WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18,1987, PAGE 7 PAGE SEVEN WAR CRIMES The release last Friday of the Deschenes report on Nazi war criminals in Canada left me once again wondering what our justice system is supposed to accomplish. If we believe that the system is for the protection of society, then what purpose is served by prosecuting people who have lived quiet normal lives for the last 40 years? War is not nice. War is when plain honest law-abiding citizens are handed gurls and told to go out and shoot and kill and maim - to do all the nasty things they've been taught are wrong. Up to World War I, there was a gentlemanly aspect to war at the upper levels - it was game amongst princes and all was forgiven when it was over, the territories captured were the trophies of victory, the people m'ere cannon fodder. The idea that acts committed during wartime could be con- sidered crimes is a post-World War II concept and originates with the decision of the Allies to try the senior Nazi officers at Nurem- berg. Even in this decision there was an acceptance that most acts committed by lesser officers could not be prosecuted because they were done under orders or were done in circumstances which were beyond the rule of law. The people whom the Deschenes commission feels should -be prosecuted are not proud of their past - they have hidden them very well. They were undoubtedly relieved to be able to start a new life in this country and to forget their shameful war-time records. These people are now all in their sixties and older, and have lived and worked most of their adult lives as law-abiding citizens. Why prosecute them? Would it be a deterrent? Hardly - unless we're planning another war. Or is it revenge? Collectively, people are capable of far greater acts of hateful destruction than they are as individuals. Remove the visible con- straints of law and order and people behave very differently. Remember the fr.enzied violence that followed a police strike in New Brunswick a few years ago. Wartime is the same except that governments condone the violence and channel it against the enemy. By relentless repetition of his Aryan master-race theories, Hitler successfully channelled his own warped ideas into a state vendetta against the Jews, and by putting them beyond the rule of law, he encouraged ordinary people to vent their frustrations on a defen- celess people without fear of reprisal. Six million people later, the war was over. As individuals, the Jewish people are as generous and kind and forgiving as any - as a group and as a nation, they have proven to be vengeful and unrelenting. Self-styled Nazi-hunters continue to pur- sue aging bush-league Nazis who were probably as relieved as we were that the war was over. When it comes to solid facts leading to prosecutions, there have been very few. In Canada their charges led to the creation of the Deschenes commission and $4 million later we have a recommendation that 20 people could be prosecuted but only if we ammend the criminal code first. We do not know the identity of these people nor the nature of their crimes - we do know that they have lived peacefully in this country for many years and represent no risk. The exter- mination of six million people is not to be forgotten and the Holocaust has become part of our collective twentieth century guilt, yet what wil we gain by prosecuting these people? - very lit- tle except for the reopening of old ethnic wounds. Playing alongside the Deschenes commission has been the Johr Demjanjuk trial in Israel. The Israeli government had him ex- tradited from the United States last year in the belief that he was the Ukrainian guard known as Ivan the Terrible at the Treblinka death camp. So far witnesses have described Ivan's crimes in gruesome detail and when asked to identify the defendant have done so with great emotion. How seriously these identifications can be taken after more than 40 years is what the court will have to decide. Whether Demjanjuk can get a fair decision in this emotionally charged situation is a question which may linger for years after the trial is over. Similar problems might easily emerge in any war crimes trials in this country. Identities based on faded photos, foggy memories and quite possibly forged documents is only part of the problem. Defining war crimes is another. Killing is a crime.in peacetime - in war it's okay as long as you do it nicely and say you're sorry - en- joying it is not okay - usually. War can warp the minds of even the most level-headed. Who's to blame - the war or the individual? Can we who were not part of it stand in judgement of those that were? The blatant character assassination of former United Nations Secretary Generel Kurt Waldheim is the kind of trial-by-media that war crimes trials would elicit. Was he a Nazi? Apparently so. Was he ashamed of his past? So much so that he denied its existence. To me there seems little doubt that his later dedication to the cause of international peace and human rights stemmed from wartime ex- periences which he wanted never to be repeated. Following his election as Chà ncellor of Austria and after the media hype had faded, an Israeli government commission concluded that there would have been no grounds to prosecute him. There were no headlines - the report was buried i the back pages of the national press. We tend to forget that racism, bigotry and repression were the norm before World War II. Anti-semitism was a world-wide phenomenon, even in Canada; intolerance towards blacks or other racial minorities was entrenched i law; and things likce the forced resettling of the west coast Japanese during the war were con- sidered normal and necessary at the time. If any good can be said to have come from the Holocaust it lhas been a general revulsion towards racism and a greater respect for the human rights of al races and creeds. I recently received a phone call from a neighbor-nothing unusual - but the fact this person was looking for help took me by surprise. We have recently moved to the new subdivision just south of the A&P Mall, on Thickson Rd., and after discussing our mutual horrors of moving and late closings, etc., she went on to explain her dilemma. This new familyto Whitby bought a home which backed onto a beautiful field and cedar groves. They knew that apartments were planned for the area, but they were never told that an eight-storey, non- profit high rise was to be placed just 10 metres from their back property line. The only thing bet- ween their property and the actual building will be the driveway ramp - there is no room for landscaping at all. I explained to my neighbor that a number of area residents made their concerns known last summer but, unfortunately, neither the Town of Whitby nor the Region responded to them. This apartment is being placed on land which slopes dramatically from north to south and from east to west; it is squeezed between residential properties and a hydro corridor; this apartrhent will block their view and place entire homes in shadow from the early afternoon onward. The truth of the matter is that our local fire officials, originally, ex- pressed concerns about this high rise, but none of this seemed to matter to our Town planners. At a recent meeting with our local school trustees, they were com- pletely unaware of this develop- ment. As a result the new Ken- dalwood school will be built without proper accommodation. None of these concerns have been ad- dressed by our local represen- tatives - they just approve of this kind of developnient regardless of the ramifications. I advised my neighbor to contact Joe Drumm, east ward councillor, and to rmake her concerns known to him. Apparently she had already done that and Mr. Drumm ex- pressed his concern and dislike for this development. After my uncon- trollable laughter, I explained to my neighbor that our councillor voted in favour of this apartment and did not support any of our con- cerns. Needless to say, she was confused and discouraged. I went on and explained the funny little games that have taken place bet- ween our local government and developers at certain times. Thèn we both started to laugh. The whole idea of paying taxes and electing people to represent our concerns and then to be silly enough to pay them well the whole conversation deteriorated into gails of laughter. Since that conversation took place, I have had time to think and to get angry. This subdivision is not fully occupied yet, and already people are concerned and upset. It makes me angry to meet a new neighbor for the first time and to have our conversation revolve around local politics and crummy development· - and yet hasn't this become the rule rather than the ex- ception in the Town of Whitby? Knowing that those 60-foot cedars will soon be plowed under in order to make room for an apartment building to house people for six months before they move, it somehow seems wrong to me. Rather than making stable neigh- borhoods with natural beauty, the trend is to pack them in as tight as possible and to destroy anything that gets in the way. No, I do not see this apartment as a solution for housing the poor. I could see non-profit townhouses as a possible solution in that location. However, the problems that are always associated with any high rise will be transferred onto the residents of this apartment. The last thing that the underprivileged need is more problems. As I stated earlier,' this sub- division is not yet fully occupied nor has the apartment been started, and already the controversy has begun. Perhaps our town planners and politicians should be asking what problem does this kind of develop- ment solve - or does it create more? A concerned resident, Dennis Fox, Whitby Big Sisters To the editor: On behalf of Big Sisters o'f Newcastle-Oshawa-Whitby we wish to thank you and your staff for the excellent coverage our agency received during our annual Big Sister Week. The publicity your newspaper gives us greatly helps in our efforts to reach out- to young girls who would profit from participating in our program. Yours truly, Carol Rhodes Executive Director Big Sisters N.O.W. Monte Carlo Night To the editor: The Monte Carlo committee at the Whitby General Hospital would like to thank area businesses for their support and contributions to t he Feb. 28 Monte Carlo Night. Yours sincerely. Glorja Tuck Chairperson Monte Carlo Connittee W\O-ME GUY 4kfl-«T/iE IIýA EYE i A Matter o Opinion, This space has been set aside for well-developed comments on issues of local concern. Articles of preferably 700 - 1000 words may be submitted bY any concerned individuals whether politician or private citizen. Send to the attention of the editor a Box 206. Whitb. Ont. LI N N5SI. or leave ai the Free Press of- fice ai 131 Brock St. N. High rise isn't the answer