The story as reported seemed awfully one-sided. Here is the other side.
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Great historical account by Andrij Semoniuk: Galicia Division
Andy Semotiuk <ajs@myworkvisa.com>
Date: Wed, Sep 27, 2023 Parliament And The Zelensky Visit
I am sending you this email to help you better orient yourself and your colleagues on the issues related to the appearance of Mr. Hunka in Parliament during the Zelensky visit. My intention is to lay out the facts to 'stabilize the waters' going forward in the matter.
Let me be clear I do not support Nazism, Fascism, or any other political ideology that advocates authoritarianism or dictatorships. I acknowledge the Holocaust and condemn the fact that six million Jews perished at the hands of the Nazis during World War II. But here are the facts as I have been able to determine them. Forgive me, but the subject is a complicated one and for this reason, requires serious exposition to fully understand it. This will take you about five minutes to read.
Galicia Division
Any review of the political events and the actors that took part in World War II needs to be placed in context. That context needs to start with the signing of the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union on August 23rd, 1939. In that pact, the Soviet Union allied itself with Nazi Germany agreeing to carve up Poland and occupy other countries in Central Europe. Then on September 1st, 1939 Nazi Germany invaded Poland and the Soviet Union followed suit on September 17th, 1939 also invading Poland from the east. That was the beginning of World War II. The two powers remained allied for the next two years during which Hitler led the German army on a rampage across Western Europe while Stalin, his ally, supported him with supplies and military help.
A further key to putting events in World War II into context was that in the years that followed nine other countries allied with Nazi Germany. These included Fascist Italy on June 10th, 1940, Vichy France on July 10th, 1940, and Imperial Japan on September 27th, 1940. Other countries followed. Hungary joined the Axis alliance on November 20, 1940. Romania joined the Axis on November 23, 1940. Slovakia followed suit and joined the Axis alliance on November 24, 1940. Bulgaria joined the Axis on March 1, 1941. Yugoslavia reluctantly joined the Axis on March 25, 1941. The Independent State of Croatia joined the Axis on June 15, 1941. By June 1941 no fewer than nine states were allied and collaborating with Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union leading all of them.
Then on June 22nd, 1941, Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union and their two-year alliance was broken. In the years that followed Nazi Germany pushed back the Red Army to Stalingrad. In those years Germany began to feel a shortage in manpower. Between 1943 and 1945, 24 non-German divisions were formed in various Nazi-occupied European countries due to this shortage of German manpower. Among them were: Russia (with three divisions bearing the flags and symbols of today’s Russia), Holland, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, France, Norway, India, Hungary, Croatia, Latvia, Ukraine, and others. All of these military units were designated as Waffen SS divisions. These Waffen SS divisions participated in military operations only, and not in police actions. In the case of Ukraine, after much debate, in April 1943 the Ukrainian Central Committee (UCC located in Krakow, Poland) acceded to the German “proposal” of forming a Ukrainian division to be officially called “14 Waffen Grenadier Division der SS, Galizische Nr. 1” – or the “Galicia Division.” It was formally created on April 28th, 1943. Moreover, it was agreed that the Ukrainian division was to be deployed for service only on the Eastern Front against the Soviets. The UCC also hoped that this enterprise might help improve the treatment of Ukrainians, whom the Nazis considered “Untermenschen” (“sub human”).
The Galicia Division and another Ukrainian military group that became the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) formed on October 14th, 1942, were two separate military entities with different origins and immediate objectives. The motivation behind forming a Ukrainian military unit within Germany’s armed forces was greatly influenced by the experience of WW1. At the beginning of WW1 Ukrainians living in western Ukrainian provinces under the Austrian Empire were able to form their own regiment, the Sich Riflemen (Sichovi Striltsi), within the Austro-Hungarian armed forces. The war in the east ended with the front lines in Ukraine, and soldiers and officers of the Sichovi Striltsi soon formed the core of the nascent army of the newly declared Ukrainian National Republic (UNR). These experienced and disciplined soldiers helped the UNR Army to fight off the invading Soviet Russian and Polish armies for three years (1918-1920) despite a total lack of support from the West. It was therefore surmised that if WW2 ended with the front lines in Ukraine, or if Allied forces of the West were to engage the Soviet Union, then a highly trained, well-equipped fighting force would be an effective argument for an independent Ukrainian state. Indeed, the most important motivation for Ukrainian youth to join the division was the memory of USSR atrocities in occupied Ukraine between September 1939 and the beginning of July 1941. A similar philosophy involved the creation of the Ukrainian Partisan Army (UPA) which fought against both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union for a free Ukraine.
Sadly, neither scenario: improvement of the treatment of Ukrainians due to the creation of the Galician Division nor a war against the Soviet Union at the end of WWII came true. But while stationed in Slovakia, the Galicia Division saved the lives of thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Soviet onslaught. There is evidence that soldiers from the Galician Division stole weapons from its arsenal and passed them on to partisans fighting against Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. It is important to note that before the end of WWII, the Division became the core of what was then termed the Ukrainian National Army, commanded by General Pavlo Shandruk, a highly decorated military man and hero in Poland. They surrendered to the British and Americans as such on May 8-11, 1945.
Members of the "Galicia Division" were then interned at the end of the Second World War near Rimini, Italy. There they were screened by the British, Americans, Canadians, and even the Soviets, with no evidence of wartime criminality uncovered. Later relocated to the UK they kept working for several more years before being "civilianized," following which a number emigrated to other countries. Concerns were expressed when veterans of this Division were finally granted permission to come to Canada in 1950. They were then investigated by the High Commissioner of Canada to the United Kingdom. He dismissed those accusations as nothing more than "Communist propaganda."
Starting in the late 1970s the KGB successfully orchestrated a disinformation campaign, Operation Payback, deliberately stoking tensions between the Jewish and Ukrainian diasporas over the alleged presence of "thousands" of "Nazi war criminals" in Canada and the USA. These charges were thoroughly examined in 1984-1987 by the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals headed by Mr Justice Jules Deschênes. He concluded that reports about "thousands of Nazi war criminals in Canada" were "grossly exaggerated" and noted how there was no evidence of wartime wrongdoing on the part of the veterans of the "Galicia Division."
Mr. Hunka who appeared in Parliament when President Zelensky visited Ottawa appears to be one of the men who came to Canada as part of the Galician Division. There is no evidence at this moment of any war crimes or atrocities that he committed. As for new allegations now being made, four previous clearances of his military unit resulted in a clean slate. If there is any new evidence, then let the accusers present it now. It is one thing to make allegations, it is another to provide credible evidence. Were this unit never examined, these allegations would be more of a reason for concern. But these previous reviews were all government-based reviews by reputable parties, including of course Deschene. They were made after the war and closer to when the alleged events occurred, not 75 years later. Until new convincing evidence of war crimes by the Galician Division itself is presented, in view of the previous reviews it is only reasonable to abide by what has been decided.
It is true that President Zelensky of Ukraine has spoken out against the Galician Division for joining in the war effort with Nazi Germany. That is a legitimate viewpoint that can be held about its role in WWII. Those who support the Division argue that Ukrainians who joined it joined not to help the Nazis but to fight for a free Ukraine. That too is a point to debate. But the fact that no war crimes were committed by the Division and that those who came to Canada who were former members of the Division were thoroughly cleared is beyond dispute. That is the point to be made regarding their presence in Canada.
Want more information?
Read the official report of the Decshenes Commission at: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2014/bcp-pco/CP32-52-1986-1-eng.pdf
Andy J. Semotiuk
U.S. and Canadian Immigration Lawyer
Helping clients improve their lives through immigration
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