"Fighers for the Freedom of Ukraine" : Canada's Nazi Collaborator Monuments
(2025) In Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right p.290-326- Abstract
- The 14th Waffen-SS Division Galizien was set up in 1943 by Ukrainian volunteers, largely sympathetic to the more conservative Melnyk wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN(m)). Its members took a personal oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler and served in a number of capacities on the eastern front. In addition to combat at the front, the unit partook in the crushing of the Slovak National Uprising in 1944, and counterinsurgency campaigns against Yugoslav partisans in Slovenia. After the war, the veterans settled across the world, but were concentrated largely in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK). The veterans erected a number of monuments to their unit, as freedom fighters who died for the liberty of Ukraine. These became... (More)
- The 14th Waffen-SS Division Galizien was set up in 1943 by Ukrainian volunteers, largely sympathetic to the more conservative Melnyk wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN(m)). Its members took a personal oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler and served in a number of capacities on the eastern front. In addition to combat at the front, the unit partook in the crushing of the Slovak National Uprising in 1944, and counterinsurgency campaigns against Yugoslav partisans in Slovenia. After the war, the veterans settled across the world, but were concentrated largely in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK). The veterans erected a number of monuments to their unit, as freedom fighters who died for the liberty of Ukraine. These became meeting points where the veterans and their followers gathered to commemorate fallen comrades and to reiterate their narration of history. How did the veterans represent their past to the host societies, most of which having been on the allied side, fighting the Nazis? Why were monuments to Waffen-SS and other collaborators were regarded as unexceptional when constructed, and why have they generated attention and controversy now, 80 years after the end of World War II, when virtually all veterans have passed? Through a study of the memorials, this chapter seeks to analyze the memory culture of the Ukrainian diaspora far-right. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Heroic narrations of Waffen-SS are encountered in several memory cultures, not
least among Cold War émigrés.1 One example of this is the Ukrainian community
in Canada, in particular the so-called third wave of Displaced Persons, refugees
from communist rule in Eastern Europe. It constitutes a community of memory
in many key respects at odds with the Canadian mainstream society. Whereas the
Holocaust occupies a prominent role in historical memory and political culture in
Canada, the Ukrainian diaspora has yet to embark on a process of problematizing
this difficult past.
This chapter focuses on three World War II-era groups who occupy central roles
in its memory culture: the Organization of Ukrainian... (More) - Heroic narrations of Waffen-SS are encountered in several memory cultures, not
least among Cold War émigrés.1 One example of this is the Ukrainian community
in Canada, in particular the so-called third wave of Displaced Persons, refugees
from communist rule in Eastern Europe. It constitutes a community of memory
in many key respects at odds with the Canadian mainstream society. Whereas the
Holocaust occupies a prominent role in historical memory and political culture in
Canada, the Ukrainian diaspora has yet to embark on a process of problematizing
this difficult past.
This chapter focuses on three World War II-era groups who occupy central roles
in its memory culture: the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), its armed
wing, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), and the 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division
der SS (galizische Nr. 1), colloquially Waffen-SS Galizien. In the absence of
an open and candid engagement with the histories of these groups, their legacies
have been linked to recurrent controversies regarding their place in history. A controversy surrounds the physical memorials dedicated to the glorification of these
groups. While such monuments and community halls are found across Canada,
recent years have seen memory conflicts around a handful of monuments in the
Toronto suburb of Oakville and the Alberta capital, Edmonton, both cities with
large Ukrainian communities. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/b23e7493-d5fd-4ad1-9ce2-0aae35e25b67
- author
- Rudling, Per Anders LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2025-11-06
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- in press
- subject
- keywords
- Ukraine, Waffen-SS Galizien, OUN, Roman Shukhevych, Multiculturalism, Canada, Identity politics, Holocaust, Ukrainian Canadian Congress
- host publication
- Transnational and Transatlantic Fascism, 1918–2018 : The Far Right in East Central and Southeastern Europe - The Far Right in East Central and Southeastern Europe
- series title
- Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right
- editor
- Rossoliński-Liebe, Grzegorz and Per Anders, Rudling
- pages
- 37 pages
- publisher
- Routledge
- ISBN
- 9781003329398
- 9781032359267
- DOI
- 10.4324/9781003329398-19
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b23e7493-d5fd-4ad1-9ce2-0aae35e25b67
- date added to LUP
- 2025-10-03 13:31:31
- date last changed
- 2025-10-21 13:34:37
@inbook{b23e7493-d5fd-4ad1-9ce2-0aae35e25b67,
abstract = {{The 14th Waffen-SS Division Galizien was set up in 1943 by Ukrainian volunteers, largely sympathetic to the more conservative Melnyk wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN(m)). Its members took a personal oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler and served in a number of capacities on the eastern front. In addition to combat at the front, the unit partook in the crushing of the Slovak National Uprising in 1944, and counterinsurgency campaigns against Yugoslav partisans in Slovenia. After the war, the veterans settled across the world, but were concentrated largely in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK). The veterans erected a number of monuments to their unit, as freedom fighters who died for the liberty of Ukraine. These became meeting points where the veterans and their followers gathered to commemorate fallen comrades and to reiterate their narration of history. How did the veterans represent their past to the host societies, most of which having been on the allied side, fighting the Nazis? Why were monuments to Waffen-SS and other collaborators were regarded as unexceptional when constructed, and why have they generated attention and controversy now, 80 years after the end of World War II, when virtually all veterans have passed? Through a study of the memorials, this chapter seeks to analyze the memory culture of the Ukrainian diaspora far-right.}},
author = {{Rudling, Per Anders}},
booktitle = {{Transnational and Transatlantic Fascism, 1918–2018 : The Far Right in East Central and Southeastern Europe}},
editor = {{Rossoliński-Liebe, Grzegorz and Per Anders, Rudling}},
isbn = {{9781003329398}},
keywords = {{Ukraine; Waffen-SS Galizien; OUN; Roman Shukhevych; Multiculturalism; Canada; Identity politics; Holocaust; Ukrainian Canadian Congress}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{11}},
pages = {{290--326}},
publisher = {{Routledge}},
series = {{Routledge Studies in Fascism and the Far Right}},
title = {{"Fighers for the Freedom of Ukraine" : Canada's Nazi Collaborator Monuments}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003329398-19}},
doi = {{10.4324/9781003329398-19}},
year = {{2025}},
}