The government lawyer in Ernst Zundel’s deportation case said he doesn’t think the notorious Holocaust denier really believes his own propaganda.

"I cross-examined Zundel for five days. In my view, he does not believe the Holocaust did not happen. He’s far more intelligent than that. He’s doing it because he hates Jewish people and made a great deal of money," Donald MacIntosh, the lead Crown prosecutor, told a McGill University audience recently.

Zundel profited handsomely from the publication of hate literature that was distributed around the world, MacIntosh said in a lecture on the case at McGill’s law faculty, part of the Holocaust Education Series, sponsored by the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre.

MacIntosh said there was no doubt that Zundel was a threat to national security, and even to international stability.

"Some people believe that Zundel is nothing but a revisionist, a Holocaust denier, which is reprehensible, but not a danger to national security… Zundel was a very dangerous man," MacIntosh said.

He said Zundel’s propaganda could have further fuelled rising anti-Semitism in the world and Islamic extremism.

Although much of the evidence against Zundel remains secret, MacIntosh stressed that the case against him was "overwhelming," and consisted of over 100 pages of summary, along with 1,600 supporting documents, that were vetted by judges before being admitted.

Zundel funded organizations and "advised and directed" white supremacists who advocated violence against blacks, Jews and other minorities, and the overthrow of the U.S, German and South African governments.

Among them were Wolfgang Droege, former leader of the neo-Nazi Heritage Front, who was shot to death earlier this year; William Pierce, author of the racist and anarchist tract The Turner Diaries; Richard Butler, founder of Aryan Nations; the fascist Ewald Althans, who had designs on becoming the fuhrer of Germany before being arrested for sedition, and whom Zundel was sending $2,000 a month; Dennis Mahon, publisher of the racist Oklahoma Excalibur, which urged the overthrow of "Zionist Occupied Government (ZOG)"; and Tom Metzger, director of White Aryan Resistance.

"Zundel counselled these people on how far they could and should go under the First Amendment [of the U.S. constitution]," MacIntosh said.

MacIntosh said Zundel attempted to get the names and addresses of certain Jewish Canadians on the pretext that he wanted to subpoena them, but the Canadian Security Intelligence Service was concerned it was really to give them to the white supremacists.

"Zundel was one of the most important purveyors of hate literature in the world, distributing to 42 countries since the early 1970s," MacIntosh said.

He said Zundel revelled in the notoriety that his legal battles earned him over the years. "Historian Jack Granatstein included him among the 100 most influential Canadians. Zundel knew that he was No. 43 and was very proud of it… He was a legend in his own mind, and called himself a gift to the world."

In 1991, the Supreme Court of Canada’s overturned Zundel’s conviction under legislation prohibiting "reporting false news" when the law was ruled unconstitutional.

That was "worth a million dollars in publicity," MacIntosh said.

"Zundel went on to further his career – using direct mail, the Internet, satellite TV and radio," he said. "After his acquittal, he acquired considerable cachet among the white supremacist movement, which regarded him as a patriarch."

During Zundel’s 43-day deportation trial, hits on his website grew from 650,00 to 1.2 million per month.

Nevertheless, MacIntosh contends that prosecuting hate mongers is necessary, despite the risk that their trial may provide a platform for their views.

Zundel, who was deported to Germany last March, is scheduled to be tried in November in that country on charges of denying the Holocaust and inciting hatred. MacIntosh said the Germans appear to recognize the iron-clad case against Zundel and have scheduled only five days of hearings, in contrast to the 43 days of hearings it took to get him out of Canada.

"All countries must be vigilant in the fight against hate and resolutely bring to justice those committing crimes against humanity or counselling others to do so," he said.

To prevent the spread of hatred, people from all backgrounds and walks of life must work together, MacIntosh said.

He added that education alone is not necessarily a guarantee against racism, noting that Zundel’s third wife, Ingrid Rimland, has a PhD in educational psychology, yet has posted "some of the most virulent material" on Zundel’s website.