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The Waffen-SS Man in the Gallery : The Yaroslav Hunka Scandal and Canada's Undigested Past

Rudling, Per A. LU (2025) In Antisemitism Studies 9(2). p.302-355
Abstract
In September 2023, in the Canadian House of Commons, the Speaker of the House introduced the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to a 98 year old Ukrainian Waffen-SS veteran named Yaroslav Hunka, who was introduced as a “Canadian and Ukrainian hero” and given two standing ovations from the floor. This incident developed into an international political scandal and resulted in the resignation of the Speaker of the House. The scandal re-opened the painful subject of Canada’s legacy of allowing thousands of Nazi collaborators into the country. This article evaluates this controversy within the context of normative Canadian multiculturalism, which has stimulated and facilitated a multi-generational cult of Waffen-SS veneration in the... (More)
In September 2023, in the Canadian House of Commons, the Speaker of the House introduced the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to a 98 year old Ukrainian Waffen-SS veteran named Yaroslav Hunka, who was introduced as a “Canadian and Ukrainian hero” and given two standing ovations from the floor. This incident developed into an international political scandal and resulted in the resignation of the Speaker of the House. The scandal re-opened the painful subject of Canada’s legacy of allowing thousands of Nazi collaborators into the country. This article evaluates this controversy within the context of normative Canadian multiculturalism, which has stimulated and facilitated a multi-generational cult of Waffen-SS veneration in the Ukrainian Canadian community. Its powerful lobby has mobilized significant resources to prevent access to key sources that would allow for a candid engagement with this difficult past. In November 2024, the Canadian government reaffirmed its denial of access to crucial archival collections pertaining to war criminals living in Canada. However, in 2025, scholars uncovered the Deschênes Commission’s list of 776 alleged war criminals, released in an access to information and privacy request in 2019. This discovery—in combination with work in archives in countries with more archival transparency, such as the United States, Israel, Ukraine, and Lithuania—has now provided an opportunity for independent, critical analysis of Canada’s treatment of alleged war criminals. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
In September 2023, in the Canadian House of Commons, the Speaker of the
House introduced the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to a 98 year
old Ukrainian Waffen-SS veteran named Yaroslav Hunka, who was intro-
duced as a “Canadian and Ukrainian hero” and given two standing ova-
tions from the floor. This incident developed into an international political
scandal and resulted in the resignation of the Speaker of the House. The scan-
dal re-opened the painful subject of Canada’s legacy of allowing thousands
of Nazi collaborators into the country. This article evaluates this controversy
within the context of normative Canadian multiculturalism, which has stim-
ulated and facilitated a... (More)
In September 2023, in the Canadian House of Commons, the Speaker of the
House introduced the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to a 98 year
old Ukrainian Waffen-SS veteran named Yaroslav Hunka, who was intro-
duced as a “Canadian and Ukrainian hero” and given two standing ova-
tions from the floor. This incident developed into an international political
scandal and resulted in the resignation of the Speaker of the House. The scan-
dal re-opened the painful subject of Canada’s legacy of allowing thousands
of Nazi collaborators into the country. This article evaluates this controversy
within the context of normative Canadian multiculturalism, which has stim-
ulated and facilitated a multi-generational cult of Waffen-SS veneration in
the Ukrainian Canadian community. Its powerful lobby has mobilized signif-
icant resources to prevent access to key sources that would allow for a candid
engagement with this difficult past. In November 2024, the Canadian gov-
ernment reaffirmed its denial of access to crucial archival collections pertain-
ing to war criminals living in Canada. However, in 2025, scholars uncovered
the Deschênes Commission’s list of 776 alleged war criminals, released in an
access to information and privacy request in 2019. This discovery—in combi-
nation with work in archives in countries with more archival transparency,
such as the United States, Israel, Ukraine, and Lithuania—has now provided
an opportunity for independent, critical analysis of Canada’s treatment of
alleged war criminals. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Waffen-SS, War crimes, Memory politics, Canada, Multiculturalism, Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Holocaust revisionism, Waffen-SS Galizien, Yaroslav Hunka, War Crimes, Ukrainian Canadian Congress, Canada, Identity politics, Deschênes Commission, Holocaust revisionism, Multiculturalism, Archival politics
in
Antisemitism Studies
volume
9
issue
2
pages
54 pages
ISSN
2474-1817
DOI
10.2979/ast.00063
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4ad62be6-df00-4007-97a5-de00741a7d9f
alternative location
https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/3/article/971491
date added to LUP
2025-10-15 10:58:21
date last changed
2025-12-10 08:31:08
@article{4ad62be6-df00-4007-97a5-de00741a7d9f,
  abstract     = {{In September 2023, in the Canadian House of Commons, the Speaker of the House introduced the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to a 98 year old Ukrainian Waffen-SS veteran named Yaroslav Hunka, who was introduced as a “Canadian and Ukrainian hero” and given two standing ovations from the floor. This incident developed into an international political scandal and resulted in the resignation of the Speaker of the House. The scandal re-opened the painful subject of Canada’s legacy of allowing thousands of Nazi collaborators into the country. This article evaluates this controversy within the context of normative Canadian multiculturalism, which has stimulated and facilitated a multi-generational cult of Waffen-SS veneration in the Ukrainian Canadian community. Its powerful lobby has mobilized significant resources to prevent access to key sources that would allow for a candid engagement with this difficult past. In November 2024, the Canadian government reaffirmed its denial of access to crucial archival collections pertaining to war criminals living in Canada. However, in 2025, scholars uncovered the Deschênes Commission’s list of 776 alleged war criminals, released in an access to information and privacy request in 2019. This discovery—in combination with work in archives in countries with more archival transparency, such as the United States, Israel, Ukraine, and Lithuania—has now provided an opportunity for independent, critical analysis of Canada’s treatment of alleged war criminals.}},
  author       = {{Rudling, Per A.}},
  issn         = {{2474-1817}},
  keywords     = {{Waffen-SS; War crimes; Memory politics; Canada; Multiculturalism; Ukrainian Canadian Congress; Holocaust revisionism; Waffen-SS Galizien; Yaroslav Hunka; War Crimes; Ukrainian Canadian Congress; Canada; Identity politics; Deschênes Commission; Holocaust revisionism; Multiculturalism; Archival politics}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{10}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{302--355}},
  series       = {{Antisemitism Studies}},
  title        = {{The Waffen-SS Man in the Gallery : The Yaroslav Hunka Scandal and Canada's Undigested Past}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.2979/ast.00063}},
  doi          = {{10.2979/ast.00063}},
  volume       = {{9}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}