Nazi conflict sheds light on Ukraine’s WWII past

When the Canadian Parliament honored a Ukrainian veteran who fought alongside Nazi Germany, new light was shed on a controversial part of Ukraine’s history and its commemoration in Canada.

Yaroslav Hunka, the Ukrainian veteran applauded in Parliament this week, served in a Nazi unit called the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS – also known as the Galicia Division – which was created in 1943.

His appearance was criticized by both Jewish groups and other parliamentarians. MP Anthony Rota, who invited him, has since resigned as Speaker of the House of Commons, saying he deeply regrets the mistake.

But this is not the first time Ukraine’s role in World War II has sparked debate in Canada, home to the largest Ukrainian diaspora outside Europe.

Several monuments dedicated to Ukrainian World War II veterans who served in the Galicia Division exist across the country. Jewish groups have long denounced these dedications, arguing that the Galicia Division soldiers had pledged allegiance to Adolf Hitler and were either complicit in the crimes of Nazi Germany or had committed crimes themselves.

But for some Ukrainians, these veterans are considered freedom fighters, who fought alongside the Nazis only to resist the Soviets in their quest for an independent Ukraine.

The Galicia Division was part of the Waffen-SS, a Nazi military unit which as a whole was found to be involved in numerous atrocities, including the massacre of Jewish civilians.

The Galicia Division has been accused of committing war crimes, but its members have never been found guilty in court.

Jewish groups have condemned Canadian monuments to Ukrainian veterans who fought in the Waffen-SS, saying they constitute “a glorification and celebration of those who actively participated in the crimes of the Holocaust.”

Shukhevych’s involvement is a matter of debate, however, and he was not a member of the Galicia division.

The monuments, which date from the 1970s and 1980s, have all been vandalized in recent yearswith the word “Nazi” painted in red on it.

It goes back to Ukraine’s wartime history, as well as the makeup of Canada’s large Ukrainian diaspora, said David Marples, a professor of Eastern European history at the University of Alberta.

During World War II, millions of Ukrainians served in the Soviet Red Army, but thousands more fought on the German side under the Galicia Division.

Those who fought alongside Germany believed it would grant them an independent state, free from Soviet domination, Professor Marples said.

At the time, Ukrainians resented the Soviets for their role in the Great Ukrainian Famine of 1932-1933. also known as Holodomorwhich killed around five million Ukrainians.

Far-right ideologies were also gaining ground in most European countries in the 1930s – including the UK – and Ukraine was no exception, Professor Marples said.

After Germany’s defeat, some soldiers from the Galicia Division were allowed to enter Canada after surrendering to Allied forces – a move that was resisted by Jewish groups at the time.

Some Ukrainian Canadians consider these soldiers and the Galicia Division as a whole to be “national heroes” who fought for the country’s independence.

They also argue that their collaboration with Nazi Germany was short-lived and that they, including Shukhevych, ended up fighting both the Soviets and the Germans for a free Ukraine.

But the Jewish community sees things differently.

“At the end of the day, this unit, the 14th SS unit, was made up of Nazis,” Michael Mostyn, head of B’nai Brith Canada, told the BBC.

Canada has reckoned with this history in the past through a commission created in 1985 to investigate allegations that Canada had become a haven for Nazi war criminals.

And “mere membership in the Galicia Division is not sufficient to justify prosecution,” the report adds.

The report’s findings have since been disputed by Jewish groups and some historians.

Professor Marples said that at the time of writing the report, some WWII archives in Ukraine and Russia were not accessible and have since become public, prompting renewed research into the issue.

It was later revealed thanks to this additional research that some of those who served in the Galicia Division were involved in war crimes, he said, although none were ever convicted.

As this historical debate entered the 21st century, it was made more complicated by modern Russian propaganda, which falsely characterized the Ukrainian government as Nazis to justify its invasion of the country.

Professor Marples said that while far-right extremism still exists in Ukraine, it is much less than Russian propaganda tries to make out.

And Ukrainian elected officials are not linked to any far-right group in the country.

“Russia has greatly simplified the discourse,” Professor Marples said.

Ukrainian groups in Canada say the dispute over the monuments and Mr. Hunka’s appearance in Parliament are the result of this propaganda.

As early as 2017, before the invasion but while Russian-Ukrainian tensions were high, the Russian embassy in Canada had criticized the existence of Ukrainian monuments in Canada, accusing them of paying homage to “Nazi collaborators”.

Taras Podilsky, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Youth Unity Complex in Edmonton that houses Shukhevych’s bust, said the rapid renunciation of Mr. Hunka by Canadian politicians is the latest effect of Russia’s disinformation campaign .

He added that there was no evidence linking the veteran to war crimes.

“Without any due process, this person is the victim of a Russian speech that is now successful,” Mr. Podilsky said.

B’nai Brith’s Mr Mostyn said he recognized the complicated nature of this story, particularly for some members of the Ukrainian diaspora.

But he added that any connection to Nazism “is not something we can allow future generations to celebrate or whitewash.”

Canadian Jewish groups and Ukrainian Canadians behind the monuments said they had conversations about the issue.

However, the two said they had failed to agree on a path forward.

“It’s on our private property, it’s not on public property, and it’s for us to have a symbol of Ukrainian freedom,” Mr. Podilsky said of Shukhevych’s bust in Edmonton. “We know there was no wrongdoing.”

Mr. Mostyn said he believes the recent episode in Canada’s House of Commons shows that there are gaps in Canada’s knowledge of Nazi history.

“We’re in a situation in Canada where we don’t know our own history in terms of the Nazi perpetrators who came into this country,” he said.

He and other members of Canada’s Jewish community have called for a new examination of this history.

“It’s really important that our Prime Minister shows leadership at the highest level, to finally pave this path, because this is something that the Jewish community has been calling for for decades.”