Poland’s Minister of Education has proposed the extradition of 98-year-old veteran of the SS ‘Galicia’ division who was honored in the Canadian Parliament

Poland’s Minister of Education, Przemysław Czarnek, has proposed the extradition of 98-year-old veteran of the SS “Galicia” division, Yaroslav Hunko, who was honored in the Canadian Parliament.

Czarnek made this announcement on Twitter and stated that he has already sent a letter to the head of Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance.

“I am requesting an urgent examination of the documents to determine whether Yaroslav Hunko is sought after for crimes against the Polish people and Polish Jews. The nature of such crimes is the basis for requesting his extradition from Canada,” the minister said.

Wobec skandalicznych wydarzeń w kanadyjskim parlamencie polegających na uhonorowaniu w obecności także prezydenta Zełenskiego członka zbrodniczej, hitlerowskiej formacji SS Galizien, podjąłem kroki w kierunku ewentualnej ekstradycji tego człowieka do Polski.… https://t.co/92qK1voktN pic.twitter.com/5J4lljH5JX

— Przemysław Czarnek (@CzarnekP) September 26, 2023

To provide some context, there has been a controversy in Canada surrounding the SS “Galicia” division. Recently, a 98-year-old Canadian of Ukrainian descent, Yaroslav Hunko, was invited to a special session of the Canadian Parliament during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Speaker of the House of Commons, Anthony Rota, in announcing Hunko’s presence in the chamber, referred to him as a “Ukrainian-Canadian World War II veteran who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians” and thanked him for his “service.” Hunko received a standing ovation, and both President Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined in the applause. Zelensky even waved and raised a fist in greeting.

However, it later emerged that Hunko had served in the SS “Galicia” division, which fought alongside Nazi Germany’s forces against the Red Army during World War II (while Canada was part of the anti-Nazi coalition).

This event caused outrage among Jewish organizations, including “Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center,” and was widely covered in Western media.

Speaker Rota subsequently apologized and took responsibility for inviting Hunko to the Parliament.

Ukrainian authorities largely ignored the incident, but it had unpleasant consequences for Ottawa.