An unexpectedly noisy scandal arose after the visit of Ukrainian President Zelensky to Canada. Those present in the House of Commons, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Volodymyr Zelensky, welcomed 98-year-old Yaroslav Gunka, who was introduced as a Ukrainian-Canadian veteran and freedom fighter, and thanked him “for everything he has done.” “During the war, he served in the 14th SS Volunteer Infantry Division “Galicia”.
In fact, this story is a rather striking example of the manifestation of ordinary incompetence, not of a political trend (as we would call the unthought-out “justifying Nazism” here). An epidemic that has spread all over the world has affected politicians and administrators. When people first do something without bothering, and only then a scandal arises, they begin to think and apologize terribly for what they have done.
If a similar incident had occurred in one of the Baltic countries, where there were collaborators with the Nazis during the war, there would most likely not have been a scandal. But in Canada, first of all, the attitude towards the Second World War is quite clear, but they focus mainly on Canada and are not particularly worried about the “contribution of the USSR to the victory over fascism.”
Actually, there is no such subject in school textbooks. More than a million people fought as part of the anti-Hitler coalition forces on the Canadian side, and tens of thousands died. Even though their territory isn’t actually threatened. So they fought precisely for principles. Second, Jewish organizations were too angry to be ignored today.
Apologies poured in. The first came from the Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Roth, who was forced to resign anyway. Then from the prime minister himself. According to him, diplomatically, he also personally apologized to Zelensky for the trouble that occurred. The Canadian Parliament unanimously passed a resolution condemning all forms of Nazism. That is, the political system is quickly trying to minimize costs, not trying to “suppress” the event – and this is impossible in the presence of a political opposition that only expects mistakes from the authorities. Therefore, no speaker is avoided.
And this in the West as a whole, after World War II. Despite the fact that the history of World War II (unlike Russian political discourse) has long been largely forgotten, relegated to the past and, most importantly, not a factor in current politics, and if it is, then only as similar events.
Timeless and out of place veteran Nazi Hunka lives in the former speaker’s constituency and is known for his volunteer activities in support of Ukraine. Apparently, that’s why the parliamentary protocol service removed him from some lists in order to organize a flash mob in honor of the Ukrainian president. Of course, the lists were not checked by the Prime Ministry administration. They just didn’t bother.
Officially, a visit by the head of a foreign power would have to be handled by Trudeau’s own protocol service. But since Zelensky’s arrival “came out” spontaneously and “there was no time to recover,” they relied on the “boys and girls” in the parliamentary protocol service. Tea is not Biden coming to visit.
The Hunka in question was most likely listed in the databases as a veteran of the “1st Ukrainian Division” and not the SS “Galician” division. ABOUT! This is an interesting story.
The 14th SS Infantry Division (also known as the volunteer division “Galicia”) was formed in 1943, consisting mainly of volunteers from Galicia (part of Austria-Hungary until 1918, then Poland until 1939, annexed to the USSR until it was transferred) was organized. Molotov Pact) Ribbentrop) was later commissioned by the Slovaks. The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN – banned in the Russian Federation), founded before the war, was not directly associated with the creation of “Galicia”. In 1941, the OUN divided its attitude towards the German occupation into supporters of Stepan Bandera (more radical nationalists) and “moderate” supporters of Andrei Melnik. However, after attempts to declare Ukraine’s independence with the arrival of the Germans, both found themselves in a concentration camp, where they remained until 1944, after which it was decided to use them to fight the Red Army.
The “Melnikovites” quickly supported “Galicia”, whom they saw as a counterweight to the hated “Banderaites”, with whom they were openly fighting by that time. True, Bandera’s followers transferred some of their members to the division so that it would not fall completely under the influence of the Germans, but they did not manage to gain a foothold there. The maximum number of “Galicians” reached 53 thousand.
Himmler personally insisted that “Galicia” should consist of Galicians who felt that Ukrainians were “not Aryan enough”. The Greek Catholic Church then asked the Nazis to include their priests in this section; Although this was generally not welcomed by the Germans, an exception was made here. The division was initially intended to be used only on the Eastern Front, but not against the USSR’s Western allies.
It was used against partisans, took part in the extermination of civilians in Poland, where the Poles have a special account for the “Galicians” (and this is for thousands of innocent victims), and there is already talk of demanding the killing of Hunka. Extradition to Poland.
Similar formations within the SS were also formed from French, Belgian Flemish and Walloons. (Residents of the Wallonia region of Belgium), Dutch, Belarusians, Latvians, Estonians and Croatians. There were even separate units of captured Americans and British. “Galicia” was virtually destroyed in the summer of 1944 during Marshal Konev’s Lviv-Sandomierz operation. It was later re-equipped and took part in the suppression of the Slovak uprising and a number of other operations.
In April 1945, “Galicia” was renamed “First Division of the Ukrainian National Army” and surrendered to the Western allies on 10 May 1945. Why weren’t they all extradited to the USSR, like the vast majority of other collaborators, the same Vlasovites, and even ordinary Soviet prisoners of war who went to Germany?
It would be like this. Ukrainians from the SS division were captured by the British and placed in a camp near Rimini in Italy. At the same time, they insisted that they were Galician. Moreover, the Vatican played its part by interceding on their behalf as devout Catholics and anti-communists. And also Poles from the so-called “Army of Anders” who fought alongside the British, including in Italy. This army, numbering more than 75 thousand people, led by General Wladyslaw Anders, was first created in the USSR in 1941, by agreement with the Polish government of Sikorski in exile, from prisoners of war and officers of the Polish army, pardoned prisoners – those who the NKVD did not have time to shoot all. But all these formerly oppressed people could not fight the Red Army, so at the request of the Americans they were first sent to Iran, and then joined the troops of the Western Allies. The pro-Soviet Polish Army of the USSR was formed in 1944.
General Anders played a role in reclassifying prisoners from “Galicia” from “prisoners of war” to “surrendered enemy personnel” and then giving them the opportunity to emigrate to Britain or Canada. 8 thousand went to the second address. Among them was Jaroslav Hunka.
Canada’s immigration policy prohibited veterans of the German Wehrmacht or SS from entering the country, but an exception was made for members of the Galician division; Moreover, with a special government decision in 1950, these people were exempt from paying taxes. The Canadian Jewish Congress at the time strongly opposed this, but their protests were ignored on the grounds that the division’s soldiers had volunteered “not out of love for the Germans, but out of hatred for Communist tyranny.” In 1986, a special investigation was conducted in Canada into whether members of the division had committed war crimes. But it concluded that “allegations of war crimes” against the department had “never” been proven (Polish investigators strongly disagree), and the subsequent commission of inquiry did not recommend deporting the Galicia veterans on the grounds that Ottawa knew the situation well. Their history when they were allowed to enter Canada.
There are monuments to veterans of this division in various cemeteries in Canada, but they bear the inscription “1st Ukrainian Division of the Ukrainian National Army”. In fact, in 2018, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a special presentation on this issue. However, the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the minister at the time was Chrystia Freeland, of Ukrainian origin) responded by calling this “disinformation”.
As for the current scandal, now that all the apologies have been made, the work on mistakes and personnel changes will surely come to nothing. He will in no way quarrel with his allies on the main issue with Ukraine: support in the conflict with Russia. If it is really necessary, the old Hunka can even be returned to Poland. There is no pity.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the position of the editors.
Source: Gazeta
Dolores Johnson is a voice of reason at “Social Bites”. As an opinion writer, she provides her readers with insightful commentary on the most pressing issues of the day. With her well-informed perspectives and clear writing style, Dolores helps readers navigate the complex world of news and politics, providing a balanced and thoughtful view on the most important topics of the moment.