Yaroslav Hunka was a veteran of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, an army of Nazi Germany. We will give you detailed information about Yaroslav Hunka’s wife in this article as well as other important information about him that you should know.
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Who is Yaroslav Hunka?
Yaroslav Hunka was born in 1925 in Urman, Second Polish Republic which is today known as Ukraine. Yaroslab Hunka was mobilized to fight against the Red Army on the Eastern Front during World War II in 1994. After the end of World War II in Europe, Hunka immigrated to Canada and joined the community Ukrainian-Canadian.
Hunka lived in North Bay, Ontario and came to Greater Sudbury to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that year.
Yaroslav Hunka visits the House of Commons, Canada
In 2023, Yaroslav Hunka made headlines internationally after he received a standing ovation from the Canadian House of Commons and was recognized by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
However, things took a dramatic turn when it was later revealed that Hunka had Nazi links and Canadian government officials apologized to the worldwide Jewish community.
It all happened in September 2023 when Anthony Rota, now the current Speaker of the House of Commons, extended an invitation to Hunka to visit the Canadian House of Commons and accompany Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. On September 22, 2023, Zelenskyy and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recognized Hunka in a ceremony in the House of Commons.
Rota describes Hunka as “a Ukrainian-Canadian veteran of World War II who fought for Ukraine’s independence against the Russians and continues to support the military to this day, even at the age of 98”. Rota praised Hunka, asserting “He is a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero and we thank him for all his service.” After Rota’s praise, the House of Representatives stood up to applaud Hunka, and Zelenskyy and his wife also joined.
Reaction to Hunka’s celebration was mostly negative and generated international headlines. Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies condemned the SS Galizien as “responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with an unimaginable level of brutality and malice”, referring to the events such as the massacre of Polish civilians at Huta Pieniakka in 1944.
In a statement released on September 24, Rota took responsibility for inviting Hunka to the ceremony and stated “I especially want to extend my deepest apologies to the Jewish communities in Canada and around the world. gender. I accept full responsibility for my actions.”
Ann-Clara Vaillancourt, Trudeau’s spokeswoman, called Rota’s apology “the right thing to do” and emphasized Rota’s responsibility in inviting Hunka to the ceremony.
Yaroslav Hunka’s wife: Is Yaroslav Hunka married?
Yaroslav Hunka became the subject of much interest after appearing in the Canadian House of Commons. Hunka is currently unmarried. However, the 98-year-old veteran was previously married to his wife, Margaret Hunka. Sadly, his wife passed away on March 21, 2018 at the age of 87.