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Keyserlingk Introduction

Robert H. Keyserlingk was diagnosed with mesothelioma (asbestos-related cancer) in 2007 and died on 08Dec2009 as explained at http://www.canadianasbestosexports.ca/ by his wife, Michaela. He wrote his Ph.D. at the London School of Economics after he had served as a Canadian Foreign Service Officer in Bonn and London and taught history at the University of Ottawa from 1964 to 1993. Four of his books, as found on the Internet,
- Austria in World War II: An Anglo-American dilemma
- Breaking Ground: The 1956 Hungarian Refugee Movement to Canada
- Media Manipulation: The press and Bismark in imperial Germany
- Invisible Austria: Canada's View 1938 - 1959
indicate an intimate knowledge of the conditions in Central and Eastern Europe following WWII and especially of immigration of refugees to Canada. Dr. Keyserlingk's overseas experience as a Foreign Service Officer in the Department of Citizenship and Immigration stationed during the 1950s and early 1960s in Germany and the UK led him to be skeptical of the government’s claim regarding security screening’s integrity.

Dr. Keyserlingk became familiar with the denaturalization and deportation trial of Wasyl Odynsky, prepared a report on the issue of Canadian immigration security screening of WWII refugees and was willing to testify as an expert witness on behalf of Mr. Odynsky at the trial. He even attended the court proceedings on 26Apr1999. Unfortunately, the attorneys of Mr. Odynsky, Mr. Marrocco and Mr. Armstrong, decided not to use his expertise to challenge the "politically correct" testimony of the "expert witnesses" for the prosecution. In my opinion, this was a critical mistake, which negatively affected the verdict in the Odynsky and various other d&d trials.

[The carefully cultivated perception that the conduct of Canadian soldiers and personnel during WWII and in post-war Europe was exemplary is a myth. View the original uneditted version of the documentary "The Valour and the Horror" by Brian McKenna (1992) for a more realistic understanding of the realities. On a plane trip with my wife, Lily, circa 1990, we entered into a conversation with a gentleman, who was part of the occupation forces in the British-occupied zone of Germany post WWII. He cheerfully described how he and his buddies ran a very profitable black market operation for the benefit of both themselves and the surrounding local population.]

Before his death on 02Oct2004, Eugene Harasymiw had arranged to publish an updated version of Dr. Keyserlingk's report as one of five articles in his proposed book "Justice Defiled" on denaturalization and deportation. Unfortunately, the original editor, Craig Mahovsky, moved to Calgary and the succeeding editior, Jars Balan, procrastinated such that the book has not been published to the present day. We have converted the original Microsoft Word document into an html file (with minor editting and 199 "clickable" footnotes) and are publishing it on our website WillZuzak.ca.

In addition, we are providing chronological links to many articles and letters-to-editor in various newspapers archived on the Odynsky (Oberlander) page.

Finally, we are archiving some Email correspondence received from Dr. Keyserlingk and his wife, Michaela.

To conclude, the Ukrainian Canadian community owes a debt of gratitude to Robert H. Keyserlingk for his realistic assessment of immigration screening and the d&d process. He was an outstanding individual and his life was a credit to Canadians and humanity. May his soul rest in peace. Vichna yomu pamiat!

Will Zuzak; 2012.08.26

Robert and Michaela Keyserlingk
Robert and Michaela Keyserlingk