FSWC appalled by standing ovation in Canadian Parliament for Ukrainian veteran who served in Nazi military unit

"The fact that a veteran who served in a Nazi military unit was invited to and given a standing ovation in Parliament is shocking. At a time of rising antisemitism and Holocaust distortion, it is incredibly disturbing to see Canada's Parliament rise to applaud an individual who was a member of a unit in the Waffen-SS, a Nazi military branch responsible for the murder of Jews and others and that was declared a criminal organization during the Nuremberg Trials. There should be no confusion that this unit was responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable.

"An apology is owed to every Holocaust survivor and veteran of the Second World War who fought the Nazis, and an explanation must be provided as to how this individual entered the hallowed halls of Canadian Parliament and received recognition from the Speaker of the House and a standing ovation."

FSWC’s initiatives focus on Holocaust education and studies and aim to foster the values of respect and acceptance, while teaching the responsibilities of citizenship in a democratic society like Canada. FSWC is affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international human rights organization in Los Angeles, which has an official NGO presence at the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament.