~ North Shore News Holocaust scrutiny to refute falsifiers Dear Editor: In his column of Aug. 18 Doug Collins doubted that five or six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust by citing the names of a number of utterly discredited supporters of his position. ; The claims of David Irving, Paul Rassinier, Robert Faurisson, Fred Leuchter, and Arthur Butz collapsed during cross-cxamina- tion at Zundel’s trials or under the scrutiny of historians outside the courtrooin. The answer (to Collins’ own question why they continue their campaign can be found in Deborah Lipstadt’s book, Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault -on Truth and .Memory (1993).- ; Short work can be made of Collins’ other ‘citations. That Churchill hardly mentioned the Holocaust only demonstrates a deficiency as an historian. . . Scholars have proven that the Red Cross never provided a figure of 300,000 after the war. . Yehuda Bauer and. Raul ‘Hilberg; who were selectively quoted-or slandered by Collins in his column, as well as other ad- mirable writers on the subject such as’ Martin Gilbert, Leni Yahil, Lucy Dawidowicz, Michael Mar- rus and Christopher Browning, are agreed on-a number higher than ~ five million even if less than six. The German historians H. Memorial book will fill Krausnick overwhelmingly documented the murder of ap- proximately 2.2 million Jews by the Ejinsatzgruppen, referred to obliquely by Collins, and the fig- ures for the extermination camps are 3,550,000 even allowing a low number for Auschwitz (Chelmno, 150,000; Belzec, 600,000; Sobibor, 200,000; Majdanek, 200,000; Trebiinka, 900,000; Auschwitz, 1,500,000). By this widely accepted reckon- ing the total is 5,750,000. Any doubter of mass gassings at Auschwitz should examine the ex- traordinary documentary assembled by Pressac, Auschwitz: Technique and Operation of the Gas Chambers (1989). After. the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia released a. vast number of captured German documents from Auschwitz and scholars have microfilmed the ar- chives of German and collabora- tionist governments in eastern Europe. We will soon have more precise {probably also higher) numbers and many gaps in the history will be filled, but certainly not in sup- port of the falsifiers cited in obstinate ignorance by Collins. Leonidas E. Hill John S. Conway Dept. of History, UBC Vancouver in stories behind names Anyone who has grown. up through the last 48 years of com- parative peace may.not fully ap- preciate the great debt- we owe to those who served in our military during wartime; particularly those who were killed. These war dead are only names on memorial plaques and scrolls. Therefore it is proposed to pro- ‘duce a memorial book, to give ‘ substace to these names. ' The format of this book has not been finalized, but it would be basically a compilation of brief biographies. . -Each biography would consist ‘of a photograph, date and place of birth, parentage, education, employment, special interests, military service, date and place of death and any surviving family. The collection of the necessary information presents a formidable task. Available records indicate that 102 residents of North Van- couver were killed during the First World War and another 134 dur- ing the Second World War. Some preliminary information has been gathered already from archival sources. There is also limited access to certain public records. Therefore, the bulk of informa- tion about our war dead coming from family, friends or service comrades would be much appreci- ated. Wall of names Walls of names and fields of flowers, Alta result of a greed for power, All the bodies and al! the blood, They all had families and people they loved, All the bullets and the guns, Kids today think it is fun, Look at your eyes, Hope for the day that the idea for war will die. James Hamilton, 15. North Vancouver. the flowers and close Please contact this writer if you are interested in participation in this project. Ian F. Morrison 131 E. Windsor Rd. North Vancouver VIN 139 efforts were appreciated Dear Editor: Re:Homeowners at Halloween, As a parent, | would like to thank all of those homeown- ers who made the effort to welcome little trick-or- treaters this year. . Every year, there seem to be fewer of these homes and longer stretches of ‘‘dark houses’’ where people seem to be home but unwilling to bother. When you've got a weary four-year-old in tow, those dark stretches seem awfully long. ; So hats off to all of you. who carved pumpkins and left the lights on for us. The repeated efforts of a homeowner on 300-block West 19th has created a leg- endary ‘‘haunted house’’ that is an annual attraction and possibly the highlight of many a kid’s annual pilgrimage. Parents gather on the side- walk and enjoy a rare op- portunity to chat and admire - the displays. These homeowners are what a community is all about. : Maureen Curtis West Vancouver Jean-Claude. © Puts Children First ey hey * Committed to Public Education * Supports Co-operative Decision Making *° Believes in Fiscal Responsibility Candidate For District School Trustee FOR . 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