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A Polish government minister said this week he had “taken steps” toward the possible extradition of Yaroslav Hunka, the 98-year-old veteran of a Waffen-SS unit who drew applause during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Canada’s Parliament.
Anthony Rota, the speaker of the House of Commons, invited Hunka, a constituent in his Ontario legislative district, to Zelensky’s address on Friday. During the joint session of Parliament, Rota called Hunka “a Ukrainian hero” and “a Canadian hero,” prompting a standing ovation from lawmakers and a raised fist from Zelensky.
But Jewish groups said over the weekend that Hunka had served with the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division. The unit fought during World War II to expel the Soviets from Ukraine. Rota apologized on Sunday for inviting Hunka to the event, saying he had “become aware of more information which causes me to regret my decision.”
Amid calls for his resignation, Rota apologized again on Monday before announcing Tuesday that he would step down. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described the incident as “deeply embarrassing.”
Polish Education Minister Przemysław Czarnek now wants to know if Hunka should be prosecuted.
“In view of the scandalous events in the Canadian Parliament, which involved honoring, in the presence of President Zelensky, a member of the criminal Nazi SS Galician formation, I have taken steps toward the possible extradition of this man to Poland,” he said Tuesday.
House speaker in Canada steps down after honoring Nazi veteran
Poland’s ambassador to Canada, Witold Dzielski, said the move was a preliminary bid to establish whether Hunka is responsible for crimes committed in Poland as a basis for extraditing him.
He told Canada’s Global News that an extradition process has not started but that the minister has sent a request to Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance — a government body which investigates Polish history including crimes committed during World War II — to consider a possible extradition.
“I’m sure this request will be considered,” Dzielski said. “And possible some steps will follow. But at this point, it’s the first steps of the request for the institute to get involved in the process.”
Canada’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General told reporters Tuesday he could not comment on the prospect of an extradition and that he had not been contacted by the Polish government or received an official request.
Canada does not have an extradition treaty with Poland, which could make a request more complicated — as could Hunka’s age, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Canada’s House speaker Anthony Rota sorry for honoring Nazi veteran
Jewish groups said Hunka had been a member of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division, a unit of the Waffen-SS made up of ethnic Ukrainians. The Waffen-SS was a Nazi paramilitary force formed by key Holocaust organizer Heinrich Himmler.
Rota, who leaves the speakership on Wednesday after four years, has said it was entirely his decision to invite Hunka to Zelensky’s address. The Ukrainian president is Jewish and has relatives who were killed in the Holocaust.
Rota said neither his fellow lawmakers nor the Ukrainian delegation knew about the invitation.
The incident brought renewed attention to a period in Ukrainian history during World War II when nationalists allied with the Nazis in a bid to expel the Soviets.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has used a supposed need to “denazify” Ukraine as a justification for invading the country. The State Department describes the claim as one of the Russian propaganda apparatus’s “most common disinformation narratives.”
Sammy Westfall and Amanda Coletta contributed to this report.