Notorious neo-Nazi Ernst Zundel dies in Germany

BERLIN – German authorities say far-right activist Ernst Zundel, who was convicted of Holocaust denial in Mannheim after his deportation from Canada, has died. He was 78.

Marina Lahmann, a spokeswoman for the community of Bad Wildbad in Baden-Wuerttemberg where Zundel lived, told The Associated Press on Monday he died over the weekend but she had no further information. His wife was quoted by media in Canada as saying he had died of a heart attack on Sunday.

Born in Germany in 1939, Zundel emigrated to Canada in 1958 and rose to nationwide notoriety for his neo-Nazi beliefs and writings, including “The Hitler We Loved and Why.”

He was deported in 2005 from Canada and convicted in 2007 of Holocaust denial, a crime in Germany. He was released from prison in 2010.