Martin K. Weiche's Nazi House
Our First Reckless Adventure – Martin K. Weiche’s Nazi
House
A Historical Review & Urban Exploration By: JQ. Stanley
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |
I: Introduction
Our city has its fair share of interesting locations for urban exploring, and coincidentally, we all live in close proximity to one of London's more well-known abandoned locations - the Old Psychiatric Hospital.
In the early days, we would roam the abandoned hospital grounds late at night, armed with spirit box apps and a thirst for a paranormal encounter - which indeed we found on more than one occasion. I will write a future post about the game of One Man Hide and Seek that we played there with a Voodoo doll one dark and terrorizing night. But I digress.
After visiting the abandoned Hospital a few times, we began to research other strange and unusual locations that we could explore.
We soon found information pertaining to a property infamously nicknamed 'The Nazi House'. Built by the former President of the Canadian National Socialist Party - Martin Karl Weiche.
It was built in tribute to the Fuhrer himself, and thus made to resemble Adolf Hitler's alpine retreat, the Berghof. We knew we had to go on an adventure to investigate this evil place.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
II: Early Life and Career Beginnings
Born on January 6th, 1921 in Lebus, Germany, Martin K. Weiche would eventually become obsessed with the tenants of Nation Socialism. He joined the German Army during World War II and after the war, eventually immigrated to Canada in 1951 under Youth Amnesty.
As a new Canadian citizen, he made a living for himself in real estate by buying up cheap houses, and then flipping them for a profit after quick renovations. He eventually amassed enough money to be able to form his own company, Weiche Apartments Ltd.. He then went on to construct several apartment buildings from the span of 1957 to 1965, in both the cities of London and Sarnia.
Weiche began his career in outspoken political rhetoric in 1965 after reading an autographed copy of Mein Kampf by Hitler. This eventually lead to the London Free Press labelling the effective developer, a “Nazi.
In 1967 Weiche purchased a 12-acre plot of land in Hyde Park, London, Ontario on Gainsborough Road – this would eventually be the site of his ‘Berghof’ headquarters. However, real estate would not be nearly enough for Martin K. Weiche.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weiche first conceived of the architectural tribute when he was POW in Holland, during the Second World War.
He would eventually create a
series of shell companies to protect the property over the years, and in one
legal document wrote, “The house is well built to normal building standard in
Canada and should stand up for generations.”
Throughout the 1970s, Weiche ran several unsuccessful political campaigns for leadership as an independent, pushing the platform of National Socialism. This included a failed bid to become mayor of London in 1976. It seemed to be of little effort for Weiche to make headlines.
After having benefited well from his real estate development business,Weiche
sold his apartment properties, and eventually retired a wealthy man in 1980 to
withdraw completely into his beloved 12-acre 'Berghof'.
That same year, he formed his own political party, and declared himself its leader as President of the Canadian National Socialist Party.
He was then invited by Sarnia radio station CHOK for a subsequent interview.
This scheduled appearance was immediately denounced by the public, and quickly cancelled. This did very little to prevent a massive protest from erupting in front of the radio station between the Conference Against Racist and Fascist Violence and various Weiche supporters.
The demonstrations inevitably resulted in Weiche receiving a $300 fine for causing a disturbance. The following is text from a contemporaneous article in The Globe and Mail which documented the clashes.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Melee erupts at protest over planned talk show
Saturday, October 11, 1980
SARNIA ON -- SARNIA (CP) - Two people were arrested and several others injured when rival political groups clashed over the scheduled appearance of a Canadian National Socialist Party member on a radio talk show. Shortly before the program was to begin, CHOK cancelled the appearance of Martin Weiche of London, Ont., because of public complaints. But a group calling itself the Conference Against Racist and Fascist Violence had assembled at the station to protest against Mr. Weiche's appearance. Police said a melee broke out and at least two people were injured when National Socialist Party members mounted a counter-protest.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IV: Financing The Bayou of Pigs - Operation Red Dog
The following year, Weiche was identified as a major financial contributor to Operation Red Dog. The movement, which ultimately failed, was a white supremacist plot to stage a coup against the government of the small Caribbean island of Dominica.
A long-time KKK member, Michael Perdue was introduced to Heritage Front leader, Wolfgang Droege, by the prominent American racist, David Duke.
Working together, Droege and Purdue initially concocted a plot to overthrow the government of Grenada, set up businesses with ties to white supremacy, and establish a whites only, Aryan colony. Purdue later changed the target of the coup to Dominica instead, and with his willing support, planned to reinstall former Dominican President, Patrick John to power.
In February of 1981, the captain and crew of the boat that was to be used in the covert operation backed out. This unforeseen setback lead Perdue to approach a former Vietnam War veteran, Michael S. Howell, in an attempt to use his boat under the pretense of CIA necessity. Howell sensed something was afoot, and contacted the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms to intervene.
On April 27th, Perdue, along with 10 other co-conspirators, was arrested at a marina near New Orleans, just as they were setting out for Dominica.
In June at the subsequent trial hearing, Perdue revealed the names of the failed operation's major financial contributors. One of whom, J.W., Kirkpatrick committed suicide shortly after being outed.
Among the names Perdue mentioned, was a "Martin Winch" from Ottawa, Ontario. Perdue alleged that "Winch" provided him with a $10,000 contribution through middle-man, and former leader of the white supremacist group Western Guard, Don Andrews.
Although, Weiche admitted that Perdue had reached out to him via telephone about a potential plot, now referred to in the press as "The Bayou of Pigs", he vehemently denied any direct involvement in the operation, and doubled down on his claims in this subsequent interview.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
V: Later Years and Family Legal Troubles
In 1986, Weiche changed the name of his company to ‘Weiche Estates Inc.’
After three previously failed marriages and nine children, Weiche was wed to his final wife, Jeannet Weiche in 1991. Divorce court documents from 1987 reveal that during the proceedings of a previous marriage dissolution, Weiche told the judge, “I’m a Nazi, not a lunatic.”
An unknown event occurred in 1992, which resulted in a $1.3-million personal injury lawsuit being filed against Weiche, one his sons – Gregory, and the entirety of Weiche Estates Inc. In an effort to protect the property from a potentially successful verdict, Weiche sold the estate to himself, via an unnamed numbered company in 1998. He would eventually rename the company Weiche Apartments Ltd. which was the name of his very first company.
By 1993, Weiche had acquired plenty of notoriety from his extreme racism, and the frequent cross burnings that he allowed on his property. On May 8th of that year, Weiche hosted yet another rally, only drawing increasingly ireful attention from members of the provincial government and local community. In the days that followed, The Toronto Star wrote an article describing the rally and ensuing push for anti-hate legislation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The province is considering tougher anti-hate laws in the wake of a Ku Klux Klan cross burning in London on the weekend, Citizenship Minister Elaine Ziemba says.
"There are several areas of amendments we are now looking at," Ziemba said in an interview. "We have been monitoring other jurisdictions outside of Ontario to see how their laws could be brought into Ontario and to see if they would work here."
Bernie Farber of the Canadian Jewish Congress said the only effective way to end such potent displays of hatred is to tighten provincial laws.
"This is the first time I have heard the province acknowledge the need for this legislation," Farber said. "But they don't have to reinvent the wheel. Now that she sees the need, we want to know when it will happen. We want a date."
Ziemba was reacting to a cross-burning attended Saturday night by more than 40 men, women and children, many of them in white robes and conical hats associated with the violent hate group.
Klan members burned five crosses, including one about nine metres (30 feet) on the property of Martin Weiche,1 of London, Ont.
The German-born Weiche is described in two books on the ultra- right as former head of the National Socialist party and the Nazi party in Canada and a member of the Hitler Youth Movement.
Even in New Jersey, which has one of the toughest anti-hate crime laws in the United States, it would be hard to prosecute those involved in the weekend cross- burning because they were on private property, says that state's attorney-general, Robert Del Tufo, who was in town yesterday.
Del Tufo and top New Jersey law officials were in Metro to highlight local efforts to combat racially motivated crimes, and met Metro police services board chairperson Susan Eng, police Chief William McCormack and Attorney-General Marion Boyd.
Del Tufo has set up the United States' first statewide unit to combat racially motivated crime.
In addition, New Jersey has recently passed a statute giving victims a civil remedy against those who commit racially motivated crimes, Del Tufo said.
"One element is very important: to put people on notice that we're going to prosecute them if we can catch them and we're going to have a very strong law enforcement process," he said.
At the very least, the state would thoroughly investigate any cross-burning incident similar to the one in London, said Robert Winter, New Jersey's director of public safety.
A spokesperson for the Ontario Provincial Police said they were aware of events like the one at Hyde Park. Police would investigate only on a complaint and they had not received any complaints about Saturday's event, the spokesperson said.
Ziemba said the province will consider amendments to the Human Rights Code that would prohibit cross-burnings and other racist acts.
The citizenship ministry is responsible for race relations in the province. Ministry officials enacted the Ontario Human Rights code, which is enforced by the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
Police in London and local community groups are working closely with her ministry's anti-racism secretariat to see what can be done about the situation locally, Ziemba said.
Ziemba said there is concern that any new human rights legislation not be in conflict with Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
But Farber said other provinces have enacted strong human rights legislation that could stop cross-burnings on private property, without Charter challenges.
Seemingly absolved of any criminal involvement in Operation Red Dog, and now acting as leader of the dying Nationalist Party, in 1994, Don Andrews attempted to begin a movement to officially recognize a European Heritage Day.
A year later, when addressing the request for a Gay Pride Week, the London City Council deferred any decisions on “Heritage Days” to specific committees. Thus, Andrews worked to establish a European Heritage Week Committee with Weiche’s full support.
When the committee was unrecognized by the London City Council in 1998 due to its racist origins, Weiche filed a complaint against the municipality with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. He asserted that the Council was discriminating against his European descent. Ultimately the provincial Human Rights Commission dismissed his claim, stating that the committee promoted racism and homophobia, and was therefore irredeemable.
In 1995, Weiche was convicted of assault and fined $500 for breaking the window of a car with a baseball bat. He became enraged when he found one of his teenage sons with a girl in the car smoking. When reflecting upon his trial, he complained that the Crown in the court prosecuting him was a “high-priced Jewish” lawyer. As he stormed out of the courtroom he told the judge “Thanks for nothing.”
Weiche’s disrepute arose again in a 2000 article from NOW Magazine. The story was covering white supremacist and Western Guard member Paul Fromm and a testimony he was giving at a Human Rights Tribunal in defense of a racist website.
One of the sources mentioned in the article was fellow Western Guard associate and frequent colleague of Weiche, Don Andrews. The excerpt from NOW Magazine detailing Weiche’s involvement in Fromm’s affairs can be read below.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...But call Don Andrews, another old friend of Fromm’s from the Western Guard, and the plot thickens.
He says Fromm has several benefactors, not to mention the support of a former developer of some means down the 401 in London.
He’s referring to Martin Weiche.
Weiche comes across on the phone as someone who doesn’t mince his words, but he’s reluctant to give a straight answer when asked if he’s one of Fromm’s financial backers. “I haven’t got him in my will,” says Weiche. “I’m not signed out yet.”
It seems Weiche opened his cheque book to Fromm a few times in the past. Now, though, he has apparently soured on him. Weiche says, “He doesn’t have the guts” to tell it like it really is. The “Nazi scare,” Fromm wants to prove, was whipped up by said “agents for the Canadian Jewish Congress,” all the better to force the passage of anti-hate laws.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In 2005, a technological milestone was achieved with the launch of Google Earth; an interactive map of the planet, pieced together using various satellite imagery.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Through his closeness with the Weiche’s, Kellestine grew many connections with various extreme-right wing groups throughout Canada, and was inspired to replicate the ‘Berghof’s’ swastika by carving one into his own field.
When an anti-gay group called Bikers Against Pedophiles, which claimed that homosexuality was pedophilic in nature, was created by David Weiche, Kellestine quickly joined and became a fervent member. The two of them would dutifully protest against Gay Pride Day every June, yelling out anti-gay slurs and other hateful rhetoric.
In his club role, Kellestine was responsible for discipline and insuring adhesion to the club rules.
One month plus a day after their meeting in Vancouver, the massacre of the No Surrender Crew would be completed at Kellestine’s rural farm property. Based on David Weiche’s obviously close ties to the murderous Kellestine, the London Free Press reached out to his Nazi father, Weiche the elder, for comment.
THE BANDITOS MASSACRE: Father urges biker to hide
Patrick Maloney with files from Randy Richmond April 14, 2006
The London Free Press
A local Bandidos associate who recently moved to Winnipeg should "disappear" for a while following last week's massacre, his worried, white-supremacist father says.
David Weiche, described by one London biker as "the right-hand man" of Bandidos massacre murder suspect Wayne Kellestine, should keep a low profile, his father Martin Weiche, a noted London neo-Nazi, warned.
"If I was David . . . I'd go and hide," Martin Weiche told The Free Press, adding his son moved to Winnipeg about three months ago.
"I would quickly disappear for a few weeks. The murderers are still out there."
Kellestine's link to Weiche has been strengthened by their work in the group Bikers Against Pedophiles (BAP). According to its website, Weiche founded the group and a widely published photo of Kellestine shows him wearing a BAP T-shirt.
Kellestine, known to keep Nazi collectibles in his farmhouse, also has a strong white supremacist streak.
He's appeared as a protester at a Gay Pride parade in London, waving a Confederate flag.
The Weiche connection marks the first time other London bikers have been linked to Kellestine, who, sources say, was trying to create a Southwestern Ontario chapter.
It also adds two new layers to the mystery surrounding the murders of eight Bandidos bikers and associates near Shedden last weekend:
First, were the killers somehow linked to Winnipeg?
Second, one of the slain men, Jamie Flanz, grew up Jewish and had a Jewish funeral -- begging questions about how he got along with Kellestine, a man with a swastika mown into his lawn.
Los Montoneros, a puppet club of the Bandidos, first popped up on the Winnipeg media's radar this month after a police bust, suggesting the group could be a new entity.
A theory has since emerged that Bandido bosses in the U.S. might have ordered Los Montoneros -- which means "the wolf pack" -- to take down the eight Ontario Bandidos.
Five burly men from Winnipeg were in this area with Kellestine days before the massacre.
David Weiche moved to Winnipeg "about three months ago" because he couldn't find work in the "cement business," his father says. Free Press attempts to find him were unsuccessful.
There's no evidence David Weiche is linked to Los Montoneros.
Winnipeg police refused to discuss Weiche yesterday.
To one expert, the hard-core parts of the biker and white-supremacist cultures tend to have a lot of overlapping members. That, he added, is no coincidence.
"(There's an) element of violence and intimidation that I think brings the two organizations together," said Helmut-Harry Loewen, a University of Winnipeg sociologist. "That makes (white supremacists) a potential recruitment pool for the biker culture."
In the preamble to the Berghof Estate Inc. company bylaws, he wrote that the sole purpose of the company was to hold and manage the property for the extended Weiche family and to “have a permanent family address.” He suggested that those in the family with “direct blood lines” to him should live there, or someone adopted or raised in the family or married. “Excluding same-sex marriages”. If no family member was willing to live in the house, he decreed that the home be turned over to a charity “like the Salvation Army of Canada to be used as home for pregnant females or a similar purpose”
Five months later, in 2007, in what would be his final will, Weiche appointed his wife, Jeannet his sole executor and trustee. Then in 2009, he transferred Berghof Estate Inc., to yet another company, ‘The Berghof Inc.’. This time however, he left the company and its shares solely to Jeannet. His children would inherit nothing.
The final living testimony from Weiche would come a year later in November, when he presented Jeannet with a hand-written letter. He instructed her to give the letter to his children “if they caused trouble.” In this final letter he wrote:
“If am (sic) dead I (sic) have Nothing to give
you. . . . You are all old enough to have your own stuff”
During his final months, Weiche finished writing his book of memoirs, which he entitled “I Did Not Die for the Fuhrer”.
On September 2nd, 2011, Martin K. Weiche died at London’s University Hospital at the age of 90 from kidney failure. His death would immediately result in a feud over who was rightfully entitled to the ‘Berghof’
Shortly after his death, the press reached out to Weiche’s son, Alan for comment.
The elderly Weiche also recently finished a book about his life, his upbringing and his time as a Nazi soldier.
"I wouldn't say he felt angry anymore, but he was still disturbed ... about the system," Alan said.
A large backwards swastika - which drew international attention to London with the launch of Google Earth - remains cut into a field behind Martin Weiche's home.
"It's more like a Sanskrit swastika," Alan Weiche said. "He called it his peace symbol."
The elder Weiche died of natural causes after his kidneys failed, his son said.
Though Alan Weiche insisted his dad was not a racist because he rented apartments to people of many racial backgrounds and once had a Chinese tenant for Christmas dinner, he agreed Martin Weiche spent a great deal of energy protesting multiculturalism.
Weiche's white supremacist beliefs were not well received in Canada, his son said.
"In school, we were picked on a lot. As a young man, there were times in my early 20s, I could be pulled over three times a day. There was a lot of harassment and telephone calls..."
It was the phone calls that eventually broke up his parents' marriage, Alan said. His mom wanted her husband to stop being so outspoken, but he would not back down.
Martin Weiche was married four times. Once in Germany, with one child, before he divorced and married Alan Weiche's mom Lina, with whom he shares seven children. They divorced and he married and had one child with Christa Weiche before they divorced and Martin Weiche married Jeannet.
"We're all coming to grips with (his death) now," said Alan Weiche, a tower crane operator who lives in Huron County…
…Alan Weiche said he and most of his siblings share their father's social views and they are planning a memorial service for Sept. 17.
"When you lose an influence like that, you kind of realize that you're on your own."
The London Free Press detailed the ensuing legal battle, seen here
They also say they didn’t know their father dissolved the original family company in 2009.
At stake, is the property the sons say is worth $1.2 million that should be developed as their father said he wanted in the 1980s.
The brothers want the court to declare the 2004 property transfer was “fraudulent.” In their statement of claim, they’re seeking an injunction to stop the defendants from doing anything with the property and want a court declaration that Berhof Estate Inc. holds the title in trust for the family.
The case is still before the courts, and none of the allegations has been proven.
Jeannet, Martin’s fourth spouse and partner since 1991, in court documents has denied all the allegations. She maintains the property is worth about $477,000. She claims it was her husband’s wish to cut out his kids and leave her to manage his beloved estate.
“I completely and utterly reject any allegation that Martin or I have participated in or perpetrated or knew of any fraud,” she wrote in her affidavit filed in court.
“What Jacob and Alan Weiche are attempting to do is to participate in or benefit from the property accumulated and maintained by their father, Martin Weiche, when it was Martin Weiche’s desire that they not benefit or participate in the estate.”
The squabble over the deceased Nazi’s possessions comes as no surprise to lawyer and commentator Warren Kinsella, a Sun Media columnist who’s written books about Canada’s far right.
He said Nazis “are telling a lie about history about the Holocaust and about race and about Jews and gays and people that they hate.
“They tell lies about all of it, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody that they get convoluted and dishonest about the disposition of their personal affairs,” he said.
Kinsella, who’s written about Martin, said the London Nazi was seen as “the bank roller of the far right in Ontario.”
The paranoia and distrust in the Nazi movement often extends to their inner circle.
“Basically, they try to continue their hateful life in death,” Kinsella said.
Jacob, cross-examined by Jeannet’s lawyer, said his father began thinking in the 1980s about developing the property and produced architectural drawings showing it cut into seven residential lots. But Middlesex County wouldn’t allow the rezoning and Martin threatened to build a pig barn, he said. The zoning remains in question, but Jacob said there was always a chance that could change.
“That’s why I’m here, waiting for that moment that I can pursue that as well and live the dream my father envisioned for the property,” he said.
Both sons say they didn’t know about their father’s business dealings — something Jeannet says isn’t true, and that they were kept abreast of everything — including a subsequent company name change from Weiche Apartments Ltd. to The Berghof Estate.
Jeannet said it was Martin’s decision not to give the sons shares in the new company.
“Martin Weiche advised me on a number of occasions that he was very disappointed with his sons, Jacob and Alan,” Jeannet said in her affidavit.
Jeannet Weiche and her lawyer declined to speak to The Free Press.
Alan Weiche was contacted. “Everything is in the court right now, so there should be no comment at this time,” he said.
Jacob Weiche, and the lawyer for the two brothers, couldn’t be reached for comment.
Throughout the entirety of the legal battle, Jeannet
was still renting out several of the apartments contained within the ‘Berghof’s’
sweeping walls.
Little is known about how lawsuit eventually played out, but on June 3rd, 2015, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills met with two lawyers representing Jacob and Alan Weiche.
It was the goal of the lawyers to have the committee vote to reinstate Weiche Estates Inc. as a valid company, capable of representing itself in trial. This would provide legitimacy to their claims that their father had fraudulently transferred it to another legal entity.
A transcript of the committee’s meeting was recorded for posterity. Here are some of the more relevant excerpts from how the legal battle unfolded.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Chair (MPP for Halton (L), Ms.
Indira Naidoo-Harris):
"Next up, we’re looking at Bill Pr21, An Act to revive Weiche Estates Inc. If I could ask the sponsor and the applicant to please come up and take a seat. We are now considering Bill Pr21, An Act to revive Weiche Estates Inc. If the sponsor could please introduce herself and also the applicants."
MPP for Cambridge (L), Mrs. Kathryn
McGarry:
"Kathryn McGarry, MPP for Cambridge."
Mr. Paul Downs:
"My name is Paul Downs. I’m a lawyer for the applicant."
Ms. Paula Downs:
"I’m Paula Downs, a lawyer for the applicant."
The Chair (MPP for Halton (L), Ms.
Indira Naidoo-Harris):
"Thank you very much. I’d like to ask the sponsor if she
has any comments."
MPP for Cambridge (L), Mrs. Kathryn
McGarry:
"The lawyers are here on behalf of their applicants to try
to revive a private corporation that was dissolved by their father some years
back. They’re seeking to revive this. I think I will have their lawyers explain
some of the background behind this private bill."
The Chair (MPP for Halton (L), Ms.
Indira Naidoo-Harris):
"Does the applicant have any comments, the lawyer?"
Mr. Paul Downs:
"Chair and members of the committee, the reason that
Weiche Estates Inc. is being sought to be revived is because the dissolution of
the corporation rendered the corporation a non-entity. Because the corporation
no longer exists, it cannot participate as a party in litigation.
The corporation was dissolved in 2009 by Martin Weiche, who was the late father of Jacob Weiche, the applicant, and his brother, Alan Weiche. Martin Weiche’s wife was Jeannet Weiche; she was the stepmother of Alan and Jacob.
There were a couple of companies: Weiche Estates Inc., the company that was dissolved, and there was another family company, of which Mrs. Weiche owned most of the shares—the controlling shares, in any event. There was a transfer from one corporation to the other whereby the main asset of Weiche Estates Inc.—a property, a 12.5-acre parcel in the city of London with a large residence on it—was transferred to Mrs. Weiche’s company from the company that Jacob and Alan had shares in, for $16,000, at a time when the property was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. So we started the lawsuit on behalf of the corporation to get the property back, and also on behalf of Alan and Jacob Weiche, advancing different claims.
In response to that argument on the motion before Mr. Justice Leach, I took the position that the court could make an order to set aside the dissolution of the corporation when the matter went to trial or on an earlier motion, or the company could simply be revived. Then, under the Business Corporations Act, the revival of the corporation has the effect of retroactively restoring the company to its status as it was on the date of the dissolution. Therefore, the company would be deemed to never have not existed and it could carry on with its lawsuit.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Chair (MPP for Halton (L), Ms.
Indira Naidoo-Harris):
"Okay. Actually, my
apologies—further comments or questions from other committee members? I meant
to proceed with our routine of questions and comments. Go ahead, MPP French."
MPP for Oshawa (NDP), Ms. Jennifer K.
French:
"Quite frankly, I feel a bit uncomfortable in this
proceeding. I’ll just get that on the record. Am I to understand that one of
the individuals, this Jacob Weiche, who’s the son of—"
Mr. Paul Downs:
"Martin Weiche."
MPP for Oshawa (NDP), Ms. Jennifer K.
French:
"—Martin Weiche, this is originally his company, was
actually involved in the transferring of the property in question, of the land?"
Mr. Paul Downs:
"That is a hotly contested issue."
MPP for Oshawa (NDP), Ms. Jennifer K.
French:
"I can understand why."
Mr. Paul Downs:
"Pardon?"
MPP for Oshawa (NDP), Ms. Jennifer K.
French:
" I can understand
why."
Mr. Paul Downs:
"The reason is, we say—and the evidence at trial of my
clients will be—that they did not get notice of the meetings where these acts
took place; that they did not even know the property had been transferred until
after they retained me and I did a sub-search of the property. All of that is a
matter for the trial judge to hear all the evidence and decide all of those
issues."
MPP for Oshawa (NDP), Ms. Jennifer K.
French:
"But fundamentally, we’re looking at undoing something
that was done by the original, shall I say, owner?"
Mr. Paul Downs:
"One of the shareholders of the corporation at that time,
and I believe that he was a very minor shareholder when the dissolution
occurred."
MPP for Oshawa (NDP), Ms. Jennifer K. French:
"Martin Weiche was a minor shareholder at the time."
Mr. Paul Downs:
"Yes, he was a minor shareholder—that’s my
recollection—when the dissolution took place."
MPP for Oshawa (NDP), Ms. Jennifer K.
French:
"Okay."
Mr. Paul Downs:
"He was the one who signed the articles of dissolution and
made the application to dissolve the corporation."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Chair (MPP for Halton (L), Ms.
Indira Naidoo-Harris):
"Are we ready to proceed with the vote? All right. In the case of Bill Pr21, An Act to revive Weiche Estates Inc., shall section 1 carry? Carried. Shall section 2 carry? Carried. Shall section 3 carry? Carried. Shall the preamble carry? Carried. Shall the title carry? Carried. Shall the bill carry?"
MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook (PC), Mr. Tim Hudak:
"Recorded vote."
The Chair (MPP for Halton (L), Ms.
Indira Naidoo-Harris):
"I’m sorry; I heard—recorded vote?"
MPP for Eglinton-Lawrence (L), Mr. Mike Colle:
"We’re in the middle of a vote. We can’t have a recorded
vote. You’ve got to call before the vote takes place."
MPP for Oshawa (NDP), Ms. Jennifer K.
French:
"My question is, quite honestly, if I can abstain and how
I would go about that."
MPP for Eglinton-Lawrence (L), Mr. Mike Colle:
"You’re in the middle of a vote."
The Chair (MPP for Halton (L), Ms.
Indira Naidoo-Harris):
"We’re in the middle of a vote. Yes, thank you very much.
We are in the middle of the vote. I did ask, “Shall the bill carry?”"
MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook (PC), Mr. Tim Hudak:
"And I said “recorded vote.”"
The Chair (MPP for Halton (L), Ms.
Indira Naidoo-Harris):
"I will recognize your recorded vote. We will have a
recorded vote. Shall the bill carry?"
Bailey (PC), Colle (L), Kwinter (L), Mangat (L), McGarry (L), Vernile (L):
"Ayes"
The Chair (MPP for Halton (L), Ms.
Indira Naidoo-Harris):
"Shall I report the bill to the House?"
MPP for Niagrara West-Glanbrook (PC), Mr. Tim Hudak:
"Chair?"
The Chair (MPP for Halton (L), Ms.
Indira Naidoo-Harris):
"MPP Hudak."
MPP for Niagara West-Glanbrook (PC), Mr. Tim Hudak:
"Sorry, Chair. I was trying to get your attention before
the vote. I just wanted to make this point, and maybe one of my colleagues
wants to join me. I just don’t feel that I have enough information to vote on
this. My colleagues opposite feel they do, and they wanted to proceed with a
vote, and voted according to their judgment. I just wanted, for the record, to
indicate that I don’t think we had enough material at committee to make a
proper judgment. Given that the vote has taken place, I decided to abstain from
the vote because I don’t think we had information to make a proper decision."
The Chair (MPP for Halton (L), Ms.
Indira Naidoo-Harris):
"Thank you very much for your comments, MPP Hudak. All
right. Shall I report the bill to the House? Agreed."
The committee then sent the bill to the Ontario House of Representatives where it was passed and signed into law. The entire process took merely nine days. Thus, Weiche Estates Inc. was reinstated as a company once more.
It is unclear what happened at the trial moving forward, and who the victor of the intense litigation was.
Following the purchase of the property by new owners, the estate at 1681 Gainsborough Road was left quietly isolated in the outskirts of London. The abandonment and dark history of the property immediately became an allure to urban explorers.
Team members, Ol’ Heff and Mo first visited the site in the summer of 2019. Here are some photos from their initial exploration (all photo credit goes to Mo), as well as a link to a video which documented the adventure (credit to Ol' Heff).
 | ||
A stone fireplace located in the rear-most room on the first floor
|
 |
| The main living room where once hung Weiche's portrait of Adolf Hitler |
 |
| A small mirror and chandelier in the poignantly wallpapered living room |
After this point, we would meander
around various other sub-apartments on the second floor, with an increasingly
stronger scent of urine meeting our noses the further we pressed on.
In one of the hallways, we made another disturbing discovery. Lying in an unkempt pile was a pair of female underwear entangled amongst strips of duct tape. We could only imagine in horror as to what may have occurred.
I noted as I explored, that the presence of mirrors in the corners of each room seemed to have increased exponentially on the second floor. In one of the rooms we entered, there was a stiffened pair of jeans that had been stuffed with old newspaper, and propped against the wall – seemingly missing its upper half.
The disembodied shuffling sounds had begun again at this point. Heff and I had narrowed it down to a particular room with what appeared to be a cubby of sorts built into the wall. Unsure if the smell of urine indicated an animal or human presence, we decided to make haste with our exploration.
After having surveyed the entirety of the second floor, the only place to go was the attic. Following a set of stairs, almost hidden at the end of a hallway, we made the climb into the dark. Halfway up the stairs, we were greeted by a massive draft of hot air that stood in stark contrast to the rest of the ‘Berghof’s’ temperature. Once we’d made our way up the stairs, we sheepishly shone our flashlights to take in the room.
The attic was at least 2 metres high, and open concept, so there was more than enough room to stand fully upright. The ceiling met at a peak, and on either side of the room, there were alcoves made by the supporting beams. In the darkness, it almost looked like at least five or ten people had been sleeping in the alcoves at one point. There was debris littered everywhere, so it was hard to determine what was simply insulation and other housing materials, verses potentially make-shift sleeping bags. The room seemed to cover roughly the same amount of space as the second floor, but we didn’t venture to far into its depths.
The attic had a very heavy feeling which was hard to explain, but made us both feel on edge. Amongst the debris, was a wooden chair, with an attaché case propped up against it.
Most strange of all, we located the missing torso of the stuffed pants from one of the rooms below us; a button-up shirt also stuffed with newspaper. It had the appearance of a human sized Voodoo doll.
More scratching noises from the second floor soon emanated up to where we stood in the attic. We looked at each other, and knew it was time to leave.
We would return to Martin K. Weiche’s ‘Berghof’ once last time in January 2020, after the first snow of winter had arrived. We didn’t know at the time, but it would be the last time we set foot inside.
The London Free Press and multiple other news outlets soon picked up on the story, and reached out to various sources for further information.
Among some of the sources were local rabbi Catharine Clark, supervisors from the demolition team, and an unnamed urban explorer.
Seen below are transcripts from
some of these articles.
New owners
knocking down home of London area Nazi
A house on the edge of London with a long history of hatred is coming
down.
Dan Brown | March 10, 2020
A house on the edge of London with a long history of hatred is coming down.
A backhoe was seen Monday and Tuesday west of Hyde Park on Gainsborough Road at the former home of Martin Weiche, the late area resident who admired Adolf Hitler.
Hitler’s home was called the Berghof, or “mountain court,” a name Weiche also used for his hilltop property that hosted cross burnings by white supremacists and had a swastika cut into a field, but in recent years had fallen into disrepair and become a favoured site of so-called urban explorers.
“I think it’s good that it’s gone. It ought to have happened so long ago,” said Rabbi Catharine Clark of Congregation Or Shalom on Huron Street in London.
“To
the best of my knowledge it’s been passed on to other owners who’ve chosen to
demolish it,” said Arnie Marsman, the director of building services and chief
building official for Middlesex Centre. “It’s no secret that there’s been
trespassers on the property and they may want to protect their liability.”
Ontario property records show the property was sold by Weiche family members to new owners in 2017 for $750,000. The new owners could not be reached for comment.
A supervisor on the scene said the house was sturdily built. So much so, the demolition crew was able to drive a skid steer onto the second floor of the home during the demolition.
“We’re going to have to demolish it differently (than other houses)” because of the concrete used in the bunker-style construction, he said…
…“There’s no place in our community for the commemoration of hate. The building’s demolition is a fitting end to Weiche’s legacy,” Clark said…
…One urban explorer, who did not want to be identified, said he was in the Weiche home less than a year ago. He said there were “swastikas carved in the walls of the back deck and a spot on the wall that remained unfaded where a portrait of Hitler once hung.”
He
said the home had been divided into separate chambers. “The whole place was
broken into apartments haphazardly, so it felt kind of maze-like. The property
was beautiful, the house, too. With a bit of work it would have been amazing.”
London's notorious 'Nazi house' is being demolished
'The Berghof' is legendary among Ontario's urban
exploring community
… A demolition crew could be seen through the property's overgrown trees Monday and Tuesday, pulling the structure down.
The property has become famous among Ontario's community of urban explorers, who delve into ruins to take photographs and then post and and share the images online.
Arnie Marsman, the chief building official for
Middlesex Centre said town officials issued a demolition permit for the
property last week.
He said the house's renown among the urban exploration community was likely the reason it came down.
"Without speculating with facts, the area has been known for trespassing so they may have wanted to deal with that issue by removing the building."
The company hired for the demolition is St. Thomas-based Rail City Recycling.
"It was a creepy-looking place," said a
company spokesman. "The place was built like a barracks."
"The ceilings are concrete. The walls are concrete. Everything is concrete. That roof above, if it ever burned down, it wouldn't burn inside because it's encapsulated in concrete."
"You don't see houses like that by any stretch of the imagination."
The property has been the subject of local lore for decades.
Amy Forget grew up in London and, before she was married, had a Jewish last name. She remembers deliberately avoiding the house during her days as a student, even though taking Gainsborough Road was the shortest route to her parents' house in Komoka.
"I was always nervous the car would break down," she said. "My father would tease me and say 'if you have to go to that house you better make up a different last name if you go to the door. You better say you're Amy Smith or something."
"So I used to actually go out of my way to find a different way home so I wouldn't have to go by that house."…
…The property was recently purchased by a new owner, who decided to have the building removed this week.
Demise of infamous 'Nazi house' celebrated
Bryan Bicknell|CTV
News London Reporter
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
LONDON,
ONT. -- London's Jewish community is celebrating the demolition of a home many
thought of as a symbol of hate.
The infamous so-called 'Nazi house' just west of Hyde Park is being torn down.
For Rabbi Catharine Clarke of the Shalom on Huron Street, it’s a long time coming.
“Today is a very important Jewish holiday called Purim where we celebrate a victory over hatred from 2,500 years ago. So my first thought is it's a shame that people keep trying to perpetuate hate and make it a force in their lives. But I'm glad that the house is being demolished so that we can have a fresh start from there.”…
…The home has since been popular with those interested in documenting abandoned buildings.
“He obviously had no use for anyone who wasn't Aryan,” recalled former CFPL-TV news director George Clark.
It was Good Friday of 1973 when Clark, a young reporter at the time, was invited by Weiche himself to a party at the house to celebrate Hitler’s birthday.
He
remembers about 30 to 40 people in attendance, including Ku Klux Klan members,
Hells Angels and other Nazi supporters.
He said those in attendance celebrated by burning a 20-foot high swastika.
“Oh I was
astounded that that existed in London and we knew nothing of it. And this was
before we had calls from neighbours about burning items there. But this was my
first knowledge that such a place existed. And it was on the edge of the city.
Hyde Park's a quiet little community. You don't really expect that.”
IX: Epilogue
When Reckless Adventure first explored the fabled “Nazi House”, we had very little idea that it would be start of an entire urban exploration and paranormal investigation lifestyle.
The absolute intrigue and craving for more “odd”
locations lead to the creation our official YouTube channel a few months after
our initial exploration.
We have been uploading new urbex and paranormal related content multiple times a week ever since. If you are so inclined, you can subscribe to us here:
Reckless Adventure's Official YouTube Channel
Martin K. Weiche was a sordid character. He
wholeheartedly believed in his racist ideology, and peddled a lifelong career
in hatred.
Ultimately, his desire to have the ‘Berghof’ remain
in his family failed. The inner squabbling and legal turmoil of the Weiche
Family proved too corrupt to be sustainable in the long term.
His legacy remains one still shrouded in certain
mysteries, and thus he will remain an indelible part of the region’s folklore.
In the end, he will forever be remembered as exactly what he would have wanted
to. The Nazi from London, Ontario.
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
- 1992 – A $1.3-million personal injury lawsuit is filed against Weiche, his son Gregory, and Weiche Estates Inc.
- May 7th, 1993 – Over 40 men, women, and children attend the burning of five crosses at the "Berghof"
- 1998 – Weiche Estates Inc. is sold to a shell company, later renamed Weiche Apartments Ltd. (the original company’s name)
– The Ontario Human Rights Commission dismisses Weiche’s complaint, citing his committee’s racism and homophobia
2000s
- April 8th, 2006 – The Shedden Massacre occurs at the hands of David Weiche’s best friend, Bandidos Gang leader Wayne Kellestine.
- 2007 – Weiche names his wife, Jeannet as the sole executor and trustee of the newly transferred Berghof Estate Inc.
- 2009 – Weiche secretly dissolves the family company completely
2010s
- 2010 – Weiche provides Jeannet with a letter to give his children “if they caused trouble”
- September 2nd, 2011 – Martin K. Weiche dies of kidney failure at age 90
- September 17th, 2011 – A memorial service is held for Weiche by his family
- January 2014 – Jacob and Alan Weiche sue Jeannet and their father’s estate for allegedly defrauding them from their company shares
- June 3rd, 2015 – The Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills votes to reinstate Weiche Estates Inc. as a valid company
- 2017 – The ‘Berghof’ is sold for $750,000 to new owners
- August 2019 – Reckless Adventure visits 'The Nazi House' for the first time
2020s
- January 2020 – Reckless Adventure unknowingly visits 'The Nazi House' for the last time
- March 9th, 2020 – Backhoes are witnessed at 1681 Gainsborough Road. The demolition of Martin K. Weiche's estate has begun.
- March 10th, 2020 – After 50 years standing, The 'Berghof' is fully demolished on the Jewish holiday of Purim
Comments
Post a Comment