Minister of Education and Science Przemyslaw Czarnek posted on Tuesday, 26 September, on the X portal a letter addressed to the President of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), Dr Karol Nawrocki, in which he asked for an urgent investigation in documents whether Yaroslav Hunka is wanted for crimes against the Polish Nation and Poles of Jewish origin.

Last Friday in the Parliament of Canada, during the visit of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, in the presence of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, a veteran of the Ukrainian volunteer collaborationist Waffen-SS Galizien division, to which he volunteered in 1943, was applauded by the parliament. After the war he was sent to a prisoner of war camp in Italy, from there to the UK and emigrated to Canada in 1954.

According to information posted on social media by the Ukrainian SS man’s granddaughter, Theresa Hunka, it appears that the Canadian Prime Minister had a private meeting with him prior to his visit to parliament.

Following a wave of criticism over the incident, Canadian House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota resigned, having called Hunka a “hero of Ukraine and Canada” in his speech in parliament.

Meanwhile, in response to Minister Czarnek’s call, IPN spokesman Dr Rafal Leskiewicz reported that “immediately after learning about Yaroslav Hunka and being greeted with ovations by the Canadian parliament and President Volodymyr Zelensky, the prosecutor began analysing the files relating to the Huta Pieniacka crime”.

IPN prosecutors are making a document search and checking whether this Ukrainian SS officer took part in the crime against the Poles. Ukrainians from the SS Galizien took part in the Huta Pieniacka crime in February 1944, where around 800 Polish citizens were murdered.

In an interview with the Polish Press Agency, a spokesman for the IPN pointed out that soldiers of the formations in which Hunka served are also suspected of committing crimes in Iwonicz, Chodaczków Wielkie, Prehoryłe and Smoligów. Dr Rafał Leśkiewicz added that the purpose of analysing the tens of volumes of files is to check whether Hunka’s name appears in them.

Adrian Andrzejewski