Yaroslav Hunka

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Yaroslav Hunka
Native name
Ярослав Гунька
Born1925 (age 97–98)[1]
Urmań, Poland
(now Urman, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine)
Allegiance Germany
Service/branch Waffen-SS
Years of service1943–1945
Unit SS Division Galicia
WarWorld War II

Yaroslav Hunka (Ukrainian: Ярослав Гунька, Polish: Jarosław Hunka; born 1925) is a Ukrainian-Canadian World War II veteran of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician), a military formation of Nazi Germany.[a] Born in Urman, then part of the Second Polish Republic, Hunka volunteered for SS Galizien in 1943. After the war, he immigrated to Canada as a displaced person, where he worked in the aviation industry, and became heavily involved in the Ukrainian community after retirement. He is a resident of North Bay, Ontario.

In 2023, Hunka was invited to the House of Commons of Canada to be recognized by Speaker Anthony Rota, the Member of Parliament for Hunka's district. On September 22, Hunka received two standing ovations from all house members, including Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and visiting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Later, Hunka's identity as a former Waffen-SS member was reported by the Canadian media, receiving international attention. Rota resigned as speaker five days later, and the House unanimously adopted a motion to condemn Nazism and withdraw its recognition of Hunka. Prime Minister Trudeau and Canadian government officials apologized to the worldwide Jewish community.

Biography

Yaroslav Hunka was born in Urman,[4] Second Polish Republic (now Ukraine).[5] In 1943, Hunka volunteered to join the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician)[a] at 18 years old. According to Hunka, his reason for enlisting was following the call of the Ukrainian Central Committee to fight for the idea of "Unified Ukraine".[6][4] During his time in the SS Galizien, he was photographed training in Munich and Neuhammer (present day Świętoszów).[2] In 1944, Hunka was deployed into combat against Red Army forces on the Eastern Front of World War II.[7] Dominique Arel, the chair of Ukrainian studies at the University of Ottawa, told CBC News that thousands of Ukrainian volunteers had been drawn to the division, and that many aspired doing so could help attain Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union. According to Arel, it was "difficult to determine" whether specific groups of the division took part in atrocities, but he said that by the time Hunka's unit reached the front, German operations relating to the Holocaust would have ended in that area. He said, however, that the SS Galizien had been implicated in the killing of Polish civilians.[7]

Following the conclusion of World War II in Europe, Hunka settled in the United Kingdom and joined the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain.[1] In 1951, he married Margaret Ann Edgerton (1931–2018), and the couple emigrated to Canada three years later, settling in Toronto, where they raised their two sons, Martin and Peter, and became active in the Ukrainian-Canadian community.[8][1] After graduating from a technical college, Hunka worked in the aircraft industry, eventually becoming an inspector for De Havilland.[1] In retirement, Hunka was heavily involved in the Ukrainian community; his sons established the Yaroslav and Margaret Hunka Ukrainian Research Endowment Fund at the University of Alberta to advance academic research in the underground Ukrainian Catholic Church.[1] After the 2023 controversy surrounding Hunka, 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."[9]

On August 20, 2004, Hunka was named an Honorary Citizen of the City of Berezhany by the Berezhany city council, in Ukraine.[10] In 2007, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress awarded Hunka and other former members of the SS Galizien the "Medal of Merit."[11][failed verification][12]

Hunka contributed to a blog by an association of SS Galizien veterans on the Internet in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, he compared the Ukrainian diaspora to the Israelites.[2] As of 2022, Hunka lived in North Bay, Ontario, and travelled to Greater Sudbury to protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine that year.[5] Describing the situation in Ukraine, Hunka told CTV News that the "Destruction is just unbelievable but it will take years and years to rebuild it, ... But Ukrainian [sic] will win and God Bless Ukraine and I pray for it."[5]

House of Commons of Canada visit

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.[13][14] On September 22, 2023, Rota recognized Hunka's presence in the chamber, 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."[15] Rota praised Hunka, asserting that "He is a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service."[13][16] After Rota's praise, the chamber gave a standing ovation to Hunka, which Zelenskyy and his wife also joined.[2]

Aftermath

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",[13] referencing events such as the 1944 Huta Pieniacka massacre of Polish civilians.[2] In a statement released on September 24, Rota accepted responsibility for inviting Hunka to the ceremony,[17] and stated that "I particularly want to extend my deepest apologies to Jewish communities in Canada and around the world. I accept full responsibility for my action."[14][18] Ann-Clara Vaillancourt, a spokeswoman for Trudeau, called Rota's apology "the right thing to do" and emphasized Rota's responsibility for inviting Hunka to the ceremony.[19] On September 26, Rota announced his resignation over the controversy.[20][21] The same day, the House of Commons unanimously adopted a motion by Yves-François Blanchet to "utterly condemn Nazism in all its forms" and express "full solidarity with all victims of Nazism, past and present." The motion also condemned the invitation extended to Hunka, and formally withdrew his recognition by the House.[22] The event renewed interest in the topic of the handling of suspected war criminals who immigrated to Canada.[23][24]

The president of the Ukrainian National Federation of Canada defended Hunka and stated that there was nothing wrong with the Canadian Parliament applauding a man "who fought for his country", although acknowledging in the circumstances "this may not have been correct".[25] The Ukrainian Canadian Congress said in a statement that there were "difficult and painful pages in the common history of the communities that have taken up residence in Ukraine" and said it recognized that "recent events that have brought these pages to the forefront have caused pain and anguish".[25] President Zelenskyy did not comment on the incident.[26] The controversy has renewed the debate surrounding permissive immigration policies which enabled many alleged Nazi war criminals to settle in Canada following the Second World War.[27]

In the wake of the controversy, Hunka's family were reported to have gone into hiding in their hometown of North Bay, and did not respond to interview requests.[28] Hunka's daughter-in-law was quoted as saying her family was "shocked at what happened"; according to a family friend, they had not known in advance that Hunka would be publicly recognized by the House Speaker, and had only expected "he would be in the same room" as President Zelenskyy.[28]

Following the incident, an image of a fake Ukrainian postage stamp featuring Hunka was shared on Twitter by multiple users, including the Russian embassy in the U.K.[29][30] Other Russian embassies have also criticized the event.[31]

On September 26, Polish education minister Przemysław Czarnek stated that his government may seek to extradite Hunka as a war criminal.[32][33] In a post made on Twitter, Czarnek said:[34][35]

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!

Notes

  1. ^ a b Abbreviated as SS Galizien.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "New Endowments" (PDF). CIUS Newsletter. University of Alberta. 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Golinkin, Lev (24 September 2023). "Zelenskyy joins Canadian Parliament's ovation to 98-year-old veteran who fought with Nazis". The Forward. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b Hunka, Yaroslav (21 March 2011). "Моє покоління" [My Generation]. Вісті Комбатанта [Combatant's News] (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Everson, Alana (7 May 2022). "Sudbury hosts rally for Ukraine". CTV News. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  6. ^ Прядун, Роман (30 September 2023). "Злочинці чи герої: що не так зі скандалом навколо українського ветерана Другої світової війни у канадському парламенті". Obozrevatel (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  7. ^ a b Paas-Lang, Christian (24 September 2023). "House Speaker apologizes for honouring Ukrainian who fought in Nazi unit in WW II". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  8. ^ Gillies, Rob (22 September 2023). "Zelenskyy speaks before Canadian Parliament in his campaign to shore up support for Ukraine". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  9. ^ Harpaz, Beth (28 September 2023). "Canadian university to return donation from family of man who served in Nazi unit". The Forward. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Почесні громадяни м.Бережани" (PDF). berezhanymrada.gov.ua. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  11. ^ Ukrainian Canadian Congress (21 January 2007). "Celebration: Days of Independence and the Secession of the Lands of Ukraine, January 22, 1918 and 1919; Honoring Ukrainian Veterans" (PDF) (in Ukrainian). Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  12. ^ CTV News, Fallout continues from Nazi vet invite after Speaker resigns, archived from the original on 2 October 2023, retrieved 1 October 2023
  13. ^ a b c Ritchie, Sarah (25 September 2023) [Originally published September 24, 2023]. "House Speaker Anthony Rota apologizes after inviting man who fought for Nazis to Parliament". CTV News. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  14. ^ a b Gillies, Rob (24 September 2023). "Leader of Canada's House of Commons apologizes for honoring man who fought for Nazis". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  15. ^ Duggan, Kyle (24 September 2023). "Nazi-linked veteran received ovation during Zelenskyy's Canada visit". Politico. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  16. ^ Brugen, Isabel van (25 September 2023). "Who is Yaroslav Hunka? Ukrainian With Nazi past honored in Canada". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  17. ^ Schroeder, Pete (24 September 2023). "Canada House speaker apologizes for recognition of veteran who fought for Nazis". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  18. ^ "'Deepest apologies': Canada official backtracks after Ukraine Nazi honoured". Al Jazeera. 25 September 2023. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  19. ^ Kaur, Anumita (24 September 2023). "Canadian House speaker apologizes after honoring veteran of Nazi unit". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  20. ^ "Anthony Rota resigns as House Speaker over tribute to veteran of Nazi unit – National | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  21. ^ Tasker, John Paul (26 September 2023). "Anthony Rota resigns as Speaker after inviting former Ukrainian soldier with Nazi ties to Parliament". CBC. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Debates of Sept. 26th, 2023". openparliament.ca. 26 September 2023. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  23. ^ Mercer, Greg; Woolf, Marie (28 September 2023). "Yaroslav Hunka said in essay that he enlisted in Nazi unit to protect homeland". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023. The sight of a former serviceman for a Nazi-commanded unit, consisting mostly of thousands of ethnic Ukrainians, being applauded in the House of Commons has created all sorts of rancour:
    ...
    It's also renewed focus on the fact that several hundred or more former members of this unit were welcomed into Canada with the government's blessing.
  24. ^ Brewster, Murray. "After Parliament's humiliation, Canada has to reckon with its past treatment of Nazis, experts say". CBC.ca. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023. Many historians will tell you that what we've witnessed over the last several days is history coming back to bite Canada — specifically over its refusal down the decades to acknowledge or own up to the decisions that allowed Yaroslav Hunka, who served with the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician), to immigrate to Canada in the 1950s.
  25. ^ a b "Un groupe ukrainien défend l'ancien membre de la Waffen-SS honoré au Parlement". Radio Canada International. 30 September 2023. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  26. ^ "Canada's House Speaker resigns over celebration of 98-year-old who fought in Nazi unit". The Forward. 26 September 2023. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  27. ^ Paas-Lang, Christian (1 October 2023). "Hunka incident spurs renewed calls for disclosure of alleged war criminal investigation records". CBC News. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  28. ^ a b Burke, Ashley (30 September 2023). "Family of man who fought in Nazi unit unaware Hunka would be honoured in Parliament, friend says". CBC News. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  29. ^ Furtado, Annet Preethi (28 September 2023). "No, Ukraine hasn't issued postal stamps featuring Yaroslav Hunka". Logically. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  30. ^ Malashenko, Uliana (27 September 2023). "Fact Check: Ukraine Did NOT Issue Stamp With Yaroslav Hunka On It – Viral Image Showed Barcode From Different Product". Lead Stories. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  31. ^ Karadeglija, Anja. "Parliament's Nazi scandal a 'top headline story' for Russian propaganda news". Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  32. ^ Zimonjic, Peter (26 September 2023). "Poland's education minister says he's 'taken steps' to extradite Yaroslav Hunka". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  33. ^ Francis, Ellen (27 September 2023). "Polish official wants Canada to extradite 98-year-old Nazi veteran". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  34. ^ Tilles, Daniel (26 September 2023). "Poland may seek extradition of Ukrainian Nazi WW2 veteran Hunka from Canada". Notes From Poland. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  35. ^ Mayer, Chloe (26 September 2023). "Yaroslav Hunka extradition demanded by Poland over alleged Nazi past". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.

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