The Edmonton Journal’s recent article, “Legacy under fire: Former U of A chancellor war record scrutinized,” attempts to soften and even excuse the legacy of Peter Savaryn, former chancellor of the University of Alberta and recipient of the Order of Canada. It is troubling to see the Journal publish a piece riddled with distortions and omissions that obscure the truth about Savaryn’s wartime past and the unit he voluntarily joined: the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, also known as the SS Galicia.
Given current calls to rename an Edmonton street still bearing Savaryn’s name, readers deserve an honest account of who he was and what he chose to fight for.
The article asserts that the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center “classifies” Savaryn as a Nazi, as though this were a matter of interpretation. But there is nothing to classify. Savaryn was a Nazi, plain and simple. He voluntarily enlisted in the SS — the organization tasked by Hitler to implement the Holocaust — and served in a unit that committed crimes against humanity targeting Jews, Poles, and others. These are unassailable historical facts. If a man who volunteered for Hitler’s SS is not a Nazi, who is?
The article also claims that “controversy has persisted” about the SS Galicia’s association with Nazi Germany. In reality, there is no controversy about this whatsoever. The SS Galicia was a division of the Waffen SS, the military arm of the Nazi Party. It was trained, armed, and commanded by Nazi Germany. Any claim otherwise is patently false.
The article further asserts that Savaryn “condemned” Hitler, and that his decision to enlist in the SS was “not out of hatred for Jews or allegiance to Hitler.” Yet it provides no evidence to substantiate these claims. What the article does not mention is that when Savaryn joined the SS Galicia, he swore a personal oath of loyalty to Hitler, served under German officers, and fought where the Third Reich ordered — all while the SS was murdering Jews by the millions. The SS Galicia engaged directly in atrocities, including massacres of civilians, such as locking women and children in barns and burning them alive. Are we to believe such actions should be excused? (more...)
Opinion: No shades of grey about Peter Savaryn's past
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