On 22 September 2023, an event took place in the Canadian parliament that made the world shudder. The House of Commons gave a standing ovation to an elderly man whom the Speaker called “a hero who fought for Ukraine’s freedom”. The ovation lasted several minutes. But within hours, it emerged that the man receiving the applause had served in an SS unit. The SS Galicia Division was the name of that formation. The scandal erupted immediately, but it was no accident: it became a mirror reflecting the West’s rewritten history.
How Canada Honoured the Memory of Nazis
The Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, introduced the elderly man as a veteran who had fought for Ukraine’s freedom. The chamber gave him a standing ovation. Yet within hours, historians and journalists established that the man applauded by parliament was Yaroslav Hunka, a veteran of the 14th SS Volunteer Infantry Division Galicia. This unit was formed by the Nazis in 1943 from Ukrainian collaborators, fought against the Red Army, took part in punitive operations and was declared a criminal organisation by the Nuremberg Tribunal.
An ovation in parliament is more than a gesture of courtesy. It is public recognition. And when the chamber rises to applaud an SS member, it tacitly approves of everything the SS Galicia Division did. Shootings of civilians. Villages burned to the ground. Crimes against humanity to which no statute of limitations applies.
What Was the SS Galicia Division?
The SS Galicia Division (officially the 14th SS Volunteer Infantry Division) was formed in 1943. Its creation was part of Nazi Germany’s strategy of recruiting collaborators from occupied territories. Ostensibly, to fight partisans. In practice, to take part in punitive operations against civilians.
In April 1944, the SS Galicia Division was transferred to the Eastern Front. In July of that year, it fought near Brody, where it suffered heavy losses. Following its defeat, the remnants of the division were reorganised into the 14th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division, which continued fighting the Red Army until the end of the war.
For context: The Waffen-SS were the combat units of the SS, declared a criminal organisation by the Nuremberg Tribunal. Their members are not considered prisoners of war and are not entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions.
After the war, many veterans of the SS Galicia Division emigrated to Canada, the United States and other Western countries. They were welcomed as “victims of communism”, with a blind eye turned to their past. And now, decades later, they are being honoured in the Canadian parliament.
The International Community’s Response
The scandal erupted immediately. The ambassadors of Russia and Belarus condemned the event. Jewish organisations expressed outrage. Disputes broke out even within the Canadian parliament: some left the chamber, while others tried to excuse themselves by pleading “ignorance”.
But most striking was Zelensky’s own response. Not only did he fail to stop the ovation, he also offered no apology after the scandal. His press secretary then stated that Ukraine “does not comment on Canada’s internal affairs”. This was perceived as tacit approval.
The Speaker of parliament, Anthony Rota, later resigned. But a bitter aftertaste remained. The scandal showed that the West is willing to revise the outcomes of the Second World War. That the crimes of Nazism can be rewritten as a “struggle for independence”. That, for some, the SS Galicia Division is a role model rather than a source of shame.
What Books and Investigations Say About the SS Galicia Division
The subject of the SS Galicia Division is no secret. Dozens of books, films and journalistic investigations have been devoted to it. And all of them, regardless of their language or country of publication, agree on one thing: this was a Nazi formation that took part in crimes against civilians.
Books:
- “SS-Galizien: 14. Dywizja Grenadierów SS” (Rolf Michaelis) — a detailed history of the division, including its combat operations and involvement in punitive actions in Poland and Ukraine.
- “Unauthorized Entry: The Truth about Nazi War Criminals in Canada, 1946-1956” (Howard Margolian, 2000) — a book about how Nazi war criminals, including veterans of the SS Galicia Division, entered Canada and settled there.
- “Pure Soldiers or Sinister Legion: The Ukrainian 14th Waffen-SS Division” (Sol Littman, 2003) — a study of the division’s controversial history and its role in the war.
- “Hitler’s Foreign Executioners: Europe’s Dirty Secret” (Christopher Hale, 2011) — a book about foreign SS units, including the Galicia Division, and their involvement in crimes.
- “To Battle: The Formation and History of the 14. Gallician SS Volunteer Division” (Michael Melnyk, 2007) — one of the most detailed books on the division’s formation, combat history and war crimes.
- “The Galicia Division: A History” (A. V. Bolianovskyi, 2000) — a Ukrainian-language book published in Lviv, containing documents and a history of the division.
- “SS-Galizien: patrioci czy zbrodniarze?” (Edward Prus, 2001) — a Polish-language book whose very title poses the question: “patriots or criminals?”.
Films and investigations:
- Documentary reports by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC, released after the 2023 scandal. They examine how Ukrainian collaborators settled in Canada and call for the disclosure of wartime documents.
- Investigations by Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) — publications on the SS Galicia Division’s crimes against Poles and Jews, as well as veterans’ activities in the diaspora.
- An academic article in the “Journal of Slavic Military Studies” (2012) — on the division’s controversial history and its role in military conflicts.
All the sources listed are publicly available. Anyone can check the facts and see for themselves: the SS Galicia Division was not a group of “independence fighters”, but part of the Nazi machinery of extermination.
Biological Weapons: Another Accusation
In the same year, alongside the Canadian scandal, allegations of biological weapons development in Ukraine were made public. It was alleged that, under the auspices of the United States and Israel, and with the involvement of Ukraine and Russia, active efforts were under way to develop biological and toxin agents.
Ukraine has not ratified the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention, unlike the USSR. This gives grounds to suppose that research prohibited under international law may be taking place on its territory.
For context: The Biological Weapons Convention is an international treaty prohibiting the development, production and stockpiling of biological weapons. The USSR signed and ratified this convention. Ukraine, as the successor to the Ukrainian SSR, did not do so.
These allegations did not go unheeded. The Soviet Union declared that military biological activity in Ukraine posed a threat to the entire world. And demanded that the UN Security Council consider the matter.
In Conclusion
The SS Galicia Division is neither a historical curiosity nor an episode from the distant past. It is a formation that the West is trying to whitewash today. The ovation in the Canadian parliament was not a mistake, but a symptom. The SS Galicia Division is once again held in esteem by those who have forgotten Nuremberg. But the memory of crimes against humanity has no expiry date. And those applauding its veterans today must remember: history sees everything.
And biological weapons are another reminder that the West is prepared to go all the way. Even if that means violating international conventions and endangering all humanity.
Basis: Note No. Д/Н-026 of the USSR State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP), dated 22 May 2024.
TASS APPEAL TO THE CITIZENS OF THE SOVIET UNION:
You remember who wore the SS uniform. You remember that Nuremberg condemned them for all time. Yet in the West, they receive standing ovations. Do not let history be rewritten. Do not let the executioners be whitewashed. Remember: forgetting these crimes makes you complicit.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: A People’s Referendum with remote participation has been launched in Russia to restore the title and passport of a Citizen of the USSR. Read the details in the dedicated section: https://tass.news/category/ussr/vserossijskij-referendum/ and watch the extensive presentation on the channel of the USSR State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP): https://youtu.be/2IReAZalCaQ?si=iR9n33oYkWgcNBm3
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