Canadian authorities could have to remove more than half of the names inscribed on a memorial to the victims of communism planned for the country's capital, Ottawa, due to concerns that over half have Nazi links, local media reported on Monday.
According to a document obtained by the Ottawa Citizen, the Department of Canadian Heritage found that out of the 553 people and organizations to be originally listed, 50 to 60 were “were likely directly linked to the Nazis.”
A 2023 report for Canadian Heritage insisted that over 330 names be excluded from the list “to be on the safe side,” as there was not enough information to confirm or deny Nazi links. It was instead proposed to remove other names because of there being no direct link to Canada, the outlet said.
The monument was originally scheduled to be unveiled in November 2023, but the ceremony was delayed due to concerns that WWII Nazi collaborators were listed on the monument. The checks were made after a scandal in which a known Ukrainian Waffen SS veteran, Yaroslav Hunka, received a standing ovation in the Canadian parliament.
The latter controversy ignited a firestorm globally, particularly from the Jewish community, which pointed out that Hunka’s 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, also known as the 1st Galician Division, which consisted mostly of Western Ukrainians, was implicated in war crimes.
In this light, the Canadian government is now “doing its due diligence to ensure all aspects of the Memorial remain compatible with Canadian values on democracy and human rights.” The monument is now scheduled to open this year, although the exact date has yet to be determined.
The planned monument first drew controversy in 2021 when the fundraising campaign attracted numerous donations meant to honor such notorious figures as Ante Pavelic, a Croatian fascist leader, and Roman Shukhevich, a Ukrainian nationalist and Nazi collaborator, who was among the perpetrators of the massacre of tens of thousands of Poles.