Nazi SS Division soldier gets standing ovation in Canadian Parliament

During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s address to Parliament, House Speaker Anthony Rota called attention to 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka and led the room in applause for him.
Members of Canadian Parliament gave a standing ovation to a man who fought for a Nazi SS division in the Second World War.
MPs cheered and Zelenskyy raised his fist in acknowledgement.
At one point, Mr. Rota pointed to Mr. Hunka who sat in the gallery, saying the man was "a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service".
During World War Two, Mr. Hunka served in the 14th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division, also known as the Galicia Division - a voluntary unit made up mostly of ethnic Ukrainians under Nazi command.
Division members are accused of killing Polish and Jewish civilians.Show more

The 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician), known as the 14th SS-Volunteer Division "Galicia" prior to 1944, was a World War II Nazi Germany military formation made up predominantly of military volunteers with a Ukrainian ethnic background from the area of Galicia, later also with some Slovaks.
House Speaker Anthony Rota has issued a public apology – but it doesn’t go far enough to address atrocities this division performed on Polish citizens during the war, the Polish ambassador to Canada says.
“This is a person who participated in an organization that was targeting Poles, was committing mass murders of Poles, not only the military personnel but also civilians,” Dzielski said.
Several Jewish advocacy organizations condemned members of Parliament.
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies issued a statement saying the division “was responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable.”
“An apology is owed to every Holocaust survivor and veteran of the Second World War who fought the Nazis, and an explanation must be provided as to how this individual entered the hallowed halls of Canadian Parliament and received recognition from the Speaker of the House and a standing ovation,” the statement said.
Kremlin says Canadian recognition of veteran from Nazi unit is 'outrageous'
#canada #nazi #canadianparliament