Latest / Kvetch & Release / 610CKTB | Court Orders Ottawa to Release Secret Docs on Moving Ex-Nazis to Canada

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610CKTB | Court Orders Ottawa to Release Secret Docs on Moving Ex-Nazis to Canada · Kvetch & Release

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: It is time for Litke's Gotta Take. Good morning, John.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Gene.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Well, John, as you know, my dad was a Holocaust survivor.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: I'm a lucky guy because had he gone down, we
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: would not be talking. My sister wouldn't be here. And
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: I always remember that. And a federal court just ordered
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Ottawa finally to to unseal long hidden files on ex-Nazis
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: that resettled in Canada after the Second World War. Now,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: what exactly has the federal government been doing to keep
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: this thing secret from all of us for so long?
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, a federal court just ordered Ottawa to unseal
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: these long-hidden files on ex-Nazi and ex-Nazi collaborator and ex-Nazi
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: sympathizer resettlement in Canada post-World War II. We're talking about
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: a textbook case of historical hypocrisy, administrative cowardice, and the entire... fight,
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: the legal fight, centers on something Ottawa's been trying to
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: bury out for seven decades, which is the extent to
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: which U.S. intelligence agencies smuggled and resettled these war criminals,
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: these ex-Nazis, SS members, Nazi collaborators, sympathizers. right past our
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: immigration and security screening processes into Canada during the 50s.
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: Ottawa found out about it. Some of them knew about
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: it as well, and either wink, wink, nudge, nudge, looked
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: the other way. But they realized over the decades just
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: how horrific this looked, so they threw a giant rug
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: over the whole thing. So inadequate security screening led to
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: many of them coming in. We were reluctant as well
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: to prosecute these war criminals for reasons we can talk
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: about in a bad and you know canada's long didn't
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: seem that was a haven for nazis and their collaborators
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: including large numbers of wafa and ss soldiers so but
• 1:44
  Speaker 2: a breath had to take the feds to court just
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: to drag basic history out into the.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: Daylight yet what you know uh... i take exception to
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: you saying x nazis you're a nazi you're a nazi
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: you're a nazi and i don't care if these guys
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: are eighty five ninety five a hundred and five uh...
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: they should stand justice in the court And even if
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: they're old, they should be tossed in jail. Now, Ottawa
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: is arguing that the release of these 1950s records would
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: damage modern U.S.-Canadian relations. Now, do you buy that diplomatic
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: harm excuse, or is Ottawa bowing to pressure from Washington?
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: First, I do agree with you. A Nazi is a
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: Nazi is a Nazi. I'm just using the legal distinction
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: that these were Nazis who disavowed and took off the uniform,
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: if you would. But I agree with you. The uniform
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: never comes off. But Ottawa was arguing that releasing these
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: records showing that the U.S. intelligence bypassed our immigration laws,
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: saying that it would damage modern Canada-U.S. relations today. That's bunk.
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: It's total nonsense. Federal lawyers actually stood up in court
• 2:48
  Speaker 2: and tried to claim that this would exasperate ongoing tensions
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: with the U.S. Nobody believes that unsealing dusty records from
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: the 50s is going to spark a diplomatic crisis with
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: the White House today. And quite frankly, how much worse
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: could it get than a double barrel of a trade
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: war and sovereignty threats, actual invasion? The justice rightfully threw
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: that argument out. But, you know, I do get it
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: from Ottawa's perspective why they panicked, admitting that we've been
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: hiding from our own citizens that U.S. intelligence officials bypassed
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: our immigration laws to help resettle Nazis and sympathizers and collaborators.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: It makes both of our governments look bad. It's not
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: about current national security. It's about protecting state institutions from
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: historic embarrassment. I get that. I just disagree.
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: Well, the government has 30 days to appeal this order.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: They appeal everything. But given the trade negotiations with the U.S.,
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: what do you expect the government to do?
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: I think that the government will appeal the release of
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: this Nazi resettlement files in Canada just to buy time. Yeah,
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: this is where my cynicism really kicks into high gear.
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: You know, the federal government could do the right thing,
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: rip off the Band-Aid, accept the court ruling, and finally
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: release the docs. But given the ongoing trade friction with
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: the U.S. and the government's pathologically defensive posture... I do
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: expect Ottawa to maintain this and push it as high
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: as they can for as long as they can, not
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: because they believe they've got a shred of legal merit,
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: but just to buy time, drag it out in courts
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: until a trade deal is done or Trump is gone
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: and just kick this political headache down the road so
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: they don't have to drop this mess on Washington's desk
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: right now.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: Those of us who know about post-Second World War Canadian
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: history know Canada was actually shutting its doors to a
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: lot of Jewish Holocaust survivors, but they were secretly fast-tracking
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: Nazis into Canada. So by continuing to block these files,
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: is the government effectively really protecting a dark legacy in
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: our very own country?
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, this is the bleak irony to it all. In
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: the immediate post-war years, our government here in Ottawa maintained
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: deep-seated institutional anti-Semitism and restrictive immigration barriers. I mean, one
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: senior official remarking, you know, none is too many. This
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: resulted in Jewish Holocaust survivors actually making up about only
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: 13% of the displaced persons admitted to Canada in the
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: late 40s after the war. But then again, we know
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: after the war now, our government was busy relaxing security guidelines,
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: and some of them potentially working with U.S. intelligence to
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: resettle these Nazis in Canada. So by continuing to block
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: these files today, Ottawa isn't protecting national security. They're running
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: institutional witness protection for Nazi ties and protecting the legacy
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: of the officials who enable it. I don't believe in
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: sins of the father. Descendants shouldn't be blamed for what
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: their ancestors did. But our federal government shouldn't be hiding
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: the truth from us either.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Now, defenders often claim, again, more history, bringing in
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: these Nazis was a dirty necessary move to gain an
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: edge during the Cold War. Now, is that a legitimate defense?
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: I mean, this really sounds like an illegal invasion of
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: Canadian and moral law.
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: You know, so post-World War II, the concern immediately was
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: not the Nazis, who were seen as gone, even though
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: they were being resettled at the same time. It was
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: the Soviet Union. So we know that through Operation Paperclip
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: in the United States, they were resettling Nazi rocket scientists,
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: Werner von Braun being one of the top one, of course.
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: And so, listen, I don't agree with it now, but,
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: you know, hindsight is 20-20. I'm pragmatic, which is precisely
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: why I'm so cynical about government power. But I get
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: that the Cold War was a messy time, and they
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: thought that, hey, if we bring in a bunch of fascists,
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: they'll help take care of the communist problem that we
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: have growing up here in our own country, and maybe
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: we can use them to go abroad as well. But, yeah, no,
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: we don't get retroactive passes for breaking our own domestic laws,
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: overriding security screenings, and letting war criminals settle just because
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: we were paranoid about the Soviets. Yeah.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: Now, some argue against releasing these files to protect the
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: privacy and legacies of families living in Canada today. Well,
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: what about the legacy of my dad, the doctor, who
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: was tossed into a concentration camp and just about died
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: while millions did die around him? So why is unsealing
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: everything urgent right now? I believe it is.
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: It is incredibly urgent to release this all right now.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: The protecting family legacies line is polite whitewashing. I mean,
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: and quite frankly, I agree with you about your father,
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: and there shouldn't be any whitewashing about what led to
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: the situations that he was put into, horrific ones. I mean,
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: we are currently living through a period where institutional anti-Semitism,
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: mainstream Jew hatred... And just hatred is continuing to rise,
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: but anti-Semitism at levels that we haven't seen since the
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: time period that we're talking about right now in the 30s, 40s,
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: and 50s. And as we approach the century since World
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: War II, leaving our historical records blacked out or heavily
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: redacted only gives oxygen to Holocaust denial, revisionism, and conspiracy
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: theories of truth. Absolute transparency are the only antidotes to
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: that rot. And so thank you to B'nai B'rith, who
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: fought for years to get these records unsealed, because we
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: need to know the raw, unredacted truth.
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Final observation here. I'll get your take on this.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: You know, I just read the late-breaking news in from Ottawa.
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: We lost 42,000 jobs last year. The price of gas
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: and diesel is going crazy. Food is so expensive now,
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: it's ridiculous. So Canadians have a lot to worry about,
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: but why should an everyday Canadian care about a 70-year-old
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: government cover-up? Because I certainly do.
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: Releasing Canadian records showing secret Nazi resettlement in Canada doesn't
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: cost taxpayers who are dealing with rising costs a dime.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: It doesn't take a dollar away from health care, transit,
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: housing construction. It places zero burden on any citizens. It
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: only places a burden on government institutions, to be honest.
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: If we tolerate federal secrecy and administrative cover-ups on decisions
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: made almost 100 years ago, we're giving Ottawa a permanent
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: free pass to hide the screw-ups today. And plus, quite frankly,
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: with how messy cross-border politics are right now, I think
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: the last thing that we need is Donald Trump actually
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: finding out that Ottawa has been hiding these secret Nazi records.
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: So it's probably better to just get it out in
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: the open because this story is in the open, it's
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: in the media, and it's going to continue to be
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: in the media.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: Excellent take this morning, my guy.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: Hey, thank you, Gene. I'll talk to you on Tuesday.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: You got it. There he goes. John Litke with Litke's
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: Got a Take.