Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
Canada and the whitewashing of Nazis
In the late cold war period Canadian scholars were at the forefront of promoting revisionist theories that downplayed the horrors of Nazism – no wonder Justin Trudeau’s apologies over the Hunka affair do not ring true, says KENNY COYLE
The 14th Grenadier Division of the Waffen SS ‘Galizien’ is sworn in. In the foreground, soldiers taking the oath and giving the Nazi salute

“THIS was a mistake that has deeply embarrassed parliament and Canada. All of us who were in this house on Friday regret deeply having stood and clapped even though we did so unaware of the context.”

This was how Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attempted to justify his ovation and that of his fellow parliamentarians for the “Canadian hero” Yaroslav Hunka, a former Waffen SS combatant and, as far as the record shows, an unrepentant Nazi volunteer.

This was no mistake, and “deep embarrassment” should be reserved for those who think blackface is funny. Applauding Nazis is simply in a category all by itself.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Tom Mooney Company from the Lincoln Battalion, during the Spanish Civil War, Jarama, Spain, 1937
History / 24 February 2026
24 February 2026

CJ ATKINS commemorates one of the most dramatic moments in working-class history

TROUBLED LEGACY: Between 50,000 and 100,000 people stood silently with clenched fists raised during the procession of the hearses containing the bodies of three of the people murdered during the Atocha massacre, Madrid, January 26 1977
Anti-Fascism / 20 November 2025
20 November 2025

Spanish dictator Francisco Franco died 50 years ago today November 20. JIM JUMP looks back at his blood-soaked rule and toxic legacy on Spain today

ANTI-FASCIST ART: The stained glass window in Belfast City Hall
Features / 29 September 2025
29 September 2025

JIM JUMP looks forward to the International Brigade Memorial Trust AGM taking place in Belfast later this week where the spirit of solidarity will be rekindled

THE OTHER UKRAINE: The Saur-Mogila Soviet memorial near the city of Snizhne in Donetsk Oblast has been massively expanded in Soviet style, while in other parts of the country, Soviet statues were torn down
War / 13 May 2025
13 May 2025

As Britain marks 80 years since defeating fascism, it finds itself in a proxy war against Russia over Ukraine — DANIEL POWELL examines Churchill’s secret plan to attack our Soviet allies in 1945 and traces how Nato expansion, a Western-backed coup and neo-nazi activism contributed to todays' devastating conflict