NaziGate: Former SS Fighter Yaroslav Hunka’s Family Is in Hiding, Following Controversy Over His Honoring by Canadian Parliament
The few minutes of standing ovation in Parliament developed into a long nightmare for the family of 98-year-old Nazi veteran Yaroslav Hunka.
Hunka is a WWII veteran of the Nazi forces, having been member of the SS Galician Division, accused of widespread war crimes.
His family claims to have been unaware that he would be honored in Parliament last week, which they so much regret.
The session was held in front of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Hunka’s participation ignited an international scandal.
CBC reported:
“Barb Bonenfant, who lives in North Bay, Ont., told CBC News that Hunka’s daughter-in-law sent her a message on Sunday after the public backlash began.
‘She said that her family was shocked at what happened’, said Bonenfant. ‘If her and her husband would have had any idea what was going to happen, they would have never brought this 98-year-old man to Ottawa’.”
While PM Trudeau makes his usual deflection and Anthony Rota took the fall by resigning to his House Speakership, it is unclear what political ramifications, if any, will arise from the scandal.
But one thing is certain: for the Hunka family, everything changed.
In little North Bay, Ontario, shock waves from the political controversy are being felt ever increasingly.
“‘The family is in hiding here in North Bay’, Bonenfant said. ‘I’m sure [they’re] afraid to show their faces’.