Institute for Historical Review

The 'False News' Trial of Ernst Zündel -- 1988

Witnesses for the Prosecution

Diana Mendl

[Diana Mendl was the third witness called by the Crown. She testified on February 4, 1988.]

Diana Mendl was a supervisor of the radio program archives and music library for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). The archive maintained tapes of programs which went on the air, firstly, as a record for the history of Canada as portrayed by the CBC and, secondly, as a resource for reuse in other programs such as current affairs news programming. (8-1615-16)

On January 7, 1988, in response to a search warrant, Mendl provided Sgt. John Luby with two duplicate tapes of the Christof Friedrich item broadcast on "As It Happens" on February 27, 1975. The cassette copies were taken from the archives master tape number 750227-2 recorded during the broadcast. (8-1617)

On cross-examination, Mendl stated that the CBC was very reluctant to give up master tapes. The tape segment introduced in court was a tape of the broadcast itself and not necessarily a tape of the entire interview which took place. She admitted that it was "possible" that the interview had been edited and cut for the radio program. The only persons who would be privy to the circumstances of that particular interview would be Barbara Frum, the interviewee, any technicians present and the likely producer of the show, Mark Starowicz. (8-1619, 1620; tape of the "As It Happens" segment filed as Exhibit 5.)