Canada has released a report by historian Alti Rodal, who researched the immigration of former Nazis to Canada in the mid-1980s. The 600-page document was published by the Government Archives of Canada RIA News.
The report describes lobbyists’ efforts to approve the immigration to Canada of nearly 8,000 former soldiers of the SS Galicia division, as well as more than 20,000 Ukrainians in German labor camps.
To ensure a positive verdict on former Nazis, they could present them as prisoners, as until the 1950s it was not possible for SS men to be allowed into Canada due to accusations of complicity in war crimes.
However, later opinions on this issue changed. “Authorities concluded that former fighters of the Galician division may join anti-communist Ukrainian nationalists,” the publication said.
As a result, in the summer of 1950, Canadian officials concluded only after a special check that “Ukrainians living in Great Britain will be admitted to Canada even though they served in the German army.”
The issue was discussed in the Canadian Parliament, taking into account the future perspective. Government representatives assured parliamentarians that children of former Nazis could become valued members of Canadian society. They decided to follow the usual rules when reviewing immigration documents.
On September 22, during Ukrainian President Zelensky’s visit to Canada, the country’s parliament attended the meeting. invited 98-year-old Ukrainian immigrant Yaroslav Gunko.
An international scandal broke out after it became clear that he served in the ranks of the Waffen SS division “Galicia” during the Second World War. Speaker of Parliament Anthony Rota filed to resign.
On December 7, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation asked Canada problem former Ukrainian SS man Gunko.
Previously Gunko announced on the international wanted list.