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Zundel to be sent back to Germany By: ANNA GARBER, Staff Writer February 12, 2003 The Holocaust revisionist who was arrested at his Wears Valley home last week will be deported to his native Germany as soon as possible, an Immigration and Naturalization Service spokesman said Monday. Ernst Zundel, 63, of Hatcher Mountain Road will remain in the Blount County jail until he is deported, said Temple Black of the INS in New Orleans. Black said no hearing is necessary. Zundel came into the United States under the visa waiver program and has outstayed his term, he said. Zundel had lived in Canada for 38 years. There he published books and other materials denying the Holocaust ever took place and supporting Hitler's views. He has been called "Canada's most infamous Holocaust revisionist." He is not a citizen of Canada. He tried to become one, but his bid was finally rejected Dec. 14, 2000. By that time he had moved to Wears Valley with his third wife, Ingrid Rimland Zundel. In January 2002 the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruled that his Web site was unlawful because it contains hate messages against Jews. Temple said the INS is awaiting documents from Germany before Zundel can be deported; they could take two days or a week to arrive, he said. He said a lawyer could intervene on Zundel's behalf. That is what Ingrid Zundel is trying to arrange. "We have a lawyer in Memphis," she said in a phone interview, but her husband needs an immigration lawyer closer to home. So far she has failed to find one. "It's very frustrating," she said. Denying the Holocaust took place is a crime in Germany punishable by a jail sentence of up to five years, Ingrid Zundel said. Her husband left Germany for Canada when he was 19. She said they came to the area because they have a friend near Asheville. They were looking for "a nice, quiet, decent place" where the media would leave them alone. They fell in love with the house, and Wears Valley is "so beautiful," she said. It reminds Ernst Zundel of the Black Forest where he grew up. "We love it here," she said. "We are here legally... We are not hiding. We are not doing anything wrong," she said. Her husband has a work permit, a Social Security number and driver's license; "we just happen to be politically incorrect," she said. Now he is in jail "with criminals and crazies," he said. "It is beyond belief." "...We are decent people. We don't need to be taken away in handcuffs like wetbacks coming across the border," she said. Her husband "is one of the sweetest people on earth but he has strong political views." Since Zundel's arrest Wednesday, "it seems like the entire world wants to know what happened," she said. Despite "very nasty" stories in the media, "I have not received a single harassment call in this community. This is a peaceful, wonderful community." She said she will talk to local media because "I want to be treated decently. I have to live in this town." Anna Garber's email: agarber@themountainpress.com. Source/Publisher: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1211&dept_id=169689&newsid=7010847&PAG=461&rfi=9
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