Raul Hilberg

[Raul Hilberg testified at the first trial of Ernst Zündel in 1985. Prior to the second
trial in 1988, Hilberg was asked by Crown Attorney John Pearson to reattend in
Canada to give expert historical testimony on the Holocaust. Hilberg refused. In a
letter to Pearson dated 5 October, 1987 Hilberg wrote:
"I have grave doubts about testifying in the Zündel case again. Last time, I testified
for a day under direct examination and for three days under cross-examination. Were I
to be in the witness box for a second time, the defense would be asking not merely the
relevant and irrelevant questions put to me during the first trial, but it would also
make every attempt to entrap me by pointing to any seeming contradiction, however
trivial the subject might be, between my earlier testimony and an answer that I might
give in 1988. The time and energy required to ward off such an assault would be
great, and I am afraid that the investment of time alone would be too much, given all
the commitments and deadlines I am facing now."
As a result, Crown Attorney Pearson applied to the court to have Hilberg's 1985
testimony read to the jury. Defence attorney Christie objected to the reading in of the
testimony, alleging that Hilberg had perjured himself in 1985 with respect to his
views on the existence of a Hitler order or orders, and that this was the real reason he
was refusing to reattend in Canada. Christie pointed out that in 1985 Hilberg had
testified that he believed a Hitler order existed; within weeks of that testimony,
however, Hilberg's second edition of his book The Destruction of the European Jews
had been published, in which he excised all mention of a Hitler order in the main
body of the work. Christie argued it would be gravely prejudicial to Zündel and an
insult to the administration of justice to allow the evidence to go to the jury without
benefit of cross-examination in person of Hilberg.
The application was nevertheless granted by Judge Ron Thomas and Pearson read
Hilberg's previous testimony into the record over a four day period on February 4, 5, 8
and 9, 1988. What follows is the 1985 Hilberg testimony. All references are to the
1985 transcript.

Raul Hilberg was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1926. He emigrated to the United States
in 1939. He came alone, without his family. In 1944, Hilberg started service with the
United States Army doing intelligence work. (4-680)
After the war, Hilberg obtained a B.A. degree in political science from Brooklyn
College and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University in public law and
government. His doctorate was obtained in 1955. Hilberg subsequently took up a
teaching post at the University of Vermont which he still held. A full professor,