Celebrations by Jewish groups over the statue’s removal may be premature. The monument has not been eliminated or destroyed and might even return
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A monument in Oakville, Ont., honouring Ukrainian soldiers who fought in a Nazi military unit during the Second World War has been removed after years of controversy. While Jewish advocacy groups celebrate, however, the cemetery where it was located said the stone marker is being repaired rather than destroyed.
The towering stone pillar, etched with crests and memorial statements, stood between two flag poles in St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery, a private graveyard in Oakville, Ont., since the 1980s, weathering condemnation, petitions for its removals, and occasional vandalism, including being sprayed with “Nazi War Monument” in 2020.
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It was erected in honour of members of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, also known as the Galicia Division, which fought for Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union, which was the ally of Canada against Hitler’s Nazi Germany during the war.
That was the same unit Yaroslav Hunka fought for and calls for the monument’s removal erupted again in September after the embarrassment of Hunka being honoured in Parliament as a Ukrainian war hero during a visit to Ottawa by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, without anyone seeming to realize Hunka had fought for the Nazis.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued “unreserved apologies” for the “egregious error” that “deeply embarrassed Parliament and Canada.” Speaker of the House Anthony Rota, who invited Hunka, resigned. But the statue remained.
The Jewish community has lobbied for its removal for years and, over the weekend, it seemed they had found success.
“After actively advocating for the removal of this monument for many years, we greatly welcome its elimination, albeit overdue,” said Dan Panneton, a spokesman for the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, a Jewish advocacy organization, in a written statement issued Saturday evening.
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“This memorial honoured and glorified individuals who served in a Nazi military unit and were complicit in war crimes committed during the Holocaust, ultimately distorting Holocaust history. We are grateful to the Jewish and Ukrainian communities in Oakville that worked together to close the chapter on this painful and divisive issue.”
The celebrations may be premature. The statue has not been eliminated or destroyed and might even return.
The pedestal where the monument once stood remains. A sign at the site said the pillar had been “Removed for repair.”
That intent remains, a spokesperson for the West Oak Memorial Gardens where the monument stood, which is owned and operated by St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery, told National Post
“Monument to the Veterans of the First Ukrainian Division located at our parish’s St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery in Oakville has been defaced with graffiti several times in the past few years,” the cemetery’s office said in an emailed statement.
“Recently it was more seriously damaged by vandals. After much consideration and consultation with descendants of the division (owners of the monument), it has been decided to remove the monument to enable its repair.
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“St Volodymyr Ukrainian Cemetery is not responsible for the ownership of this monument or its repair moving forward.”
Asked if it will be moved to a different, perhaps less-conspicuous site, or returned to its pedestal went unanswered prior to deadline.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress, which has previously defended the statue, did not respond to several requests for comment and information prior to deadline.
Previously, the congress said that the unit, comprised mainly of Ukrainian volunteers to fight the Soviet Red Army, never fought against the Western Allies and that the Commission of Inquiry on War Criminals in Canada, known as the Deschênes Commission, did not substantiate war crimes against it.
Current events make the monument’s removal, for now, particularly timely.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin used Ottawa’s applause for Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian Canadian from North Bay, Ont., and his wartime service to reinforce his public position that Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine was to “de-Nazify” the country.
It also comes as Jews are increasingly being targeted in Canada and abroad.
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“It’s been almost 80 years since the end of the Holocaust and yet today antisemitism has exploded once again,” said Bernie Farber, co-founder and former chairman of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, and the son of a Holocaust survivor.
“Having this Nazi memorial monument stain our country while Jew hatred runs rampant divided Canadian Jews and Ukrainians. It was the right decision by this post-war generation of the Ukrainian community to remove this constant reminder of Nazi evil and will go a long way in repairing relations between both communities,” Farber said.
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center said two other similar monuments remain, both in Edmonton, which it says honour “Nazi collaborators and war criminals.”
Both statues were also vandalized in recent years, with “Actual Nazi” written on a statue of Roman Shukhevych, at the entrance of the Ukrainian Youth Unity Complex, and “Nazi Monument” painted on a stone marker in St. Michael’s Cemetery erected to honour the same military unit as the Oakville pillar.
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