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'''Yaroslav Hunka''' (Ukrainian: Ярослав Гунька; born {{circa}} 1925) is a Ukrainian-Canadian [[Nazi]] who served in the [[14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician)]],<ref name=":0" group="Note">Abbreviated as ''SS Galizien''.</ref> a military formation of [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]] made up of primarily [[Ukrainians|ethnic Ukrainian]] volunteers during [[Second World War|World War II]]. | '''Yaroslav Hunka''' (Ukrainian: Ярослав Гунька; born {{circa}} 1925) is a Ukrainian-Canadian [[Nazi]] who served in the [[14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician)]],<ref name=":0" group="Note">Abbreviated as ''SS Galizien''.</ref> a military formation of [[German Reich (1933–1945)|Nazi Germany]] made up of primarily [[Ukrainians|ethnic Ukrainian]] volunteers during [[Second World War|World War II]]. | ||
Former members of his unit bombed children at [[Toronto]]'s largest Ukrainian community center on [[Thanksgiving (Canada)|Canadian Thanksgiving]] back in 1949. [[File:Hunka Waffen-SS-warcrime1.png|right|thumb| Hunak's | Former members of his unit bombed children at [[Toronto]]'s largest Ukrainian community center on [[Thanksgiving (Canada)|Canadian Thanksgiving]] back in 1949. [[File:Hunka Waffen-SS-warcrime1.png|right|thumb| Hunak's Waffen SS unit bombed children at Toronto's largest Ukrainian community center on Canadian Thanksgiving back in 1949.]] | ||
In 2023, Hunka made international headlines after being invited to the [[House of Commons of Canada]] by speaker [[Anthony Rota]] to be recognised and after receiving two standing ovations from all house members, including [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Justin Trudeau]] and visiting [[President of Ukraine|Ukrainian President]] [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]]. He was introduced to the House of Commons by Rota as just a "veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians". Later however, Hunka's identity as a former | In 2023, Hunka made international headlines after being invited to the [[House of Commons of Canada]] by speaker [[Anthony Rota]] to be recognised and after receiving two standing ovations from all house members, including [[Prime Minister of Canada|Prime Minister]] [[Justin Trudeau]] and visiting [[President of Ukraine|Ukrainian President]] [[Volodymyr Zelenskyy]]. He was introduced to the House of Commons by Rota as just a "veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians". Later however, Hunka's identity as a former [[Waffen-SS]] member was revealed by the media, causing Rota to resign five days later and Canadian government officials to issue unconvincing apologies to the [[Judaism|Jewish]] community. | ||
==Biography== | ==Biography== | ||
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=== Possible involvement in war crimes === | === Possible involvement in war crimes === | ||
Hunka's SS unit was found to have participated in war crimes in Poland. According to researcher [[Ivan Katchanovski]]:<blockquote>Members of this division [the 1st Galician] were involved in mass murder of Jews, Poles and Ukrainians during (the Second World War), and many of them did this before they joined this division. They're considered to be Nazi collaborators, and they are not regarded even as heroes in Ukraine by the Ukrainian government ... They massacred entire villages of Polish residents in this region, including women and children because they were accused of being associated with Soviet partisans ... In addition to this, the SS Galicia Division was involved in other cases of violence. They took part in the suppression of the anti-Nazi uprising in Slovakia, and they also took part in the brutal and violent suppression of the anti-Nazi partisan movement in Yugoslavia.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=CTV News|title=How was veteran Yaroslav Hunka's military unit linked to the Nazis?|date=2023-09-26|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/how-was-veteran-yaroslav-hunka-s-military-unit-linked-to-the-nazis-1.6578579}}</ref></blockquote>Since Hunka was able to evade trial by receiving refuge in Canada, his involvement in such crimes is unknown at this time. On September 26 2023, following his standing ovation at the House of Commons, Poland’s Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek had announced that he had taken steps to start extraditing Hunka to face trial for his involvement in the | Hunka's SS unit was found to have participated in war crimes in Poland. According to researcher [[Ivan Katchanovski]]:<blockquote>Members of this division [the 1st Galician] were involved in mass murder of Jews, Poles and Ukrainians during (the Second World War), and many of them did this before they joined this division. They're considered to be Nazi collaborators, and they are not regarded even as heroes in Ukraine by the Ukrainian government ... They massacred entire villages of Polish residents in this region, including women and children because they were accused of being associated with Soviet partisans ... In addition to this, the SS Galicia Division was involved in other cases of violence. They took part in the suppression of the anti-Nazi uprising in Slovakia, and they also took part in the brutal and violent suppression of the anti-Nazi partisan movement in Yugoslavia.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=CTV News|title=How was veteran Yaroslav Hunka's military unit linked to the Nazis?|date=2023-09-26|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/how-was-veteran-yaroslav-hunka-s-military-unit-linked-to-the-nazis-1.6578579}}</ref></blockquote>Since Hunka was able to evade trial by receiving refuge in Canada, his involvement in such crimes is unknown at this time. On September 26 2023, following his standing ovation at the House of Commons, Poland’s Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek had announced that he had taken steps to start extraditing Hunka to face trial for his involvement in the Waffen SS.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Claudia Chiappa and Kyle Duggan|newspaper=Politico|title=Poland seeks extradition of Ukrainian SS veteran who was applauded in Canada|date=2023-09-26|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/yaroslav-hunka-poland-extradite-ukrainian-ss-veteran-canada/}}</ref><ref>{{Web citation|author=Peter Zimonjic|newspaper=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|title=Poland's education minister says he's 'taken steps' to extradite Yaroslav Hunka|date=2023-09-26|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/yaroslav-hunka-poland-minister-extradite-1.6978266|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926135923/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/yaroslav-hunka-poland-minister-extradite-1.6978266|archive-date=from the original on 26 September 2023|retrieved=Retrieved 26 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Web citation|author=Ellen Francis|newspaper=Washington Post|title=Polish official wants Canada to extradite 98-year-old Nazi veteran|date=2023-09-27|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/27/poland-ukrainian-nazi-veteran-canada-extradition/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927145645/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/27/poland-ukrainian-nazi-veteran-canada-extradition/|archive-date=from the original on 27 September 2023|retrieved=Retrieved 28 September 2023}}</ref> In a post made on [[Twitter]], Czarnek said:<ref>{{Web citation|author=Daniel Tilles|newspaper=Notes From Poland|title=Poland may seek extradition of Ukrainian Nazi WW2 veteran Hunka from Canada|date=2023-09-26|url=https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/09/26/poland-may-seek-extradition-of-ukrainian-nazi-ww2-veteran-hunka-from-canada/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926173724/https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/09/26/poland-may-seek-extradition-of-ukrainian-nazi-ww2-veteran-hunka-from-canada/|archive-date=from the original on 26 September 2023|retrieved=Retrieved 26 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Web citation|author=Chloe Mayer|newspaper=Newsweek|title=Yaroslav Hunka extradition demanded by Poland over alleged Nazi past|date=2023-09-26|url=https://www.newsweek.com/yaroslav-hunka-alleged-nazi-justice-poland-1829892|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926192317/https://www.newsweek.com/yaroslav-hunka-alleged-nazi-justice-poland-1829892|archive-date=from the original on 26 September 2023|retrieved=Retrieved 26 September 2023}}</ref><blockquote>In view of the scandalous events in the Canadian Parliament, which involved honoring a member of the criminal Nazi SS Galizien formation in the presence of President Zelensky, I have taken steps towards the possible extradition of this man to Poland. #NOForFalsifyingHistory!</blockquote> | ||
=== Emigration to Canada === | === Emigration to Canada === | ||
[[File:Three SS monuments Canada.png|thumb|372x372px|Three monuments to the 14th | [[File:Three SS monuments Canada.png|thumb|372x372px|Three monuments to the 14th Waffen SS division in Canada still yet to be demolished. From left-right, top to bottom: Edmonton, Toronto, Oakville.]] | ||
Following the conclusion of [[Second World War|World War II]] in Europe, Hunka settled in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=CIUS Newsletter|title=New Endowments|date=2020|url=https://www.ualberta.ca/canadian-institute-of-ukrainian-studies/media-library/newsletters/2020/2020-cius_newsletter-eng-optimized.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926081118/https://www.ualberta.ca/canadian-institute-of-ukrainian-studies/media-library/newsletters/2020/2020-cius_newsletter-eng-optimized.pdf|archive-date=from the original on 26 September 2023|retrieved=Retrieved 25 September 2023}}</ref> He and his wife emigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1954, owing to the country's very lax immigration laws after the war that did not inquire into his past. Through that mechanism, dozens of Nazi officers and soldiers emigrated to Canada to escape their crimes, prompting current Canadian immigration minister Marc Miller to say "there was a point in our history where it was easier to get in as a Nazi than it was as a Jewish person"<ref>{{Web citation|author=The Canadian Press|newspaper=National Post|title='Canada has a really dark history with Nazis in Canada': immigration minister|date=2023-09-27|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canada-war-criminal-past}}</ref> (referring to the September 2023 standing ovation to Hunka at the House of Commons). | Following the conclusion of [[Second World War|World War II]] in Europe, Hunka settled in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=CIUS Newsletter|title=New Endowments|date=2020|url=https://www.ualberta.ca/canadian-institute-of-ukrainian-studies/media-library/newsletters/2020/2020-cius_newsletter-eng-optimized.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230926081118/https://www.ualberta.ca/canadian-institute-of-ukrainian-studies/media-library/newsletters/2020/2020-cius_newsletter-eng-optimized.pdf|archive-date=from the original on 26 September 2023|retrieved=Retrieved 25 September 2023}}</ref> He and his wife emigrated to Toronto, Canada in 1954, owing to the country's very lax immigration laws after the war that did not inquire into his past. Through that mechanism, dozens of Nazi officers and soldiers emigrated to Canada to escape their crimes, prompting current Canadian immigration minister Marc Miller to say "there was a point in our history where it was easier to get in as a Nazi than it was as a Jewish person"<ref>{{Web citation|author=The Canadian Press|newspaper=National Post|title='Canada has a really dark history with Nazis in Canada': immigration minister|date=2023-09-27|url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canada-war-criminal-past}}</ref> (referring to the September 2023 standing ovation to Hunka at the House of Commons). | ||