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Yaroslav Hunka (Ярослав Гунька) | |
|---|---|
 SS Galizien during World War II. Hunka says he is the man standing in the middle of the back row.[1] | |
| Born | 1925 (age 97–98) Urmań, Poland (now Urman, Ukraine) |
| Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
| Service/ | Waffen-SS |
| Years of service | 1943–1945 |
| Unit | SS Division Galicia |
| Known for | Being an SS volunteer soldier during WW2 |
| War | World War II |
Yaroslav Hunka (Ukrainian: Ярослав Гунька; born c. 1925) is a Ukrainian-Canadian Nazi who served in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician),[Note 1] a military formation of Nazi Germany made up of primarily ethnic Ukrainian volunteers during World War II.
Former members of his 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 Justin Trudeau and visiting 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 Jewish community.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Yaroslav Hunka was born in Urman,[2] Poland (now Ukraine) c. 1925.[3] In 1943, Hunka volunteered to join the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS[Note 1] at 18 years old. He says his reason for enlisting was following the call of the Ukrainian National Committee to fight for Ukrainian independence.[2] During his time in the SS Galizien, he was photographed training in Munich and Neuhammer (present-day Świętoszów).[4] In 1944, Hunka was deployed into combat against Red Army forces on the Eastern Front.[5]
Possible involvement in war crimes[edit | edit source]
Hunka's SS unit was found to have participated in war crimes in Poland. According to researcher Ivan Katchanovski:
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.[6]
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.[7][8][9] In a post made on Twitter, Czarnek said:[10][11]
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!
Emigration to Canada[edit | edit source]
Following the conclusion of World War II in Europe, Hunka settled in the United Kingdom.[12] 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"[13] (referring to the September 2023 standing ovation to Hunka at the House of Commons).
His sons established the Yaroslav and Margaret Hunka Ukrainian Research Endowment Fund at the University of Alberta. After the 2023 shameful display of support for Nazis in the Canadian Parliament, the interim provost of the University of Alberta announced it would close the endowment and return the approximately CA$30,000 to Hunka's sons, saying that the university "recognizes and regrets the unintended harm caused."
In Canada, Hunka remained active in SS Galizien veterans circles and contributed to a blog on the Internet in 2010 and 2011. As of 2022, Hunka lived in North Bay, Ontario.
House of Commons of Canada visit[edit | edit source]
In September 2023, Anthony Rota, the speaker of the House of Commons, invited Hunka to visit the Parliament of Canada, where Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered remarks. On September 22, 2023, Rota recognized Hunka, characterizing him as "a Ukrainian-Canadian veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today, even at his age of 98." Rota praised Hunka, asserting that "He is a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service." After Rota's praise, the chamber gave a standing ovation to Hunka, which Trudeau, along with Zelenskyy and his wife also joined.
Reactions to the celebration of Hunka were negative and generated international headlines. The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies condemned SS Galizien as "responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable," referencing events such as the 1944 Huta Pieniacka massacre of Polish civilians. In a statement released on September 24, Rota accepted responsibility for inviting Hunka to the ceremony, and on September 26, Rota announced his resignation over the controversy. President Zelenskyy did not comment on the incident.
Notes[edit | edit source]
External links[edit | edit source]
- Video: Canadian parliament's standing ovation for former Nazi soldier, Sky News (September 2023)
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ The description of the photo provided by Hunka is as follows: Гайделяґер. Хлопці з мого села Урмань, Бережанського району. Я стою посередині. Клячать, зліва: Кіналь Михайло, поляк, що зжився з українськими хлопцями; після боїв під Бродами вступив до УПА й загинув у 1946 р. біля Бережан; Кулик Іван, загинув під Бродами; Каліщук Михайло, після Бродів загинув в УПА. Стоять, зліва: Фурдиґа Василь, після Бродів повернувся додому, згодом поїхав до Москви, де жив його брат, зголосився до Червоної армії, дослужився ранґи лейтенанта, воював проти японців; Ткачук Дмитро, служив у чоті польової жандармерії у Дивізії. Інші два з присілка й я їх добре не знав.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Yaroslav Hunka (2011-03-21). ""Моє покоління"" Вісті Комбатанта [Combatant's News] (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ↑ Alana Everson (2022-05-07). "Sudbury hosts rally for Ukraine" CTV News. Archived from the original on from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- ↑ Lev Golinkin (2023-9-24). "Zelenskyy joins Canadian Parliament's ovation to 98-year-old veteran who fought with Nazis" The Forward. Archived from the original on from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- ↑ Christian Paas-Lang (2023-09-24). "House Speaker apologizes for honouring Ukrainian who fought in Nazi unit in WW II" Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved Retrieved 24 September 2023.
- ↑ "How was veteran Yaroslav Hunka's military unit linked to the Nazis?" (2023-09-26). CTV News.
- ↑ Claudia Chiappa and Kyle Duggan (2023-09-26). "Poland seeks extradition of Ukrainian SS veteran who was applauded in Canada" Politico.
- ↑ Peter Zimonjic (2023-09-26). "Poland's education minister says he's 'taken steps' to extradite Yaroslav Hunka" Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- ↑ Ellen Francis (2023-09-27). "Polish official wants Canada to extradite 98-year-old Nazi veteran" Washington Post. Archived from the original on from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ↑ Daniel Tilles (2023-09-26). "Poland may seek extradition of Ukrainian Nazi WW2 veteran Hunka from Canada" Notes From Poland. Archived from the original on from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- ↑ Chloe Mayer (2023-09-26). "Yaroslav Hunka extradition demanded by Poland over alleged Nazi past" Newsweek. Archived from the original on from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved Retrieved 26 September 2023.
- ↑ "New Endowments" (2020). CIUS Newsletter. Archived from the original on from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ↑ The Canadian Press (2023-09-27). "'Canada has a really dark history with Nazis in Canada': immigration minister" National Post.