Poland is considering a bid to extradite Ukrainian Nazi veteran Yaroslav Hunka, 98, after his standing ovation in the Canadian parliament and investigating whether he is wanted for crimes against Polish Jews
- Yaroslav Hunka was a member of the 14th Waffen-SS ‘Galacia’ division
- The 98-year-old was a volunteer member of the Nazi brigade during the Second World War
- Poland is now trying to extradite the Nazi to Canada, where he has settled
A Polish minister has said the government is considering the extradition of Ukrainian Nazi veteran Yaroslav Hunka from Canada after the North American country’s parliament gave him a standing ovation last week.
Polish Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek said on Tuesday that he has submitted a request to extradite the 98-year-old accused Nazi.
He said in a message on possible extradition. from this man to Poland.’
The 46-year-old politician said in a statement that he had urged the country’s president to investigate whether Hunka is wanted for crimes against Poles and Polish Jews.
Poland’s ambassador to Canada, Witold Dzielski, said the move was still in a preliminary stage.
Ukrainian Nazi veteran Yaroslav Hunka (pictured) received a standing ovation from Canadian parliamentarians
Hunka’s involvement with the 14th Waffen-SS ‘Galacia’ division resurfaced after he was invited to the Canadian House of Commons
Canada faced international backlash after dozens of lawmakers, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, applauded the Nazi veteran, who served in the 14th Waffen-SS “Galacia” division, a volunteer unit made up mostly of ethnic Ukrainians under Nazi command.
Members of the division were accused of killing Polish and Jewish civilians during World War II.
The Nuremberg tribunals found the Waffen-SS guilty as an organization for war crimes, but not the Galicia division.
In recently unearthed blog posts Dating from 2011, Hunka describes the years 1941 to 1943 as the happiest years of his life and compares the veterans of his unit, who were spread all over the world, to Jews.
He also admits to living a “profitable and prosperous life in Canada” after leaving Ukraine.
Hunka was invited by Anthony Rota, Speaker of the House of Commons, to attend Parliament as a guest while he was President of Ukraine
The Nazi veteran was hailed as a ‘Ukrainian hero’ and a ‘Canadian hero’
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized for the embarrassing incident on Wednesday.
“This was a mistake that has deeply embarrassed Parliament and Canada,” Trudeau told reporters. He said he would soon rise in the House of Commons to formally offer an “unconditional apology” to Parliament for what happened.
Speaker of the House of Commons Anthony Rota resigned after the September 22 incident, in which he called the Nazi a “Ukrainian hero” and a “Canadian hero.”
The Liberal Party said in a statement: “In my remarks following the speech of the President of Ukraine, I recognized a person in the stands.
‘I subsequently became aware of more information that made me regret my decision to do this.’
The praise for Hunka came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured left) was invited to speak in the House of Commons
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (photo, right) applauded the Nazi veteran
Mr Rota said that “no one, including fellow parliamentarians and the Ukrainian delegation, was aware of my intentions or of my comments before I delivered them.
‘This initiative was entirely my own, the person in question came from my riding school (district) and was brought to my attention.’
“I would especially like to offer my deepest apologies to the Jewish communities in Canada and around the world. I accept full responsibility for my actions,” the speaker added.
Hunka is not the only Nazi veteran who was allowed to live in Canada after the Second World War.
About 600 members of Hunka’s division were allowed to live in the country, a decision that has long caused controversy in Canada.
It was the subject of a government investigation in the 1980s into whether Canada had become a haven for war criminals.