Tag: nazis

Liberal government called on to release still-secret documents on Nazi war criminals living in Canada

A Jewish advocacy group is calling on the Liberal government to release a still-secret 40-year-old report and other documents containing details about alleged Nazi war criminals living in Canada.

The federal government has withheld a second part of a 1986 government commission report about Nazis who settled in Canada. In addition, it has heavily censored another 1986 report examining how Nazis were able to get into Canada. More than 600 pages of that document, obtained by this newspaper and other organizations through the Access to Information law, have been censored.

David Matas, the honorary counsel for B’nai Brith, said the Jewish advocacy organization was also pushing for the release of RCMP and Department of Justice files on alleged Nazi war criminals in Canada. “We’ve run up against a brick wall,” he said of the government’s decision to continue withholding the records.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday that the government could take another look at whether the records should be released. “Canada has a really dark history with Nazis in Canada,” Miller said as he headed into the weekly Liberal caucus meeting.

“There was a point in our history where it was easier to get in as a Nazi than it was as a Jewish person. I think that’s a history we have to reconcile.”

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Canada’s honoring of Nazi vet exposes Ottawa’s longstanding Ukraine policy

By celebrating a Waffen-SS volunteer as a “hero,” Canada’s Liberal Party highlighted a longstanding policy that has seen Ottawa train fascist militants in Ukraine while welcoming in thousands of post-war Nazi SS veterans.

Canada’s second most powerful official, Chrystia Freeland, is the granddaughter of one of Nazi Germany’s top Ukrainian propagandists.

In the Spring of 1943, Yaroslav Hunka was a fresh-faced soldier in the 14th Grenadier Division of the Waffen-SS Galicia when his division received a visit from the architect of Nazi Germany’s genocidal policies, Heinrich Himmler. Having presided over the battalion’s formation, Himmler was visibly proud of the Ukrainians who had volunteered to support the Third Reich’s efforts.

80 years later, the Speaker of Canada’s parliament, Anthony Rota, also beamed with pride after inviting Hunka to a reception for Volodymyr Zelensky, where the Ukrainian president lobbied for more arms and financial assistance for his country’s war against Russia.

“We have in the chamber today Ukrainian war veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today even at his age of 98,” Rota declared during the September 22 parliamentary event in Ottawa.

“His name is Yaroslav Hunka but I am very proud to say he is from North Bay and from my riding of Nipissing-Timiskaming. He is a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service,” Rota continued.

Gales of applause erupted through the crowd, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Zelensky, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, Canadian Chief of Defense Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre and leaders of all Canadian parties rose from their seats to applaud Hunka’s wartime service.

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When Zelensky Brought a Nazi to the Greek Parliament

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been making a virtual world tour with video hookups to parliaments around the globe, as well as to the Grammy Awards and the U.N. Security Council, sometimes with troublesome results.  

On April 7, 2022 a major row erupted when Zelensky brought along a Ukrainian soldier of Greek heritage from the city of Mariupol, who just happened to be a member of the neo-Nazi Azov Regiment. Greece was under Nazi occupation during World War II and fought a bitter partisan war against Nazism (later to be betrayed by Britain and the United States.)   

With Zelensky in the screen, the man, who gave only his first name, told Parliament: “I speak to you as a man of Greek descent. My name is Michail. My grandfather fought against the Nazis in the Second World War. I am born in Mariupol and I am now also fighting to defend my city from the Russian nazis.”

Alexis Tsipras, leader of the main opposition party, SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance, blasted the appearance of the Azov fighter before parliament.  

“Solidarity with the Ukrainian people is a given. But nazis cannot be allowed to speak in parliament,” Tsipras said on social media. “The speech was a provocation.”  He said Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis “bears full responsibility. … He talked about a historic day but it is a historical shame.”  

Former Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras called the video being played in parliament a “big mistake”.

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Nikos Kotzias said: “The Greek government irresponsibly undermined the struggle of the Ukrainian people, by giving the floor to a Nazi. The responsibilities are heavy. The government should publish a detailed report of preparation and contacts for the event.”

Former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis’  MeRA25 party said the event turned into a “Nazi fiesta.”

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Canada’s Speaker Resigns After Honoring Nazi Now-Wanted For Extradition By Polish Minister

The Speaker of Canada’s House of Commons, Anthony Rota, has resigned after leading Parliament in praising a Ukrainian man who moved to Canada after fighting for a Nazi unit.

“I must step down as your Speaker,” Rota said, adding “I reiterate my profound regret.“

Still no opinion on the matter from the ADL… Weird!

Developing…

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A high ranking Polish government official is pressing for Warsaw to begin an extradition request for Yaroslav Hunka, the 98-year-old Ukrainian Canadian who served the Nazi SS Galizien formation in WWII. Hunka was hailed as a “Ukrainian hero” and a “Canadian hero” by Justin Trudea’s government days ago, receiving a standing ovation in the House of Commons also as Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky looked on and cheered.

Polish Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek announced on Tuesday he has “taken steps” to initiate the extradition of Hunka to Poland for possible war crimes.

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Apologies in Canada for Honoring Ukrainian Nazi

A top Canadian lawmaker apologized on Sunday for honoring Yaroslav Hunka, a 98-year-old Ukrainian man who fought for a notorious Nazi military unit during World War II.

Anthony Rota, speaker of Canada’s House of Commons and a member of the Liberal Party, hailed Hunka during a ceremony late last week as “a Ukrainian hero” and “a Canadian hero” who fought for “Ukrainian independence against the Russians” and “continues to support the troops today.”

Canadian lawmakers in attendance gave Hunka a standing ovation, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky — who had just delivered a speech to the House of Commons — “raised a fist during the applause,” NBC News reported.

Rota’s description of Hunka — who fought in the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the Nazi SS — sparked outrage, with the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies saying in a statement that “the fact that a veteran who served in a Nazi military unit was invited to and given a standing ovation in Parliament is shocking.”

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Nazi-linked veteran received ovation during Zelenskyy’s Canada visit

A ranking Canadian parliamentarian is apologizing to Jewish communities around the world for a blunder during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit that led to lawmakers honoring a veteran accused of belonging to a Nazi division in WWII.

It followed demands by Canadian Jewish organizations Sunday for an apology after it was revealed members of Parliament across party lines awarded a 98-year-old veteran on Friday with a standing ovation shortly after Zelenskyy addressed Canada’s House of Commons.

Yaroslav Hunka stood and appeared to salute from the public gallery when he was recognized by House Speaker Anthony Rota, who introduced Hunka as a Canadian-Ukrainian war hero from his political district.

“We have here in the chamber today a Ukrainian-Canadian veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians and continues to support the troops today, even at his age of 98,” Rota said Friday, followed by a lengthy round of applause and a wave by Zelenskyy. “He’s a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service. Thank you.”

Jewish advocacy groups the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center and B’nai Brith Canada condemned his honoring as disturbing and “beyond outrageous” because he fought with the First Ukrainian Division — also known as the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division, which served under command of the Nazis.

Jewish news website The Forward reported that Hunka wrote blog posts describing his time in the unit on a Ukrainian-language website run by an association of the unit’s veterans, called “Combatant News.”

In a statement late Sunday afternoon, Rota said he recently became “aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision” to recognize Hunka. He said he takes full responsibility for the seismic gaffe.

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FBI Informant Created One of Largest Nazi Groups in American History

An FBI informant cofounded one of the largest and oldest neo-Nazi organizations in U.S. history: the National Socialist Movement, a group connected to numerous crimes and violent events, including the deadly 2017 Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally, according to previously unpublicized records reviewed by Headline USA.

The documents—a trove of FBI memos, affidavits and court records that this publication has dubbed the “Fed Files”—further indicate that the NSM allegedly had informants in prominent positions throughout much of its nearly 50-year history.

Once known as the “Hollywood Nazis” for its flamboyant demonstrations and crude propaganda, the NSM has also been accused of being co-opted by the FBI in a lawsuit filed by a former member who is now in prison.

Multiple current and former NSM members denied any affiliation with the FBI or law enforcement.

The FBI declined to comment for this story.

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Maine is fighting to stop a Nazi group from building massive HQ in the state

A neo-Nazi group is planning to build a huge headquarters in Maine – and the state is desperately trying to find a way to halt the development, The Daily Beast reported.

The group, which calls itself “Blood Tribe,” is planning a swastika flag march in Florida next month, just days after a racist mass shooter killed three Black people at a Dollar General in the city of Jacksonville. Its leader says it will be the biggest Nazi march since Hitler’s rallies.

But, “despite their far-flung recruiting efforts, it’s in Maine that Blood Tribe and its leader Christopher Pohlhaus are trying to establish themselves,” The Beast’s report stated.

“In the sparsely populated town of Springfield, Blood Tribe is buying up land, trying to establish a white supremacist hub — and getting its supporters banned from Airbnb in the process.”

Maine State Sen. Joe Baldacci is proposing legislation to stop the building of the “military-style” camp. Twenty-five states already have similar laws that prevent private groups of setting up training facilities, the Beast reported.

The proposed HQ would take up 120 acres of land in what Pohlhaus calls the “white state.”

According to Pohlhaus, the legislation is “not going to stop me at all.”

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Neo-Nazi group NSC-131 holds anti-immigration protest outside Woburn hotel

Members of a neo-Nazi group demonstrated outside three Woburn hotels on Saturday, delivering anti-immigration messages about a week after city officials said that nearly 60 migrant families were being housed in hotels in the city.

Photos posted on social media by protesters and a group called New England Nazi Watch showed several demonstrators standing outside a Red Roof Inn on Commerce Way, wearing face coverings and holding a banner indicating they were part of Nationalist Socialist Club 131.

The group, also known as NSC-131, is a self-described “pro-white, street-oriented fraternity dedicated to raising AUTHENTIC resistance to the enemies of our people in the New England area.” It has been classified as a neo-Nazi organization by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The hate group took credit for the protest on the social media platform Telegram.

“NSC 131 organized an emergency mobilization in Woburn, Massachusetts to oppose invaders and their collaborators,” the group wrote. “The action was conducted in response to hundreds of Haitian invaders being housed in Woburn hotels with taxpayer dollars.”

In an email to the Globe on Monday, the group said it had protested outside three hotels.

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Jacksonville Dollar General shooting leaves four people dead including gunman whose assault rife was covered in Nazi swastikas for ‘racially motivated’ attack

A shooting at a Florida Dollar General store in Northwest Jacksonville which left three black people dead was ‘racially motivated,’ officials say. 

The incident, which also saw the white gunman die from a self-inflicted gun wound, on Saturday is being investigated as a hate crime by the FBI and local authorities. 

The suspected shooter, in his 20s, used an assault rifle covered in Nazi swastikas in the attack, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

He is said to have sent a manifesto which detailed his racial hatred to police, media and his parents before the attack. 

Emergency services, including a SWAT team, rushed to the scene on Kings Road, at around 1pm on Saturday. 

Sheriff T.K. Waters said the gunman ‘hated black people’ and ‘wanted to kill “n******”.’ He described the shooting as a ‘dark day in Jacksonville’s history’. 

There were unconfirmed reports and photographs on Saturday night circulating around the suspected gunman’s identity. But police are yet to confirm his name. 

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