They're our own kind of people, that Jewish Council" said father IJzerman to me at the time. He was one of the
first who was put on the deportation lists, because the upper-class didn't want another rising against the
Germans, after the massive protest strikes in February 1941.
One of the most striking conclusions drawn by the jewish author Hans Knoop in his study of the conduct of the
Jewish Council was that the jewish upper-classes in order to survive, were prepared to sacrifice their own lowerclasses.
Personally, I still wonder how on earth Cohen, a leading member of the Jewish Council, was able to live
with the fact that he replaced the name of a relative destined for deportation with the name of an arbitrary other
jew. But maybe I'm wrong: In those circles the general attitude seemed to be: "Why worry about the riff-raff ?".
That "riff-raff", the jewish lower -classes, were the first who were sacrificed to the Nazi's. They didn't have any
bank accounts or any share portfolios; the furniture of their homes were their only earthly possessions. For them
there will be no compensation or damages, because they are no longer with us. They were betrayed and sold out
by their own self-appointed representatives who were merely trying to save their own skins.
I still carry a torch for those who I've known and who saw through this hideous game: Jan Plank (M.Polak) en
Joop Menasse.
They didn't report themselves for registration and went underground to join the resistance.
Hildo Schutte
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Back from vacation. Had a chance to read Norm's book. Of course it is not
the same book that was savaged in the NEWSPEAK Times Book Review, for
obvious reasons: sober, balanced, judicious and thought-provoking. Hopefully
Norm's book will provoke some soul searching among Jewish Americans about
their participation in The Holocaust Industry. As Norm correctly points out,
it has given rise to even more anti-Semitism. Of course anti-Semitism has
always been out there, but now it seems on the ascendancy. Witness the
phenomenal growth of Matt Hale and his World Church of Creator, which i have
been combatting out here. He was considered a local crank until Alan
Dershowitz and the ADL agreed to help him get his law license. Then they
gave him tens of millions of dollars of free publicity. Then his movement
took off like wild-fire. Then the Benjamin Smith killing spree out here; the
bombing of the Jewish synagogues in Sacramento;the murder of the children at
the Jewish daycare center in LA. Etc. For the life of me I could not