Canada's Jewish organizations demand an investigation into Nazi past
After Jaroslaw Hunka was honored in the Parliament, there was a discussion in the society.
Although the scandal involving an SS veteran in the Canadian Parliament has already been buried beneath an array of more pressing news stories, certain groups are calling for it not to be forgotten. Some of Canada's major Jewish organizations, including Friends of Simon Wiesenthal and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, have suggested using the occasion to talk about an uncomfortable topic. Namely, how many Nazi criminals Canada has provided with a quiet and prosperous old age.
What exactly do they want?
In particular, the centers demand on publishing the report of the Deschênes Commission, which investigated the presence of Nazi war criminals in Canada in the mid-1980s. The Commission was formed after reports that Josef Mengele might be hiding from justice in the country. The work of the Deschênes group also examined the activities of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Galician), which included Jaroslav Gunka, the reason for all the fuss.
The group's work met resistance from various communities at the time, and eventually the results were only partially publicized and with some revisions.
Who is in favor of declassifying the archive?
The publication of the Deschênes report as a healthy response to the incident was brought up in Parliament this week by Immigration Minister Mark Miller. He recalled that there were times when it was easier for Nazi criminals to enter Canada than for Jewish refugees.
For example, one can recall the case of Helmut Oberlander, an Einsatzgruppen interpreter who was deported from the United States in the 1950s but successfully settled in Canada. Oberlander lived in Ontario until his old age, was never convicted and died in 2021 in Waterloo.
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