What happened two months ago in Canada, made headlines for a couple of weeks in a row, yet quickly began to fade from public discussion. In this entry we would like to elaborate on some issues mainstream media rarely talked about and that should not be left out of sight.
On September 22, 2023, Yaroslav Hunka, ethnic Ukrainian, permanently residing in Canada was invited to a special session of the country’s parliament attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. Chair of the House of Commons Anthony Rota introduced Hunka as a veteran “who fought Russians” during World War II and “Ukrainian and Canadian hero”. Those present in the building including the state leaders responded with applause.
An international scandal burst out on the next day. The chair failed to specify that the veteran “fought Russians” in the ranks of the 14th Grenadier Division of the SS commonly known as “Galicia” – a volunteer Nazi military formation composed of Ukrainian collaborators, part of Waffen-SS.
Civil society voiced anger over the standing ovation for Hunka, a person who had sworn allegiance to Hitler. The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies (Canada) pointed out Galicia division in which Hunka had served was responsible for mass murder of civilians “with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable”. Jewish NPOs were joined by Russian and Polish officials in their indignation.
The backlash eventually led to Rota’s resignation and an apology from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on behalf of the parliament. Yet the question remains: how could this “debacle” even occur?
First of all, how come a person suspected of war crimes during WW II, who voluntarily joined the ranks of Hitlerites, isn’t serving a life sentence in jail, but lives a quiet and productive life of a respected Canadian? The country “has a really dark history with Nazis in Canada” as the country’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller put it. (more...)
How the West sheltered Nazi criminals
No comments:
Post a Comment