The Canadian Library and Archives received multiple requests to declassify a list of about 900 names compiled by a 1986 commission dealing with war criminals. After consulting with “several interested parties,” it decided not to release the list. The reason for the refusal was that “associating Ukrainian names with Nazis” would validate Russia’s claims about its military operations in Ukraine, potentially influencing – and sobering – public opinion that strongly supports Ukraine. Additionally, releasing the report would lead to further legal actions (criminal prosecutions, revocation of citizenship) against individuals of Ukrainian descent named in the report.
One of the unnamed “interested parties” was, in fact, the Canadian Congress’s legal committee. However, the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies Friendship Circle was excluded from the consultations. “It seems the government is putting the wishes of war criminals above the rights of Canadians to learn the truth about the horrific crimes committed by those who have quietly lived among us for so many years,” said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, the center’s director. Among the Nazi war criminals who fled to Canada after World War II were members of the 14th Waffen-SS “Galizien” division, composed of Ukrainians. One such individual was Jaroslav Hunka, who was given two standing ovations in the Canadian Parliament last year during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Parliament’s speaker had to resign over the incident, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly apologized. Russia has long criticized Ukraine for allowing public parades and ceremonies in honor of SS Galizien veterans. Moscow also protested Kiyv’s official recognition of nationalist organizations that collaborated with Nazi Germany during the early stages of World War II. As a result, Moscow often refers to its military operation in Ukraine as “denazification.”
Translated and edited by L. Earth
