When Canada’s parliament praised a Ukrainian war veteran who fought with Nazi Germany, a renewed spotlight was put on a controversial part of Ukraine’s history and its memorialisation in Canada.
Yaroslav Hunka, the Ukrainian veteran who was applauded in parliament this week, served with a Nazi unit called the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS – also known as the Galicia Division – that was formed in 1943.
His appearance was criticised by Jewish groups and other parliamentarians alike. MP Anthony Rota, who invited him, has since resigned as the Speaker of the House of Commons, saying he deeply regretted the mistake.
Also … Nazis in Canada? The truth behind the demonization of Yaroslav Hunka
I don’t know Yaroslav Hunka personally, but I know… or knew… many like him. Most of them are dead, now. I know their stories. And I know where their bodies are buried.
Mr Hunka is a Canadian citizen, who lives near North Bay, Ontario. More specifically, he is a Ukrainian-Canadian, born 98 years ago in what was then a part of Poland known to some as “Galicia”, but to its natives as Ukraine.
